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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Katie Fitzpatrick

Keith Lemon mocks Prince Harry in Bo' Selecta! style sketch as fans call for show's return

Keith Lemon has been called on to revive his sketch show Bo' Selecta! after posting a video of himself lampooning Prince Harry. On the day the Duke of Sussex's explosive memiors Spare was released, the comedian, whose real name is Leigh Francis, shared a clip of himself on social media swimming in a Bo' Selecta!-style rubber mask with a beard.

As he swam past the camera while taking a dip in the pool, he wrote alongside the clip: "Ooo the book is out today #spare in my spare time I like swimming, watching movies, BMXing and making things! What do you do in your spare time?"

@MinsterMum_suggested that he could do "a whole Bo' Selecta!" on the subject of Harry, whose tell-all ITV interview with Tom Bradby was screened on Sunday night. Using his catchphrase @neiltich replied: "That 'proper Bo' that is."

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Others called for the series, broadcast on Channel 4 from 2002 until 2009 and known for its often surreal, sketches poking fun at famous faces played by Leigh wearing facemasks with exaggerated features. In 2020 Channel Four removed Bo' Selecta! episodes from its website after the show was caught up in a storm over its portrayal of black celebrities.

In a tearful video shared on his Instagram he apologised and said: "My name's Leigh Francis I play a character called Keith Lemon on television. It's been a weird few days, I've sat and thought about things and what I could post to help things.

"Back in 2002 I did a show called Bo' Selecta, I portrayed many black people. Back then I didn't think anything about it, people didn't say anything, I'm not going to blame other people.

"Been talking to some people, I didn't realise how offensive it was back then. I just want to apologise, I just want to say sorry for any upset I caused whether I was Michael Jackson, Craig David, Trisha Goddard, all people I'm a big fan of. I guess we're all on a learning journey."

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