Think of Leigh Francis, and you’ll no doubt picture Keith Lemon… or Avid Merrion… or the sex-mad Bear in Bo’ Selecta… or the myriad other characters the 51 year old has created over an impressively enduring two-decade career in the cutthroat world of entertainment.
But now the Celebrity Juice star is stepping into the spotlight as himself, with the release of his first book, Leigh, Myself And I.
Written by Leigh himself – which is no mean feat, as he’s dyslexic – it’s a kaleidoscope of a read, all the way from his childhood in Leeds through to meeting his first love and now-wife Jill, to his prolific rise through the TV ranks. Jam-packed with ’80s nostalgia and funny bits, it’s a front-row seat into the inner workings of the industry.
But for someone with one of the most recognisable ’taches around, little is known about Leigh. heat does know that he lives in North London (around the corner from his celebrity mate Emma Bunton) and that he’s got a bar in his garden, but what else? When we catch up with him on a sunny day in late summer, he’s sporting a pair of huge sunglasses and the Zoom name ‘Dracula’. Leigh is instantly affable company, a bit like a toned-down Keith Lemon after a year trapped in a flotation tank. But is he a secret diva? Does he have a dark side we don’t know about? Who was round his house at the weekend? It’s time to find out...
Firstly, congratulations on your book…
[Surprised] Oh, have you read it then?
Of course we’ve read it…
Because someone reviewed it the other day and I was like, ‘How have you read it?! I’ve not got it yet.’
Friends in high places. So, why the book and why now?
I turned 50 a year ago and I just thought, ‘While I’m still here and slightly relevant, and while I can still remember what happened, now is the time.’ Celebrity Juice had finished and while that was happening, I was never going to be me, I was always going to be Keith Lemon. After that, though, I thought, ‘Right, I’ll do a book now and tell everyone who I am.’ Because not many people really know who I am. I’m forever saying to people, ‘My name’s Leigh’, and they’ll either be baffled and have no expression, or laugh, and then I go, ‘It’s not a joke’. Otherwise, I would have come up with a more exotic name – Leigh’s not a funny name, it’s quite bland.
For all the fun in the book, there’s real sadness when you write about your dad. He died when he was 47, four years younger than you are now…
Yeah. All those bits, I think that’s what keeps you grounded. Loads of good things happen, and then something naughty happens, and you’re like, ‘This is a bad thing to keep me grounded, so I don’t float away with myself.’ And it does. It happens. Everything’s going well, and then suddenly the worst happens. It’s just life, innit?
You say you miss your dad more now you’re older. Is that an age thing or because you’re a dad [Leigh has two teenage daughters, Dolly and Matilda, with wife Jill]?
It’s weird. You don’t ever get over it, you just get used to it. And I think, because I live in London and the rest of my family live in Leeds, I can just imagine he’s on holiday. But, yeah, having kids, getting a new dog or whatever, it always feels like there’s someone missing, who you want to phone up and say, ‘I got a new car, are you gonna come round and see it?’ There’s always that feeling of, ‘Who have I not told about winning a BAFTA?’, or whatever. You always feel like there’s someone you forgot to tell.
That’s a really good way of summing it up…
I guess, because I’m the age I am now, you do reflect more on life and you’re like, ‘Wow, it goes quick, doesn’t it?’ I’m older than my dad ever got to be, but my dad was such a dad and I’m not really a dad. [Shouts off screen.] Am I, Dolly? [Laughs.] I’m more like one of the kids than a dad.
Are you ever strict – are there certain things you put your foot down about?
Am I strict? No… Actually, I’m not sure.
Is there anything you tell your kids they can’t do?
[Calls off camera.] Is there anything I say you can’t do? Don’t eat all my biscuits, and don’t drink alcohol. [Cackles.] Don’t drink alcohol, she says!
What would you say if your daughters wanted to go into TV?
It’s funny, because I guess a lot of people in my position would say to their kids, ‘Don’t do showbusiness and stuff’. But I would say do it, because it’s fun. And if it all goes wrong, just leave it and do something else. When you’re in it and it’s working, it’s so much fun. It’s quite a struggle, too, but I was at the right age when I started, where it didn’t feel like a struggle. It was an adventure.
Talking about the darker side of showbiz, you write about Caroline Flack in the book. You obviously had a connection and still feel her loss. Does that make it tough to stay in the industry?
You’ve got to learn to not read things – and that’s really difficult. I always say I’ve not got an ego, but I guess we’ve all got an ego and you like reading nice things about yourself. But now and again, especially on social media, there’s loads of people who want to bring you down.
How do you deal with it?
You’ve got to learn not to listen the negative stuff and only care what the people around you – your friends and your loved ones – think about you. I have a really stable home and lots of lovely friends. So, yeah, if I do feel down about showbiz, or so-and-so said this about me, you’ve got to learn to shut off and just be around your friends. I was lucky in that situation. Caroline didn’t have a husband, kids and stuff, but I’ve had Jill from the beginning [they met when Jill was 16 and Leigh was 19]. I’ve always had someone to lean on, I guess.
You said you wanted Caroline to have that…
I always wanted Caroline to have that. When you’d bump into her, she’d say, ‘I’ve got a new boyfriend, you’re gonna love him.’ And I’d think, ‘I hope I do love him.’ I think, if she’d have met the right one, things might have been different, and if she’d have just removed herself a little bit, you know, but she was in the thick of it all the time.
Let’s talk about your showbiz mates. Emma Bunton is a friend. What does that actually look like? Do you go around to have a cup of tea at hers while she’s unloading the dishwasher?
I guess, when you’re around famous people who become your friends, you forget they’re a celebrity. I forget I’m on telly! Emma was round here on Sunday, just having a barbecue in the garden. I think it’s probably me who talks about work more than anyone else. I’m really obsessed with it, but Emma’s just Emma.
When she came round for a barbeque, did she bring supermarket fizz or something flashy?
So, Ricky Wilson [lead singer of Kaiser Chiefs] was here, too, and his wife said, ‘I’ve bought a bottle round. Ricky often gets given expensive ones – I didn’t want to give you a £300 one, but I didn’t want to give you a cheap one.’ We looked it up and it was only 15 quid, so Ricky’s wife said, ‘Don’t give it to Nina,’ who’s another friend who knows about Champagne. It’s like, you get given a bottle of Champagne that ends up going to somebody else’s house, and then they’re like, ‘I gave you this!’
We love the idea of a £15 bottle of M&S bubbles doing the rounds of the north London showbiz elite…
Everyone’s just normal. I always think about celebrities I don’t know, that they’ve got these amazing lives. But most people are just normal. You know, school runs and stuff.
Why do you think you’ve lasted so long in showbiz?
I think silliness, for me, transcends cleverness. When I watch anything, I’m thinking, ‘That’s clever’, rather than laughing out loud. And you know, when comedians think they’re rock stars or whatever, I’m like, ‘Hang on, we’re the court jesters. We make people laugh.’ I’m just a court jester.
Is there anything left you’d like to do?
An art programme.
An owl programme?
An art programme! Although I had a stare-off competition with an owl on Celebrity Juice once. It was terrifying.
What’s the biggest thing people get wrong about you?
That I’m a lunatic all the time. I always say, ‘I’m as normal as tea and biscuits.’ I just know who I am, so I’m comfortable with it. And then people will say, ‘Oh apparently, you’re really shy.’ No, I’m just not Keith Lemon. If Keith was a real person, he’d be dead, because he really enjoys himself.
Leigh, Myself And I by Leigh Francis (HarperNon Fiction, £22) is out now