Leigh Francis

Interview: Keith Lemon / Leigh Francis

"I don't do impressions," explains Keith, whose creator, comedian Leigh Francis, 41, always gives interviews in character. I don't concern myself with doing the right voice, it's more about my own interpretations of people."

One of the major hazards was averted last night when Celebrity Juice's Christmas Special was screened early - but if a teenage relative unwraps a Keith Lemon box set under the tree and you cannot escape, here's how to cope.

Lemon is a gameshow host played by comedian Leigh Francis - he's grindingly upbeat and thick as walrus blubber. Imagine Keith Chegwin with the swear filter switched off, and you've got him. His act is a stream of four-letter words and single entendres, while his guests grin fixedly through the humiliation.

Lemon's panel game, Celebrity Juice, is a cross between a chat show and the Seventies children's romp Tiswas.

The highlight of the Christmas Special was Peter Andre getting coloured gunk poured over his head. Even Noel Edmonds has grown out of that kind of TV.

My advice is to keep your paper party hat to hand. If you do get trapped into watching this dross, pull it down over your eyes and pretend to be asleep.

The current series of the ballsy panel show fronted by Leigh Francis's Keith Lemon character comes to a close, with McFly's Harry Judd and Dougie Poynter returning to the fold alongside regulars Fearne Cotton and Holly Willoughby. For some, the Ofcom-provoking humour will have worn thin after 10 outings; for others, the crude laughs will be as entertaining as ever. In any case, for those looking for quick gags it is a better bet than Lemon's recent - and heavily panned - revival of Through The Keyhole.

ITV clearly has big hopes for this reboot of the long-running celebrity home-invasion panel show. Both Vernon Kay and Paul O'Grady were reportedly in the running to spend their Saturday evenings rummaging through the drawers of the great, the good and the goadawful. Then ITV decided to split the difference, handing the task over to Leigh Francis's high-achieving alter-ego, gurning Northern malapropism-merchant Keith 'Ooosh!' Lemon.

And, love him, loathe him or remain in a state of semi-ignorant bafflement, Lemon is clearly in his element here, rifling through the pads of an Olympian (naturally), a couple of boy band refugees (jolly) and a former Deputy Prime Minister (oh, John...) while Dave Berry, Martine McCutcheon and Eamonn Holmes - who in the ITV-verse counts as a sage elder statesman - attempt to riddle out whose house is whose. In essence, it's a quizzed-up Cribs for crinklies.

Compared to much of the shiny-floored crunk that ITV (and, indeed, the BBC) has been pumping out of late, Through the Keyhole, or, as Keith has it Fruit'keyhole, is a fairly decent stab at bouncy Saturday evening fun. Decent enough, in fact, to make one wonder why it's been shunted back to 9.20 just to make room for a few F-bombs and other assorted bleeped out swears. This has got 7.30 - and therefore bigger ratings - written all over it.

In the spirit of full disclosure: I actively dislike Celebrity Juice. I'm not even sure why I'm reviewing it; watching Celebrity Juice makes me feel dirty in all the wrong ways. It is like comedic torture.

For those blissfully unaware of Celebrity Juice, it is a 'celebrity entertainment' panel show. Keith Lemon (Leigh Francis) is your host: a tanned, bleached, ginger-moustached Yorkshireman. His team captains are attractive, large breasted blonde Holly Willoughby and attractive, large-breasted brunette Kelly Brook. Guests this week include Connor Maynard (yeah, I'd never heard of him either), Richard Madley, Johnny Vegas and Dermot O'Leary. The show is made up of a series of challenges and games, and the winning team of each game wins some points.

I can't say much positive about it, other than Johnny Vegas was pretty good. But it's not hard for someone genuinely funny to stand out in this sort of setup. I would imagine the show's main target demographic is the sort of person who thinks that changing someone's Facebook status to "I'm gay" is the height of comedy (Ha ha ha - isn't human sexuality hilarious...). How it has quite so many fans just completely baffles me. Maybe the average person relates to jokes about boobies, muffs and wank jokes. Is this what it has come to?

Pictures: Leigh Francis's 40th birthday party

Leigh Francis celebrated his 40th birthday on Saturday night by hosting a fancy dress bash at London's Gilgamesh nightclub.