Bo' Selecta!
- TV sketch show
- Channel 4
- 2002 - 2009
- 32 episodes (4 series)
Sketch comedy series starring Leigh Francis as Avid Merrion, Transylvania's biggest celebrity fan.
Press clippings
Leigh Francis reveals Bo Selecta! comeback has been axed following remake pilot
The comedian, 50, had been working on a rebranded pilot of the programme 13 years after it was last on air.
Owen Tonks, Daily Mail, 2nd March 2024Leigh Francis has reignited 20-year feud with star over Bo' Selecta!
The bad blood between Craig David and Bo' Selecta! creator Leigh Francis rumbles on.
While promoting his new book last month, Rewind singer Craig accused the comic of "bullying" and "ruining his life".
Rod McPhee, The Sun, 22nd November 2022Craig David says Bo' Selecta! impression was "bullying": "There was no real accountability"
David has questioned the sincerity of Leigh Francis' apology, which came amid a renewed focus on the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.
Tom Skinner, NME, 4th October 2022Leigh Francis brings back Avid Merrion
Leigh Francis is piloting a sketch show in the guise of his celebrity stalker character Avid Merrion, more than 12 years after the character last appeared on television.
British Comedy Guide, 29th July 2022Lorraine Kelly says she 'should have complained' over Bo' Selecta! portrayal
Her comments on the programme come after Leigh Francis apologised for playing black people in the same series.
Jessica Sansome, Manchester Evening News, 6th May 2022Leigh Francis: the laugh excluder who cannot be stopped
The latest offering from Britain's least funny comedian is too much for Ed Cumming. In his latest column, he explores the bewildering truth of Francis' enduring career.
Ed Cumming, The Independent, 13th September 2021Stop deleting our comedy shows
TV is now a battleground for society's culture wars. The new director of the BBC might axe left-wing comedy, but humour exposes what defines, unites and divides us, says the deputy editor of Index on Censorship.
Jemimah Steinfeld, The Independent, 3rd September 2020Trisha Goddard says she thought racist abuse would end
When Bo' Selecta! comic Leigh Francis finally apologised for his portrayal of Trisha Goddard on the show, she hoped it would end the years of racist abuse she and her family have endured.
But instead, the presenter and talk show host was bombarded with vile trolling which left her telling her daughter Billie: "I'm sick of being black."
Dan Cain & Emily Fairbairn, The Sun, 5th July 2020Trisha Goddard getting even more abuse over Bo' Selecta
Trisha Goddard has said that she is receiving even more abuse since Leigh Frances apologised for his Bo' Selecta! impression.
Rose Hill, The Mirror, 15th June 2020Trisha's children were 'bullied' over Bo' Selecta!
TV presenter Trisha Goddard told BBC Newsnight about the impact a blackface impersonation in a comedy sketch had on her family. Last week, comedian Leigh Francis issued an emotional apology for having made himself up as black celebrities in the show Bo' Selecta!
BBC, 12th June 2020