
Keith Lemon has responded to rumours about the reincarnation of his controversial programme Bo’ Selecta!, emphasising that it is not a ‘Bo’ Selecta! reboot’ and that the pilot may not even be viewed by viewers.
Keith notably developed and acted in the renowned Channel 4 comedy show Celebrity Juice, which aired from 2002 until 2009.
And now, the comedian, actual name Leigh Francis, has filmed a pilot featuring Avid Merrion, which might return to our screens after 13 years.
Following reaction and charges of racism, Channel 4 removed all programmes from its streaming sites in 2020, with Keith subsequently commenting on his roles, some of which saw him portray black personalities such as Craig David and Trisha Goddard while wearing over-the-top latex masks.
He is presently concentrating on one character in particular, Avid Merrion.
Keith confirmed exclusively to Metro.co.uk: ‘Well, it’s not a Bo’ Selecta! Everyone keeps assuming it’s a reboot. It wasn’t even called Bo’ Selecta!, it only had Masked Characters in it, and the story was more about Merrion being a time traveller.’
‘It was only a pilot, but since then we’ve been creating other methods of doing things, like should he truly be a time traveller, is it too hard to imagine?’ he said.
‘I think originally I thought it was a great idea, because he was a character that had been 20 years old on Bo’ Selecta!, so we thought it would be funny, I imagined he was a virgin.
‘And we said, well, wouldn’t it be funny if the night he has sex and falls in love, that’s when it disappears and he ends up in 2022 [when the pilot was filmed last year], and he’s got a daughter and he had a daughter in the pilot and it was Maisie Smith.’
Keith went on to say that after detailing that crazy narrative, viewers might not even get to see it.

He said: ‘I don’t think they’ll see the pilot, the pilot will probably turn into something else. But I just keep leaking bits of it on my Instagram and stuff. I think I’m allowed to they just said don’t show the whole thing, by Summer time I will have shown all of it!’
He went on to argue that it would be a ‘waste’ not to broadcast those footage because he had recorded the pilot ‘if no one ever sees it’.
‘It’s Avid Merrion based, he will come back in a different form, I’m ready to be him, but he’ll be a different person, because so many years have passed, the world is a different place’ Keith hinted in another interview.
‘It’s been a weird few days, I’ve sat and thought about things and what I might post to try and improve things,’ Keith said in a sad social media video in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing and the Black Lives Matter campaign.
‘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.’
He added: ‘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.’
World’s Most Dangerous Roads starts Sunday, February 12 at 8pm on Dave. Watch the full series on UKTV Play.