Leigh Francis thinks Keith Lemon hosting ‘Celebrity Juice’ is done for good.
The 51-year-old star – who fronted the iconic and outrageous X-rated game show from 2008 to 2022 – insisted the way comedy works has “changed” too much with comedians having to watch what they say.
He told the ‘How To Be In The Spotlight’ podcast: “The comedy landscape has changed. You can’t say things that you used to say.”
Leigh admitted being a father has also impacted his own goals, and he has grown up “a little bit” when it comes to the material he wants to present in public.
He explained: “Also, I grew up a little bit, I’ve got kids – it’s embarrassing when you go to do the school run when the night before you were running about in a studio with your big fat d*** out.”
Between a changing world and Leigh’s own personal growth, he believes the door is closed on ‘Celebrity Juice’.
He added: “I don’t think it will come back.”
The star has become known for his controversial comedy through his shows, but he previously insisted that any harsh jokes that may come across as “offensive” are never meant in such a way and he sees them as a compliment instead.
Speaking on the ‘White Wine Question Time’ podcast, he told former ‘Loose Women’ anchor Kate Thornton: “It doesn’t come from a place of malice, it comes from a place of childish silliness.
“When I’ve lampooned anyone it’s because I like them. What a weird compliment, though – ‘I like you and now I’m gonna make a fool out of you!'”
Meanwhile, Leigh recalled hosting a short-lived show called ‘Buzz’ early on in his career which caught the attention of talent agent John Noel, who told him that there should be “no such thing” as Leigh Francis and he should focus on presenting as his characters instead.
He said: “He saw me presenting a show called ‘Buzz’ and he said ‘I saw that ‘Buzz’ programme you did, I thought you were (rubbish) but I like the characters!
“‘How about there’s no such thing as Leigh Francis and we just do the characters?’
“I was very young and said, ‘Yeah, that sounds ace!’
“So I went along with it and just decided that I didn’t exist on television. It worked, though. He was right!”
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