30-07-2022, 03:31 PM
(29-07-2022, 09:19 AM)Steve in Pudsey Wrote: I can't think of any other performer who is credited as a character name (as distinct from a stage name they use constantly) other than Lily Savage/Dame Edna style acts.
There isn't even an Exec Producer or additional material credit for Leigh Francis just so his real name is on there somewhere.
Leigh received credit back in the Bo Selecta days as a writer, IIRC. If he's not credited as himself for anything in Celebrity Juice, there's probably a reason for that.
As for the racism controversy, I was fairly young and naive when his Trisha sketches were relevant, and I didn't really make the connections to any kind of racist undertones. But I was around 17 when he made his tribute to Michael Jackson, and even as someone who then (and now) had a taste for shock humour (if done properly) I was taken aback by his Oprah character and her obsession with fried chicken. A defender could argue that the stereotypes were that strong that they subverted themselves into self-aware irony (becoming so absurdly racist that it mocks the stereotypes themselves rather than those subjected to the stereotyping) but I think, by this point, Leigh was falling into that phase where making his friends laugh came first before making his audience laugh. Not to imply Leigh is an out and out racist, but I can envision him surrounded by a bunch of "yes" men laughing at his pitch for Oprah without anyone raising a concern.
But hey ho, onwards and upwards. If his work with Amanda Holden is anything to go by... Well, god help him.