Leigh Francis, the comedian who throughout the noughties was known as his on-screen persona, Keith Lemon, has teamed up with his stunning wife Jill Carter to star in a brand new podcast, Unlikely Friends with Spice Girl Emma Bunton and her husband and Damage frontman Jade Jones. While you may be familiar with Keith and Emma's friendship, the name comes from when "the papers" called them "unlikely friends" back in the day and the new show promises to give listeners an "exclusive insight into the most unlikely 20-year friendship." Talking about the project, the gang said: "The papers called us 'Unlikely Friends' years ago, whilst we were papped on holiday together. We might be unlikely friends, but behind closed doors, we’re just a pretty normal bunch from similar backgrounds who really just clicked!
The programme is described as a: "Warm, funny and highly relatable podcast celebrates a 20-year bond that nobody saw coming, bringing audiences into the chaotic joy of four friends who just 'clicked'." After the news was announced on social media a slew of the group's famous friends couldn't contain their excitement. Ashley Roberts penned: "Here for this," in the comments. " Congrats guys xxx," wrote Louise Redknapp alongside three red love heart emojis. Meanwhile, Kate Thornton added: "Love love love this [red love heart emoji]."
Leigh's space from the spotlight
Leigh's new project with his wife comes amid an obvious step away from the world of TV by the comedian. He used to front Celebrity Juice, one of the hottest comedy panel shows on British TV, but following its discontinuation in 2022, the comedian stepped away from the spotlight. Talking about why the show was cancelled, Leigh said it was down to a change in taste. He told the Sun: "Now, nothing is acceptable any more — we had 'the rules were the rules' in past times, and they're different now, so of course there are things back then that you wouldn't do any more.
"You don't set out to offend anyone, you just set out to make people laugh, but for me, now when I come up with an idea, it has to be a straight one, with just a bit of silliness. Quite a lot of comedians are now presenting straight shows, entertainment programmes that are funny, just maybe not as funny as a sketch show.' Leigh also admitted that comedy will "always offend someone," but he feels it is all "being taken too seriously." Adding: "At the end of the day, you're always going to upset someone — but it's just comedy and, in these modern times, I feel that it's all being taken too seriously."
Leigh's rock
Whether he's fronting one of the biggest shows in comedy or not, one thing is for sure and it's that Jill - who was the comedian's childhood sweetheart - is Leigh's rock. Talking about his wife - whom he married in 2002 - Leigh previously told the Mail: "Everyone thinks that we wake up and the comedy starts, but it's not like that. She sees the real me, the grumpy me.
"She holds it together for in the family, Jill is an amazing woman," he continued. "Jill does everything, she is the best. I love everything about her. She is so special and is a brilliant mum to our kids." Gushing over his beautiful wife - who many in the past have compared to the Princess of Wales - he added: "When everyone meets her, they say 'he is punching'. Why would I want to date anyone who looks like me? Everyone should punch above their weight when they are dating!"