Leigh Francis appears as himself in rare interview instead of alter-ego Keith Lemon

You know when you watch an animated film and spend the majority of the time trying to work out who the person voicing the character is? That's kind of how it feels to watch an interview of Leigh Francis.

Over the years, pretty much everyone in Britain has become familiar with the face of Francis.

We know what he looks like, we know - kind of - what his voice sounds like, but really, most of us have very little idea about what he's actually like.

ITV2

That, of course, is because of his alter-ego, Keith Lemon.

It's this man that Brits have become so familiar with over the years, thanks to his appearances on TV shows like Celebrity Juice and The Keith & Paddy Picture Show.

We're so used to his crass jokes and memorable catchphrases that it's easy to forget Lemon is actually just a character played by Francis, so it was a pleasant surprise for fans when the man himself appeared on The One Show.

The comedian sat down with hosts Alex Jones and Jermaine Jenas yesterday (20 June) to chat about his upcoming live tour, Leigh Francis: My First Time, but even he admitted that it was 'weird' to appear as himself, rather than a character.

BBC One

After being introduced as Leigh Francis, the comedian commented: "Isn't that weird? When I hear my name it's weird."

The actor went on to talk about his age, with a lot of time having passed since he first rose to fame through sketches on Bo' Selecta! in the early 00s.

"Someone online said I'd put so much timber on. Isn't that kind? That's because I'm old. I'm 50," he said.

"I'm only going to get more timber I'm sure. I'm starting to look like Richard Attenborough. Welcome to Jurassic Park!

"Do you know what the PR person said? 'Don't wear a hat so they can distinguish that you're not Keith Lemon you're Leigh Francis'.

"Now my face looks even fatter. Look at the size of my forehead, it's like a knee. I've got three knees - I just caught it on that monitor."

BBC One

Francis seemed to soon settle into the persona of 'himself', and fans clearly enjoyed seeing it.

After watching his interview, one person wrote: "It’s nice to see Leigh Francis as himself," while another commented: "So happy seeing @LeighFrancis as himself on ‘tele."

Other fans might need a bit more time to get their heads around the notion of Francis as himself, though.

In fact, one person claimed to have been entirely unaware that Francis even existed, writing: "I had no idea there was a real Keith Lemon."

Every day's a school day, I guess.

Topics: Celebrity, Keith Lemon, TV and Film, BBC

Emily Brown

Emily Brown is the Community Desk Lead at LADbible Group. Emily first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route. She went on to graduate with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University before contributing to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems. She joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features, and now works as Community Desk Lead to commission and write human interest stories from across the globe.