It has been reported that Leigh Francis’s comedy series Bo’ Selecta! has shot a brand new pilot, in the hopes of a new season being greenlit.
The series, which originally aired on Channel 4 from 2002 to 2009, followed Francis, who is known for playing Keith Lemon on shows such as Celebrity Juice, in character as Avid Merrion, a stalker who is obsessed with celebrities and spends his time tracking them down.
Francis also then played the celebrities while wearing exaggerated latex masks.
Reports of a reboot first emerged in The Sun, who spoke with Francis about the new pilot, although no further details were revealed, including whether the series would be returning to Channel 4 or heading to another broadcaster.
Francis told the publication: “Avid Merrion is wandering around somewhere. He’s a bit different though, he’s grown up. The Bear was in the pilot too. I don’t know if he’ll stick around, it’s all in the hands of the TV gods.”
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RadioTimes.com has reached out to Francis and Channel 4 for comment.
The original series of Bo’ Selecta! came under scrutiny in 2020 for Francis’s portrayal of Black celebrities, with Francis subsequently issuing an apology and Channel 4 removing the episodes from its online catch-up service.
Francis said at the time: “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. 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.”
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