TELLY comic Leigh Francis is poised to join I’m A Celebrity — which would be a dream signing for hosts Ant & Dec.
The Geordie duo — who are best mates with the Bo’ Selecta and Celebrity Juice star — recently said he was the person they would most like to see in the jungle.
Leigh, 53, whose alter ego was TV’s Keith Lemon, is now in advanced talks to join.
He had provisional talks with producers to get him on the ITV show two years ago, but did not sign, much to Ant and Dec’s frustration.
The hosts have since issued an open invite to him on their “Hanging Out with Ant and Dec” podcast.
Ant said: “Leigh, come on! This is our plea to you.
“Get in the jungle. You know you want to. It’s a lot of fun, and we’ll be there.”
The pair said it would be “a full circle moment” as Leigh did a sketch ten years ago where he and actor Adam Booth were made up to look like Ant and Dec on ITV’s Keith Lemon Show.
And they admitted they would love to get their own back by watching him do a Bushtucker Trial.
Dec said: “If we got Leigh Francis in the jungle . . . and we had to stand by and watch him do a trial, let’s try and make that happen.”
Ant added: “We’ll be there. ‘You’re doing great. You’re doing great!’”
Leigh hosted the pair on his ITV2 show Celebrity Juice, and is pals with a string of other stars.
Another Juice regular was Kelly Brook, who appeared on last year’s I’m A Celebrity. She also starred in 2012’s Keith Lemon: The Film.
Leeds-born Leigh has been married to wife Jill Carter for 24 years and has two teen girls, Dolly and Matilda.
He shot to fame on Channel 4’s Bo’ Selecta in 2002.
When that ended in 2009, he was already making Celebrity Juice for ITV2.
His other ITV work includes Through the Keyhole from 2013 to 2019, as well as The Keith Lemon Sketch Show and The Keith & Paddy Picture Show — with Paddy McGuinness.
Celebrity Juice ended four years ago, with Leigh last on our screens in 2024 as a contestant on The Great Celebrity Bake Off: Stand Up To Cancer on Channel 4.
In January, he was at Emma Bunton’s 50th birthday bash at Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire where all the other Spice Girls, minus former Celebrity Juice captain Mel B, reunited.
