Leigh Francis squeezed into Keith Lemon’s tight white suit for 299 episodes of Celebrity Juice, a studio panel show that treated ITV2’s post-watershed slot like a student union fancy-dress party. The format began as a quiz about that week’s tabloid titbits, but quickly mutated into elaborate humiliation games: celebrities licking custard off blindfolded strangers, phallic sculpture contests, and Holly Willoughby and Fearne Cotton enduring Lemon’s relentless sexual innuendo for twelve and ten years respectively.
Production bounced around London, starting at Riverside Studios before settling in BBC Elstree, Pinewood and finally back to Elstree, while the team-captain chair became a revolving door: after Cotton’s 2018 exit, Paddy McGuinness, Mel B, Laura Whitmore and Emily Atack all took turns being mocked for their sex lives and fashion choices.
The show’s trophy cabinet tells its own contradictory story: three consecutive Worst British TV Panel Show awards from the British Comedy Guide sat beside two TV Choice Best Entertainment wins, a 2012 National Television Award and a BAFTA for YouTube Audience Engagement. Cancellation came in June 2022, with Francis admitting ITV wanted to “try new things”; the two farewell specials in December featured the usual mix of blind-drunk celebrity guests and genital-shaped props, ending without ceremony or sentiment.
Production Details
ITV2 / 26 Seasons / 299 Episodes / 2008
Created by: Leigh Francis
Showrunner(s): Daniel Baldwin, Victoria Payne
Writer(s): Ged Parsons, Lee Stuart Evans, Will Ing
Producer(s): Leon Wilson, Chris Young
Main Cast
Leigh Francis as Keith Lemon - Host
Holly Willoughby as Self - Team Captain
Fearne Cotton as Self - Team Captain
Gino D'Acampo as Self
Rufus Hound as Self -
Nitin Kundra as Indian Keith
Paddy McGuinness as Self - Team Captain
Emily Atack as Self - Team Captain
Chris Ramsey as Self
Laura Whitmore as Self - Team Captain
Johnny Vegas as Self
Joey Essex as Self
