ITV reality series Shopping with Keith Lemon, helmed by the hit comedian, has been quietly cancelled after five years and four seasons.
The ITVX and ITV2 show, which first aired in 2019, saw Leigh Francis’ character ‘hit the high street’ with celebrity guests, as the title suggests.
As the famous faces divulge the latest gossip in their lives, Keith, 51, ‘gets under the skin of their classic shopping habit’.
Previous guests have included Caitlyn Jenner, Spice Girls’ Emma Bunton, TV personality Sharon Osbourne, singer Becky Hill and Olly Murs to name a few.
Leigh’s alter-ego has been a huge success in the British comedy landscape since he launched the character back in 2008, and the first season of Shopping with Keith Lemon proved a triumph, pulling in 1.5 million viewers.
But instead of returning for a fifth season, the channel is understood to simply be running repeat episodes this summer.
This latest cancellation is another blow to Keith’s TV presence.
This April, Leigh addressed the cancellation of The Keith and Paddy Show (with fellow comedian Paddy McGuinness) back in 2019, saying he ‘quit comedy’.
‘The next thing I pitch won’t be comedy, it’s too difficult to get away, someone like me who is on the edge. The next thing I do will be a straight thing,’ he said on Instagram live.
And at the end of 2022, his comedy panel show Celebrity Juice came to an emotional conclusion after 14 years.
He previously spoke about getting emotional while filming the finale.
‘It’s a lot of fun and I got a bit emotional at the end. I don’t think that bit is in. I was in like some kind of emotional bubble,’ the legendary comic said about the finale at the time.
Although he is yet to address the axing of Shopping with Keith Lemon, the show has had an impact on Leigh after featuring some memorable guests and shocking moments.
While filming an episode with Drag Race queen The Vivienne he witnessed the drag artist get harassed by shoppers as they browsed the aisles.
‘A couple of people came up to her and said, “Drag acts should be banned, it’s demeaning to women, read the Bible.”,’ he recalled last year.
‘I felt embarrassed. I felt like it was my fault.’
Leigh first rose to fame with his controversial sketch series Bo’Selecta! which ran for three seasons from 2002 to 2004 and has been previously described as ‘racist’ for his portrayal of Black celebrities such as Craig David.
After the Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum around 2021, Leigh apologised saying he ‘didn’t realise how offensive it was back then’.
Despite the Shopping series getting the chop, The TV personality is still booked and busy, having recently wrapped up his My First Time UK tour and is looking toward the release of his autobiography, Leigh, Myself and I in September.
Metro.co.uk has reached out to Leigh Francis and ITV for comment.
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