Leigh Francis' Bo Selecta sketches might be back on the telly despite the comedian being slammed for his impersonations.
The Celebrity Juice star, aka Keith Lemon, 49, shot to fame on the Channel 4 show 13 years ago with his impressions of stars including Craig David and chat show host Trisha Goddard.
Craig, 41, - who was depicted with a huge latex head, walking around with a colostomy bag - later accused the comic of 'bullying'.
But Leigh is now said to have made a pilot featuring some of Bo Selecta's characters, including Avid Merrion - who he played - and the Bear, whose 'tail' would pop out when he got excited.
“Avid Merrion is wandering around somewhere," Leigh confirmed.
"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," reports The Sun.
Craig recently opened up about how Bo Selecta affected him, accusing Leigh of 'bullying' and calling out Francis' dressing up and 'blackface' makeup as "racist".
He told The Times : “He was highlighting characteristics he felt would trigger us personally.
“It felt like a vendetta and, when it got a following, it became something that affected me.
“People would shout at me on the street and I felt the same feeling I had when I was bullied at school. Leigh Francis had normalised bullying by making it comedy."
Speaking about his beef with the singer, Leigh told The Sun: “I wish he wasn’t upset . . . we hugged it out and everything was all nice, so I don’t know.”
All 4 removed Bo Selecta episodes in 2020 following a backlash from celebrities, who Leigh parodied using exaggerated latex masks.
When Black Lives Matter protests took hold in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd, the comedian apologised for his previous behaviour - including the black masks he wore on the show.
However, Craig doubts the apology was sincere saying anyone can say sorry "on the back foot" adding Leigh hadn't used his platform to talk about the effects of bullying or racism.
Trisha is also said to have called Leigh out before he offered her a private apology.
She told The Sun : "It emboldened a lot of casual racism toward myself and others you parodied with big lips and noses."
Before it was removed from All 4, the description of Bo Selecta read: "A rubber-masked Leigh Francis impersonates (and stalks) celebrities with maniacal vigour."
A spokesperson for Channel 4 told Mirror Online at the time: "We support Leigh in his decision to reflect on Bo Selecta in light of recent events and we've agreed with him to remove the show from the All 4 archive."
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