Leigh Francis surprises fans as he ditches his comedy alter-ego Keith Lemon for rare interview on The One Show

Leigh Francis surprised fans when he ditched his comedy alter-ego Keith Lemon during a rare interview on The One Show on Tuesday.

The comedian, 50, is best known for his boisterous, loud character and rose to success with his mischievous personality, including on hit show Celebrity Juice.

Leigh mainly goes by his alter-ego Keith Lemon in his comedy career and rarely uses his own name, with some fans admitting they hadn’t realised it wasn’t his name.

But Leigh surprised fans on Tuesday when he made a rare appearance on The One Show as himself, rather than his alter-ego Keith.

When hosts Alex Jones and Jermaine Jenas introduced him as a guest, Leigh admitted it felt strange to be using his own name.

Real name: Leigh Francis surprised fans when he ditched his comedy alter-ego Keith Lemon during a rare interview on The One Show on Tuesday

Alter-ego: The comedian, 50, is best known for his loud character Keith Lemon (pictured) and rose to success with his mischievous personality, including on hit show Celebrity Juice

He confessed: ‘Isn’t that weird? When I hear my name it’s weird.’

Fans flocked to Twitter to share their surprise that Leigh was appearing as himself for the rare TV interview.

One wrote: ‘It’s nice to see Leigh Francis as himself,’ while another admitted: ‘I had no idea there was a real Keith Lemon.’

On the show, Leigh told how he had been told not to wear a large hat, as his alter-ego Keith does, so fans could tell the difference between himself and the character. 

He said on the show: ‘Do you know what the PR person said? ‘Don’t wear a hat so they can distinguish that you’re not Keith Lemon you’re Leigh Francis’.’ 

Leigh decided to ditch his alter-ego for the interview as he was promoting his first ever UK tour My First Time, which he is doing under his own name.

But he assured fans that they will still see a fair share of his infamous characters on his tour, which is due to kick off in March next year.

Explaining how he won’t be doing the whole tour as Leigh, he said: ‘They keep talking about that, but I’m not really doing it as myself, I’m doing it as an array of characters that I’ve played over the past 21 years.’

During his appearance on The One Show, Leigh also told how his alter-ego Keith Lemon came into being, admitting he took the name from his childhood friend.

He told how he is still friends with the real Keith Lemon now, and said his friend has to carry around a photograph of him so people don’t think he is the comedian.  

‘I had no idea there was a real Keith Lemon!’: Fans flocked to Twitter to share their surprise that Leigh was appearing as himself for the rare TV interview 

Differences: Leigh told how he had been told not to wear a large hat, as his alter-ego Keith does (pictured), so fans could tell the difference between himself and the character

Ending: Back in December, Leigh appeared on Celebrity Juice for the last time as the comedic Keith Lemon (pictured on the show) as he bid farewell to the panel show after 14 years on air

Back in December, Leigh appeared on Celebrity Juice for the last time as the comedic Keith Lemon as he bid farewell to the panel show after 14 years on air.

He emotionally wiped his eyes on the final episode, titled Celebrity Juice: The Happy Ending, as the show came to an end after an impressive 26-series run.

He was joined by team captains Laura Whitmore and Emily Atack for the final episode, along with former captains Holly Willoughby and Fearne Cotton – who starred on the show at its 2008 launch.

Guests Will Mellor, Joey Essex, Big Narstie, Chris Ramsey and Joe Swash also appeared in the studio for the momentous occasion.

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