Lorraine Kelly has spoken out and said she 'should have complained' about her portrayal on Bo Selecta. The TV presenter was played by actor Leigh Francis, better known as Keith Lemon, during the Channel 4 show in the 2000s.
Her comments on the programme come after Celebrity Juice host apologised for playing black people in the same series. Using masks, the white actor and presenter created exaggerated versions of Michael Jackson, Craig David and Spice Girl Mel B.
In June 2020, amid the Black Lives Matter protests in response to the killing of unarmed black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Leigh spoke out after doing a lot of "talking and learning" and said he was "deeply sorry."
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Discussing the portrayal of herself on Bo Selecta, Lorraine, who hosts her own self-titled show on ITV, told Jojo Sutherland and Bruce Devlin on the Be Honest podcast: "I didn’t complain, but I should have. To be honest I never saw it, because I didn’t watch the show. I was actually very, very upset at the portrayal of Craig David, because I adore Craig.
"He’s the kindest, loveliest man, and that absolutely destroyed his career. For a few years that did badly affect him and his career. With me, I just found it really distasteful, really horrible and I should have complained at the time, and I certainly would complain now. I think any woman would. The portrayal of everybody was actually very cruel."
While appearing on the podcast, Lorraine was also asked about her recent interaction with the Prime Minister. Earlier this week, Boris Johnson sat down for his first interview on Good Morning Britain in almost five years. As Susanna Reid, who conducted the interview live from Downing Street on Tuesday (May 3), tried to wrap up their chat, she mentioned Lorraine as her show was up next on ITV.
The presenter, 51, told him: "Lorraine [Kelly] is waiting to take up all the issues that you have brought up in this interview." But the PM muttered under his breath: "Who is Lorraine?" to which Susanna fired back: "Lorraine is a legend!" before the Scottish TV presenter herself appeared ready for her own show.
Ignoring the blunder, Lorraine praised her colleague's chat and said: "Wow! Thank you, Susanna... a masterclass in a political interview." Talking about Susanna's interview with Boris Johnson, Lorraine told Jojo and Bruce: "[The interview] was brilliant, and brilliant because she let him speak. She wasn't trying to point score. She was just trying to get to the heart of the matter.
"And it wasn't kind of two alpha males. It was a forensic, really intelligent interview. She absolutely did her homework and he was on the ropes, because he’s broad strokes, he’s not attention to detail."
Co-host Bruce then said: "You say Boris doesn’t have attention to detail, how on earth does he not know who you are?" to which Lorraine replied: "I don’t expect him to."
