Keith Lemon reflects on 25th series of Celebrity Juice: ‘I won’t ever leave’
By Kerri-Ann Roper, PA Entertainment Editor
TV star Keith Lemon has said he feels “humbled and lucky” to be a part of Celebrity Juice as the show celebrates its 25th series.
The comedy panel series was first broadcast in 2008 and has recently returned to ITV2.
Lemon, whose real name is Leigh Francis, told PA news agency: “It’s made a dent in television. And to be part of it, I feel very humbled and lucky.
“Now and again, people will go, ‘How long do you think it’ll go on for?’ and I won’t ever leave I don’t think.
“I know when we had Holly (Willoughby) and Fearne (Cotton) we all said if one of us goes we’ll all go, and I couldn’t go because it’s so much fun. It’s not a job.
“You go in and you get tired having loads of fun, afterwards. And I always think if I’m not tired, I haven’t done my job. But it’s so fun and it’s not a job.
“So you can’t go, ‘I’m not doing that any more’. There’s no point in quitting unless you know, you’re so busy and (say) I want to go in a new direction as Holly and Fearne did.
“Holly (is) very busy, and you know, got to put time aside for her family. And Fearne I think just wanted to go in a different direction. They grew up and I didn’t.”
Cotton was a team caption on Celebrity Juice from 2008 to 2018 but quit to pursue other projects.
Last year This Morning presenter Willoughby announced she was leaving her team captain role after 12 years, saying: “It’s never felt like work and always been to me like a night out.”
New mum and Love Island host Laura Whitmore and The Inbetweeners’ Emily Atack are the current team captains.
Atack said: “It’s so rare to have a job where it’s going to work with all of your friends and everybody just has such a fun time. I think jobs like that, you have to really kind of appreciate them and hold on to them for as long as possible because it’s so rare.
“Telly can be a really kind of bleak place sometimes, you know, with not knowing what job you want to do next and all this kind of stuff.”
Maya Jama also recently joined the series as a regular panellist.
Celebrity Juice airs on ITV2 every Thursday at 10pm.
