REFRESHING JUICE
Keith Lemon takes GEORGIA HUMPHREYS behind the scenes of the new look Celebrity Juice, and explains why Laura Whitmore and Emily Atack are the ideal new team captains
THE joy of Celebrity Juice is that it feels like you are watching friends chatting at a pub. There is constant banter between host Keith Lemon and the celebrity guests, plus hilariously silly games.
Ultimately, it is a fun show to have back on our screens at a time when we could all do with a good laugh.
And for the 24th series of the ITV2 panel show, there are some exciting changes; Keith, real name Leigh Francis, has two new team captains.
Each episode, the 47-year-old will be joined in the studio by Love Island presenter Laura Whitmore, 35, and actress and I’m A Celebrity star Emily Atack, 30.
The trio are mates in real life and, yes, you can expect Lemon to take the mickey out of his new co-stars – just like he did with former team captains, Holly Willoughby and Fearne Cotton.
Here, we find out more from the Leeds-born comedian himself.
What can you tell us about the new series?
WE’VE got new music, a new title sequence, two new captains, and new games every week, but it’s still Celebrity Juice as you know it.... Who knows what will unfold!
We’ve got the oldies but goldies, Don’t Show Keith Your Teeth and such, which is always a winner, and people play that at Christmas time so I’ve been told. So it’s become like a real game! We will still be celebrating Halloween on Celebrity Juice – a Halloween special.
What was your reaction to Emily and Laura joining the show?
I REMEMBER when we had the first meeting about new team captains, and I drew a picture of the three of us. I said, ‘That’s all I can think’. And then I wasn’t supposed to phone either of the girls, but I did anyway.
I said, ‘What do you think to this?’ and they both said lovely things and here we are.
What do you take the Mickey out of the team captains for – or are you going easy on them?
I DON’T think I go hard on anyone anyway. As I’ve got older, I’ve got softer I think. Emily texted me after the first record saying there was genuine love in the studio. And I was like, ‘Aww!... Love you’.
I don’t plan what I’m gonna say to people really. You gauge it, if someone’s fun and you’re taking the Mickey out of each other, you have a bit of fun with it.
You must have been sad when Holly said she was leaving the show. Do you miss her?
WELL, I know Holly in real life anyway, so I don’t miss her in that way. It’s just the end of a chapter, start of a new chapter. But I was so excited that Laura and Emily were so excited about doing it. I just thought, ‘We’re gonna be alright, they really want to do it, I wanna do it with them, it’s just going to be a different Juice’.
Horrible people online, they try and say, ‘Oh it won’t be the same’; of course it won’t be the same! It’s going to be different, and that’s why it’s going to be magical. You don’t want to try and replicate what’s happened.
What is the secret to the success of Celebrity Juice?
I THINK it is the chemistry between everyone, that’s why we got
Whitmore and Atack, because we already have chemistry. We’re mates in real life, just like it was with Holly and Fearne.
So, yeah, the secret is chemistry, and it’s real fun. It’s not laboured fun, we’re really having fun!
How weird has it been filming the show in the studio with Covid-19 regulations?
I THINK people now are just used to staying two metres away from people. You just do it without thinking, and you go, ‘Sorry, I’m not being rude’ – because you feel a little bit rude at first, not hugging people. But people do it automatically, I guess. There’s about 46 people in the audience, but they sound like 300 people.
How have you found lockdown?
I LIKE people spreading optimism, but if we’re honest, it’s just diabolical. But at least we’re all healthy, I guess.
Someone said to me, ‘How are you coping Keith?’ I said, ‘I’m taking joy out of the simple
things in life’, such as having a remote control that doesn’t have a wire leading to the TV, like we used to have when I lived at home with my mum.
Did you pick up new skills in lockdown?
I DID! I’ve just had a box of clay turn up; I’ve learned sculpting and sewing, and you can see all these treats on my YouTube channel, Keith Lemon’s Doings, in which I sit in my office and create things. That’s what I’m doing today.
My missus is like, what are you going to do with a life-size Demogorgon from [Netflix drama] Stranger Things? I don’t know!
Horrible people online... say, ‘Oh it won’t be the same’; of course it won’t be the same! It’s going to be different that’s why it’s going to be magical. Keith on Holly Willoughby and Fearne Cotton’s departures
Celebrity Juice returns to ITV2 on Thursday at 10pm