War of words over his 'limited vocabulary' when it comes to women

Keith Lemon creator Leigh Francis has hit back at presenter Melanie Sykes, after she slammed his alter-ego for the way he treats women.

In an interview with Frank magazine, the former I'm a Celebrity star said that ‘in all realms of life, most men are pretty basic and disappointing’, and said characters like Lemon did nothing to help.

‘I feel a bit sorry for British men who have adopted the limited vocabulary of the television character Keith Lemon when talking about and to women,’ she said. ‘I would be surprised, and indeed it would be a miracle, if any of these men are actually getting laid.’

Now Francis has revealed that he challenged Sykes saying: ‘I reached out to her and ask why she  idn't like me. She said, "It's not you, it's your on-screen persona".’

But that clearly didn’t stop the criticism from stinging and The Sun reports that Francis told his fans watching on Instagram Live: ‘If anyone's watching and you have a limited vocabulary, you can still win two BAFTAs and two NTAs.

‘I don't want to boast about all the things I've won,’ he added, after boasting about all the things he’s won.

Despite her criticism, Sykes did appear in a 2014 episode of Lemon’s ITV2 panel show Celebrity Juice.

Published: 13 Aug 2020