Keith Lemon used to go into shops and pretend he worked there.
The 46-year-old funny man – portrayed by Leigh Francis – kicked off his career in comedy by waltzing into stores such as the electrical company Dixons with a makeshift uniform and badge he’d made at home and filmed himself advising customers until staff realised he wasn’t actually employed to work there.
Speaking on next episode of Yahoo’s White Wine Question Time podcast, hosted by Kate Thornton, he said: "I worked at Dixons. I made the uniform that they wear. They wore a blue shirt and I’m pretty handy at doing graphic design, so I made a little badge with my name on. And then I went into Dixons to see how long I could work in Dixons before they realised I don’t work at Dixons."
Despite his ability to make people laugh, Keith is regularly told he resembles Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall and, although it’s meant as an insult, he loves it.
He explained: "People now actually say it’s as a slur to me, ‘Keith, you’re starting to look like Mick Hucknall’. And I go ‘Thanks – you mean in the ’90s?’ I thought he was really cool Mick Hucknall – I did want to be like him.
"He looks like an old tomato with a ginger wig. But I know that’s where I’m going to go. I know that’s what I’m going to look like when I’m his age!"
But, in the meantime, Keith is trying to embrace his ginger locks.
He said: "It doesn’t matter what colour your hair is, it’s only hair and I don’t care. People that are brutalised for the colour… they’ve just got to learn not to care and then they won’t get grief."
Keith Lemon pretended to work in shops
