New ITV show for Keith Lemon and Paddy McGuinness

Making movie spoofs

Keith Lemon and Paddy McGuinness are making a movie spoof sketch show for ITV, Chortle can reveal.

The Keith and Paddy Picture Show will feature the pair and celebrity guests paying affectionate tribute to a famous film each week.

Airing on Saturday nights next year, the five 30-minute episodes will mix film parodies and behind-the-scenes mockumentary footage.

In character as Lemon, creator Leigh Francis said: 'I'm so super excited to be working with one of my best pals Paddy McGuinness. Paddy and I spoke about doing this years ago, and the dream is finally becoming a reality.

'I've stopped eating bread, to make it easier for Paddy to do “the lift” when we recreate Dirty Dancing. I'm also excited to be eaten by a shark and be punched in't face by the Italian Stallion that is actually from Bolton. Word!'

McGuinness added: 'Keith and I have been mates for a long time. We’re both self-confessed movie nuts so paying tribute to some of the most iconic movie scenes of all time is going to be a lot of fun!

'I’ve told him he’ll have to play most of the female roles though – he's got long hair and it'll save us a few quid on wigs!'

The commission follows a successful, non-broadcast pilot earlier this year, which co-starred Kelly Brook, and the 2015 special Keith Lemon's Back T'Future Tribute.

The new series is spin-off of the regular 'Keith and Paddy's Film Bit' segment on The Keith Lemon Sketch Show, which attracts an average 1.1million viewers per episode to ITV2 but is 'on pause' for the movie spoof series.

One film presumably not receiving homage will be Keith Lemon: The Film. Savaged by critics, the 2012 picture, which also co-starred Brook, has the distinction of a 0 per cent rating on aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes, though Francis has said that a sequel script has been written.

The Keith and Paddy Picture Show is written by Francis and McGuinness with Francis's regular collaborators Dan Johnston and Jamie Deeks, who also produce and direct.

Ordered by ITV's commissioning editor, comedy and entertainment, Saskia Schuster, the executive producer is Leon Wilson for Talkback. The production company already makes the Keith Lemon Sketch Show and Lemon's other ITV vehicles, panel show Celebrity Juice and Through The Keyhole, which begins its fourth series with a Christmas special next month.

Wilson said: 'Leigh Francis and Paddy McGuinness are a brilliant comic double act and Talkback are delighted to have them both on board.

'Recreating well-known, iconic movies, this part scripted comedy; part mock-doc will have something in it for everyone and is a chance for Keith and Paddy to share their love of film with the Saturday night ITV audience.'

Here is a clip of the collected Keith and Paddy’s Film Bit sketches: