Bo Selecta! – Series 1 [DVD] [2002]

Featuring Avid Merrion as the Scandinavian stalker/host and sketches in which he plays the parts of pop stars like Craig David and Britney Spears in lurid, latex masks, Bo’ Selecta! is a brilliantly surreal take on celebrity culture,
This first series (originally broadcast in 2002) features a number of cameos and guest appearances from minor celebs : Boyzone’s Keith Duffy, Davina McCall, Vanessa Feltz and the hapless Christine Hamilton, one of numerous guests to be interviewed by a puppet bear played by Merrion whose feverish line of questioning invariably results in him sprouting a little erection,

Another character is hauled up in a neckbrace (following an altercation with Lisa Tarbuck), but Merrion’s innocent broken English can’t conceal the fact that he’s a psychotic sex maniac who explicitly lusts after celebs who “make me do a sex wee”, keeps Craig from Big Brother locked in a cupboard and his dead mother in a wardrobe,

Merrion’s pop spoofs are also masterly : rather than mimic the stars, he reinvents them–Mel B and Britney Spears–as farting, hairy-chested Northerners, slobbing out on fry-up breakfasts washed down with lager and, most improbably, Michael Jackson as a cussing, jive-talking black dude à la Huggy Bear,
Bo’ Selecta! doesn’t so much satirise celebrities as debase them, exposing their humiliating none-dimensionality by drawing them into a vortex of vulgar absurdity, not unlike Vic Reeves’ Shooting Stars,
Of course, they play along–they’re on television,
Although initially off-putting to some, once you get into Bo’ Selecta! there is, as for Big Brother‘s Craig, no escape,

On the DVD : Bo’ Selecta! on disc features numerous extras, including a behind the scenes feature in which the production team discuss making the show (“like directing a squirrel on roller-skates”), deleted scenes including Gareth Gates as a Tourette’s victim, which was deemed a little beyond the pale, some unfunny bloopers and a feature on the life story of “Craig David” with Kate Thornton, including an unmissable nativity scene in which the infant Craig plays Jesus,
There’s also a commentary, with Merrion as his stalker self watching himself with consternation (It’s strange seeing yourself on TV”),
It’s a pity we don’t get to hear from the “real” Merrion,
—David Stubbs

• Actor:Leigh Francis
• Actor:Patsy Kensit
• Actor:Craig Phillips
• Actor:Caroline Flack
• Actor:Michelle Heaton
• AudienceRating:Suitable for 15 years and over
• Binding:DVD
• Creator:Leigh Francis
• Creator:Patsy Kensit
• EAN:5014138070144
• EANList:
• Format:PAL
• Label:2 Entertain Video
• Languages:
• ListPrice:
• Manufacturer:2 Entertain Video
• NumberOfDiscs:1
• NumberOfItems:1
• PackageDimensions:
• PackageQuantity:1
• ProductGroup:DVD
• ProductTypeName:ABIS_DVD
• Publisher:2 Entertain Video
• RegionCode:2
• ReleaseDate:2003-06-16
• SKU:U5014138070144
• Studio:2 Entertain Video
• Title:Bo Selecta! – Series 1 [DVD] [2002]