Avid Merrion First appearing on
Whatever I Want, Avid Merrion, played by
Leigh Francis, is the main
protagonist of the series. He is obsessed with celebrities and
stalks them, after he grew up to become the number one celebrity super fan in the world. Originating from the small town of Arachnipuss near
Transylvania, Avid was born to a father who was a
Dracula-
impersonating stripper. Avid lives in a flat in
London, with his dead mother, whom he keeps in the cupboard, and
Craig Phillips, winner of the first series of
Big Brother UK, whom he keeps chained up in the toilet. With his slurred and broken English, a ginger
mullet,
eccentricity,
bisexuality, peculiar
sexual fetishes, poor social skills and obsession with showbiz figures, he became known as one of the scariest celebrity stalkers. He wears a
neck brace which he says is due to an encounter with
Liza Tarbuck. He spends most of his time harassing celebrities at functions such as
book signings or film
premières, highlights of which are shown throughout the first two series. Due to his nature, he became noticed by the media during the third series of
Big Brother, after he repeatedly attempted to break into the house to get closer to the house mates. By the third series of this show, his newly elevated status in pop culture allowed him to talk one-on-one with celebrities, rather than stalking them. His segments in the series were transformed into his own
chat show. In
Bo! in the USA, Avid has given up his job as a chat show host, and now owns a hotel in
Los Angeles, where many celebrities come to stay.
Craig David Craig David is one of the main ''Bo' Selecta
characters. His catchphrases are "Proper Reet Bo" and "Proper Bo, I tell thee!". He is portrayed as having a very large chin, with a beard made with a pen. Craig has a very strong Yorkshire accent. He is known for always singing his name. He carries around a plastic peregrine falcon on his wrist named "Kes", possibly as a reference to the film of the same name. Kes was apparently bought off a man in Huddersfield who had a dog with one leg. He calls Kes a "bastard", often when calling her to return. Craig also wears a beanie hat, and his iconic headphones from his Born to Do It'' album cover. In the first series, a segment entitled "Craig David's Life Story" is featured, showing events such as David visiting the doctor to be fitted with a
urostomy bag (which he often fails to wear at night and wets the bed), and attempting to break the American market but catches a flight to
Mallorca by accident. For the second series, each episode segment follows him on his nationwide UK tour alongside his band (who hate him), in which he meets
Michael Jackson, goes dating, goes for a walk, meets the real Craig David (depicted as an impersonator), and performs in front of a live audience. In the third series, he attempts to break America again with his new single "Soda Pop", which fails to chart. Along the way, he makes a music video and gets himself a makeover from
Mel B. He appeared in
Bo! in the USA, in a weekly segment in which he tries to seduce
Holly Valance and earn himself a bronze swimming award. As time went on, Craig's fall from fame was chronicled as he started making appearances on shopping channels and in ''Cha'mone Mo'Fo' Selecta
he was reduced to working in a call centre. Leigh Francis stated in an interview with Metro that the character was based on Billy Casper from Kes'', rather than the singer Craig David.
Mel B Mel B is portrayed as a drunk, scary, and dirty old woman. She has white skin, red hair, and a massive nose. She speaks in a northern accent, which is apparent when she says the word "fuck" like "fook", and wears a leopard-print top, revealing a disturbingly hairy chest. Her best known catchphrase is "yer bastard ya!", whilst often making remarks regarding lesbian sex and her
minge, which she describes as smelling like
crab paste. In the first series, she features in a segment in which she promotes her new book, which discusses the split of the
Spice Girls and her love for her stuffed tiger. In the second series, she becomes a non-weekly character, only appearing three times during the series, appearing in segments when she goes on holiday, shows us her
"Crib" and talks about
Girls Aloud. In the third series, she becomes a regular character again, and appears in a segment entitled "The Odd Couple". The segment shows her living with singer and actress
Patsy Kensit, whom she is always trying to seduce and with whom she eventually has a drunken one night stand in the final episode. On the music video for Avid Merrion's cover for
I Got You Babe (which also starred Patsy Kensit), Mel's father was revealed to be
Jim Bowen. She also appears in
Bo! in the USA, however, as a non-regular character. The real Mel B appeared a few times during the series.
Michael Jackson Michael Jackson is portrayed as a vulgar mentally ill patient, usually beginning his segment by shouting "Cha'mone mother fucker!", which is a reference to the word "
shamone" that Jackson often used in his music, pronouncing most words with an "ay" at the end, and always wearing the trademark rhinestone glove. In series one, his segment was titled "The Jacksons", which featured Michael showing the viewer around his family home, and having an ongoing feud with The Osbournes. In series two, a segment entitled "Michael Jackass" was premièred, which showed Jackson doing dangerous tasks such as wakeboarding drunk, diving in an aquarium tank covered in fish, ice skating naked, diving into a pool with his arms and legs tied up, and skydiving. In the third series, Jackson's segment was entitled "Doin' Porridge", a parody of the TV series
Porridge. The segment followed his nine weeks of being in jail (the real Michael Jackson was due to face
trial at the time) with his comedy hero
Ronnay Barkay. He also appeared in
Bo! in the USA, appearing in a renewed version of "Michael Jackass". The character featured in his own special,
Chamone Mo Fo Selecta, following his real-life death in 2009.
David Blaine David Blaine is portrayed as a sex-obsessed
street magician doubling as a
pickup artist. Throughout the first two series, Blaine was featured in a self-titled segment, which saw himself perform tricks against unsuspecting female members of the public. However, during the trick, he is seen
groping them for "close contact". In series two, each trick would involve one piece of the woman's underwear being removed from their body and worn by Blaine. After the trick, he tells the person that if they want their underwear back, they would have to "get a room" with him. In one of his magic tricks (referencing his "Frozen in Time" stunt), he masturbates in front of the audience while being encased in ice. He didn't appear in series three or in
Bo! in the USA.
The Osbournes Many of the
Osbourne family are parodied on ''
Bo' Selecta''. They have also appeared on the show as themselves, usually while being stalked by
Avid.
Ozzy is shown to have very long arms, which are constantly moving in front of his body. He is shown to be always mumbling, which makes it impossible to understand what he is saying, apart from the
swear bleeps during his sentence. He sometimes shouts "Sharon!" while he is speaking.
Sharon is shown to speak in a high-pitched calm voice, quite opposite to what she is like in real life. She is either always sweeping the floor with a brush, or searching for food, a reference to her real life
bulimia, though is obsessed with her dogs and often is portrayed as eating their bowel movements.
Kelly is the most core character of The Osbournes. She is portrayed as having something of a split personality, moving suddenly from being upbeat and friendly (despite using the word "douchebag" constantly) to loudly swearing and being extremely hostile and violent. This switch in her personality is marked by a shift in accent from a stereotypical "Valley girl" speech pattern to a hard-edged
Cockney accent (a parody of Osbourne's real-life Mid-Atlantic accent). Throughout series one, she regularly appeared in "The Week In Bits" segment, often meeting other celebrities or talking about her private life. In series two, she has her own segment, entitled "The Kelly Osbourne Show", in which she goes shopping, gets a haircut, slags off other celebrities, or does an advice call-in.
Jack was not featured in the first series, though briefly appeared in series two during The Kelly Osbourne Show and once during Craig David's tour, though he was portrayed as a slow moronic child like adult. In series three, his face and hair is drastically increased and he gains a Yorkshire accent in his own show "Jack Off" in which he interviews several people. His catchphrase was "Brown Bread!".
The Bear The Bear, played by
Leigh Francis with a
puppet body, is also one of the main protagonists of the series. During series one, the bear's segment, entitled "Showbiz Chat", featured a regular celebrity guest chatting to The Bear, in a location which is only described as "up a tree, on
Hampstead Heath". In series two, the segment was upgraded, and entitled "Bedtime with the Bear". The segment featured a similar format, with the exception of the ending, in which the guest would read the Bear a bedtime story, which would feature themselves and other celebrities becoming involved in vulgar activities. The stories would always give the Bear an erection, which he would describe as his tail popping out. He has an extreme hatred of Stephen, a
ginger squirrel, who he often calls "a nob jockey". In series three, "A Bear's Showbiz Tail" saw The Bear go on location to interview celebrities. When Avid fails to turn up for the last episode of series three, The Bear is given hosting duties, which resulted in his own Christmas special, "A Bear's Christmas Tail", and the entire fourth series being based around his adventures. In ''
Bo' in the USA'', he once again had his own segment in which he interviews celebrities. The sketches featured The Bear alongside
Verne Troyer, who was shown to be The Bear's agent since his move to America. The Bear later appeared in the 2018 ITV2 series
Keith Lemon - Coming in America and in the video for Keith Lemon's all star charity version of "Do They Know It's Christmas" in 2020, with pop stars like Rick Astley, Emma Bunton, Pixie Lott and Matt Goss.
Ozzey Ozzey is a recurring character played by Ozzy Rezat. Ozzey was Avid Merrion's landlord. He used to make T-shirts for Avid downstairs, but after Avid got a talk show Ozzey was made part of the wardrobe department. Ozzey was a refugee who escaped to England for an unknown reason. In the first episode of series three he accidentally said it out loud and was told off by Avid. He was also made
gay in series three, leading to a sketch where Avid would say television has changed into a 'blank', which would immediately cut to an impersonation of
Blankety Blank. All the contestants would be gay celebrities, such as
Elton John,
Boy George and
George Michael. After ''Bo' Selecta!
ended and The Bear got his own show, A Bear's Tail'', Ozzey had moved in with Sue Dales and Dave Ian McCall. When Bo' Selecta! returned as a new form,
Bo! in the USA, Ozzey was not shown. ==Episodes==