Former Wag, Hollywood star & divorced TV funny man join Leigh Francis for Christmas No1 bid with huge charity single

HIS last festive single Proper Crimbo peaked at No4 in the charts when he released it 21 years ago.

And now Leigh Francis is preparing to launch another assault on the charts with a hilarious single, Christmas Pigs, with the help of some huge stars, including Hollywood actress Liv Tyler.

“We’ve got Liv, Paddy McGuinness, Paloma Faith, Louise Redknapp, and a massive star, but I can’t tell you that yet,” Leigh tells me.

“The biggest person was the fastest to text back. They replied in 20 minutes to my text.

“So Christmas Pigs and the music video that goes with it start with that person and end with Liv.

“I did the Jonathan Ross show with Liv before, and I saw her when I was hosting Liverpool’s Comic Con last month.

“I had been interviewing Zach Galligan from Gremlins, who is also on the single, and I was wearing a Gremlins jacket.

“Liv told me, ‘I can do an impression of Gizmo.’ So I recorded her doing it, and that appears on the track too.”

Leigh gave me a sneak peek of the video in Virgin Radio UK’s studios before he hosted his Drive Time slot.

From tomorrow, he will announce live on his show, daily, the other big names joining him on the single — before Christmas Pigs comes out on December 13. Aside from having a laugh with some celebrity pals, and some adorable pigs courtesy of Jodie Marsh, there is a special meaning behind the song.

Leigh lost his dad to cancer when he was just 21, and last year was told two close friends, Paul and Phil, had both been diagnosed with the disease.

And he will donate every penny from Christmas Pigs to Children With Cancer UK.

“It’s not about chart positions. I just want people to buy the song to raise some money,” Leigh explains.

“My dad died of cancer when he was 47, which is insane. With Dad, we had two years to prepare, but it was still horrible.

“Then Paul and Phil were diagnosed with cancer.

“Paul got leukemia, and when I did my tour, I went to Leeds to see him because I hadn’t been able to before since he was in hospital and there was a risk of infection.

“We had a little sneaky hug and a cry. God, it was difficult. I met Paul when I was 16, he was 19.

“He’s like the adult of us all, you know what I mean? We were just crying in front of each other. That had never happened before.

“And then Phil was diagnosed with it. But he’s all good now because he’s got the kind that he can chop out.

“We came up with the idea for the song, and it went from there.”

Along with Leigh’s famous friends, his pals came together to help out too.

One plays a trumpet and a banjo, one created the artwork, and another friend’s wife sings on the track along with Phil’s two children.

“I wrote Christmas Pigs on the train in about 30 minutes,” Leigh explained. “Then I texted everyone I knew, asking if they could sing a few lines from the song or a line from the chorus, and then we put it all together.”

Laughing, Leigh adds: “I’m not a pop star or a musician, so I didn’t really care about the quality. It’s not about the charts; it’s about spreading awareness of the charity.

“You’re better off getting on a chopper and cycling until you’ve got blisters on your bum like Paddy — that’ll raise money. But if you can spare a bit and you fancy buying it to help this charity, please do it.”

Fleur, you wanna be a snowman?

In keeping with festive fashion choices, it seems Fleur East has taken inspiration from a snowman for her latest red carpet look.

The Hits radio presenter wore this fun white dress at the National Lottery’s New Year’s Eve Big Bash at the OVO Arena in Wembley on Wednesday.

While Perrie Edwards snuggled up in a furry brown coat to keep out the cold.

I’m sure Fleur didn’t hang around too late, as she is an I’m A Celeb super-fan.

She called it “one of the best things I’ve done” when she took part in 2018.

MYLES SMITH is following in some illustrious footsteps, including Sam Fender and Adele after winning The Brit Awards’ Rising Star gong.

The Luton born singer, right, said: “It is such a surreal moment. Music has always been about connecting with people, and to see it resonate on this level is incredible.

“I’m so grateful to my team, family, and especially the fans. This is just the beginning – I’m so excited for what’s to come.”

Brat’s life, Charli

Poor Charli XCX has found out the hard way that Brat is for life, not just for summer.

She revealed she has developed nerve damage because of her erratic performances that see her jolting around on stage.

Charli said: “I have done a lot of physical damage to my body from performing, and I am often in a lot of pain when I perform.

“Genuinely, I have nerve damage in my neck from what I’ve done on stage.

“For me to give a performance that I feel is good enough, I have to physically throw myself around, and that makes me upset when I do it. It is a kind of hell hole.”

Last month, our Howell went to see Charli play her first headline show at London’s O2 Arena and thought she was absolutely phenomenal – so if Charli is in agony, she hides it well.

Charli has got some downtime now before what is gearing up to be a hectic 2025, with her album Brat expected to do incredibly well at the Grammys and the Brit Awards in the New Year.

I hope she’s got vouchers for a good physio on her Christmas list.

Blur set to roll

Alex James said Blur are considering going back out on tour after their two hugely successful shows at Wembley this summer.

He said: “I don’t think Blur will happen again for a while, but it will be a terrible shame if it never happened again.

“But I kind of like not knowing – just getting that phone call out of the blue.”

When asked about Brit-pop nemesis Oasis hitting the road again, Alex added: “We are delighted to see them back.

“They’re brothers, and to be exiled from the thing that kind of put you where you were . . . it messes up with your mojo all day long.

“Liam Gallagher is an incredibly brilliant singer; they are both rockstars.

“Whenever either one of them walks into a room, I’m like, ‘Great,’ not, ‘Oh God.’

“I don’t think I’ll go, but I’m delighted for them.”

Cheers to Travis

Travis are joining the long line of celebs who have branched out into booze.

The Scottish group, fronted by Fran Healy, have teamed up with Signature Brew to launch their first-ever lager called Raze The Bar.

The tipple is named after the latest single from their album LA Times.

“Back in the mid-Nineties, we rehearsed in a small room above the legendary Horseshoe Bar in Glasgow,” the band’s bassist Dougie Payne said.

“After rehearsals, being on the dole, we could just about scrape together the price of a pint. Sometimes we even managed one each. And that precious, delicious, and much-needed pint was always a classic lager.

“So, who could have imagined that one day we would have the opportunity to create our very own beer?

“We are honored and delighted to, in collaboration with the master brewers at Signature Brew, pay homage to the Horseshoe Bar, to the joy of a good lager, and to Glasgow with a can of Raze The Bar.”

Hair of the dog for me it is then . . .

Ellie loves to Vardy

My banging hangover yesterday came courtesy of Jamie Vardy – who, I can confirm, does indeed very much like to party.

He joined wife Becky at the launch of her and Dennis Wise’s new vodka brand SK-TL in the Art’otel in Hoxton, East London, to help pour out shots for guests.

My decision to help Dennis’ lovely wife Claire drink the enormous shot she was holding immediately after I necked mine was also not the wisest decision I’ve made on a school night.