Caricaturisation On Bo' Selecta!
David was frequently caricatured by comedian Leigh Francis on the British TV comedy show Bo' Selecta!; the show's title itself being a reference to his song, "Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)". Although many other celebrities lampooned in the series appreciated the jokes and even appeared in the series themselves, David—the series' most prominently mocked target—did not enjoy the attention, remarking that the public were no longer taking him seriously. Speaking to The Sunday Times in 2007, David confessed that "The whole Bo' Selecta! thing was killing me for a while because this idiot had a cult following and I was the main caricature. Inside it was absolutely pissing me off and hurtful beyond belief. There were times when I thought I just want to knock this guy out".
Although he made an appearance himself in the programme (as the pseudo-fictional "Craig Davis"), he regretted it even as he was making it: "I didn't want people to think, 'Craig's reacting to it', because then they would think, 'How can we get up Craig's nose even more?' So I did it, but I wasn't happy about it". In 2010, he further commented on his bitterness towards Francis' impersonations of him: "What upset me was that it made people ridicule "Rewind". It should make people think about the garage scene, not some guy with a stupid rubber mask. I've got nothing to say to Leigh. He's not picking up awards or anything is he?" However, he has also denied that his career had been ruined as a result of the show, and has said that he was satisfied with his musical output over the years.
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