Crossword Genius

Champ leaves hirsute character (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

chewbacca

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'hirsute character' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I can't judge whether it can be defined by this definition.

'champ leaves' is the wordplay.
'champ' becomes 'chew' (I've seen this before).
'leaves' becomes 'bacca' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'chew'+'bacca'='CHEWBACCA'

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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