John Leslie
- Profession: Former TV Presenter
- Place/Date of Birth: Edinburgh, Scotland, 22 February 2020
John Leslie set to be cleared - 19/05/03
John Leslie is set to be cleared of the sex assault charges after being named as the man who allegedly date raped Ulrika Jonsson.
The accusations started when Ulrika said she was date-raped ten years ago when she was on TV-AM. Rumours started circulating over who her attacker was - and Matthew Wright named John Leslie live on air on Channel Five’s The Wright Stuff. At the same time other women made serious allegations against John Leslie, and it was these that Scotland Yard were investigating.
John has consistently denied the accusations, and Ulrika has never publicly named her assailant. The Crown Prosecution Service is to announce next week that there is not enough evidence to bring criminal charges against him. A police file has now been sent to the CPS and Leslie is on "indefinite" bail awaiting its decision. T
he decision could result in John Leslie launching legal action against Channel Five, which could mean compensation claims of £3m should he sue. It has been said that when he is cleared he will leave the UK. His friends say the ordeal has tormented him and he will quit the UK for a career in the US.
John Leslie has been arrested - 05/12/02
Edinburgh born John Leslie has been arrested over allegations of rape and indecent assault.
He was released on bail after officers at London’s Belgravia police station quizzed the star for several hours. The Metropolitan Police said three women had made complaints, understood to be one of rape and two of indecent assault.
A statement issued by Mr Leslie’s solicitors said the presenter denied all of the allegations against him. It said: "We can confirm that Mr Leslie attended voluntarily at a London police station and for the first time, after some weeks of media speculation, was provided with details of certain allegations which have been made. "He strenuously denies all these allegations and intends to continue to do so, but he will assist the police with their enquiries. " At this time, Mr Leslie has not been charged with any criminal offence."
John Leslie is sacked by Granada - 30/10/02
Granda has terminated Jonh Leslie’s contract for This Morning after he failed to respond to recent allegations about his private life.
There had been increasing speculation about the presenter’s future following the sexual allegations about his off-screen conduct. The decision comes on the day a fourth woman came forward to make an official police complaint against the presenter.
Leslie’s Coke shame - 28/10/02
The TV career of shamed presenter John Leslie, now seems dead and buried.
The Sunday papers went to town, with amazing pictures of the star snorting Cocaine through a £20 note. It has also been reported that up to 15 women have made a statement either to the press or police about his questionable sexual antics.
’Channel Five gaffe results in naming TV Presenter’ - 24/10/02
Edinburgh born TV presenter John Leslie has been inadvertently named by Channel Five as the man at the centre of Ulrika Jonsson’s rape allegations.
The former Blue Peter presenter’s name ’slipped out’ when Matthew Wright from The Wright Stuff was reviewing the daily newspapers yesterday morning live on air. Matthew Wright quickly refuted this statement and a spokeswoman for Channel Five has said ’’it was not the intention of The Wright Stuff to name anyone in connection with this story."
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He spent his early years in the choir and studied music on leaving school - culminating in a stint as a DJ in Copenhagen. But he really wanted to be on television - so used his time to send demo tapes of himself to nearly every regional net work in the hope of getting a break. He finally did on Yorkshire TV to host their all night pop show - The Music Box.
On the move to television he dropped his last name ’Stott’ as he was told that many people might have a problem pronouncing it - so became simply John Leslie. In 1989 he achieved national recognition - at least by the nations children, as he became the first Scottish presenter to join Blue Peter. Four years here saw him on the way to other shows such as Survivor and The Wheel of Fortune - and he finally landed the best daytime television job of all - co-hosting This Morning with Fern Britton on ITV.
John Leslie was the fiancé of Catherine Zeta Jones for a year and since then he has yet to meet the right woman. He has once said - "If I hadn’t got into television and was still living in Edinburgh I would probably be married by now but I don’t know if it would be to the right person"
April 2007