John Leslie appears in court charged with sexual assault

John Leslie appears in court charged with sexual assault

The former Blue Peter star is accused of committing the offence in Westminster in December 2008, when the complainant was aged 30.

Former TV presenter John Leslie leaving Westminster Magistrates' Court after appearing charged with sexually assaulting a woman more than a decade ago
Image: Former TV presenter John Leslie outside Westminster Magistrates' Court
TV presenter John Leslie has appeared in court charged with sexually assaulting a woman in London more than a decade ago.
The former Blue Peter star is accused of committing the offence in Westminster in December 2008, when the complainant was aged 30.
He appeared in the dock at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday wearing a grey suit and a striped tie.
The 54-year-old denied the offence and chose to be tried by a jury at a crown court, despite the offence being deemed appropriate to be decided by a district judge.
The case was adjourned to be next heard at Southwark Crown Court on 22 August.
Leslie, whose real name is John Stott, joined Blue Peter in 1989 and presented the show until 1994.
He is also known for a three-year stint on ITV's This Morning, running from 1999 to 2002, and appeared on the game shows Wheel Of Fortune and Survivor during the same period.
Between 2012 and 2016, Leslie had short stints as a radio DJ in Scotland with Castle FM and Bauer Radio.