John Leslie (television presenter)
Encyclopedia
John Leslie is a Scottish
former television presenter. He has presented BBC One
's Blue Peter
and ITV
's This Morning
and the ITV gameshow Wheel of Fortune
. He was also the roving reporter for the first series of the UK version of Survivor
. He currently works as a property developer in his native Edinburgh.
, the brother of Grant Stott
. He attended Liberton High School
and James Gillespie's High School
. He spent his early years in the church choir and studied music on leaving school and worked as a DJ
in Copenhagen
. His first television work was on Yorkshire Television
when he hosted Music Box's all-night music show, Formula One, in 1989. Prior to his television career he worked as a DJ in nightclubs in Edinburgh and Newcastle.
In the move to television, Leslie dropped his last name of "Stott" while working at the Edinburgh nightclub The Amphitheatre, after being told by nightclub DJ Ray Hollis that many people might have a problem pronouncing it.
s first Scottish presenter, and also the tallest at 6'4". He was the second Blue Peter presenter to take part in the London Marathon
, following Peter Duncan
. Despite training with athlete Steve Cram
, he found the run strenuous. He finished in four hours, thirty-six minutes.
On his last show he was set John's Final Challenge which involved abseiling down BBC Television Centre
, completing a velcro and wheelbarrow obstacle course, then trampolining and conducting an orchestra in the studio.
Leslie presented Blue Peter with Caron Keating
, Yvette Fielding
, Diane-Louise Jordan
, Anthea Turner
and Tim Vincent
.
wrote in her autobiography that a television presenter had raped her at the beginning of her career when she was his junior. Amid media speculation, Matthew Wright disclosed - supposedly by accident - on his television show The Wright Stuff
, that Leslie was the alleged person. Jonsson refused to tell the public or the police whether the correct person had been named. Shortly afterwards, several other women made accusations relating to indecent assault by Leslie, who was arrested and charged with assaulting a woman twice between 25 May and 28 May 1997. He was never charged with offences against Jonsson.
The police dropped the charge against Leslie on 31 July 2003. On the court steps after his clearing, Leslie said that he had "been to hell and back" and that he had "maintained [his] innocence throughout". Leslie's career never recovered, although he and Wright did make light of the situation by appearing together in the video for Bo' Selecta's Christmas 2003 single "Proper Crimbo".
In January 2006 Leslie was interviewed for the BBC series My Childhood in which he analysed his childhood memories with psychiatrist Linda Treliving. In the programme Leslie admitted that he "had never learnt how to treat women with respect" and "never learnt how to chat up women", admitting that he abused drugs, but claiming he did so as a result of childhood trauma. Shortly afterwards in an interview with The Independent
he repeated this version of events, admitting "my behaviour was at times inappropriate".
On 23 June 2008 British media reported that Leslie had again been arrested in relation to an alleged rape that happened in November 1995. However, again no charges were brought.
.
He is a supporter of Hibernian
.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
former television presenter. He has presented BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
's Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
and ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's This Morning
This Morning (TV series)
This Morning is a British daytime television programme broadcast on ITV. As of September 2011, its main presenters are Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, with various other presenters standing in for illness or contributing to sections of the programme.The...
and the ITV gameshow Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune (UK game show)
Wheel of Fortune is a British television game show created by Merv Griffin. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes...
. He was also the roving reporter for the first series of the UK version of Survivor
Survivor (UK TV series)
Survivor in the UK was broadcast by the ITV network. It hit screens in the United Kingdom in 2001, with huge promotion and hype from tabloid newspapers. The Grand Prize was £1,000,000....
. He currently works as a property developer in his native Edinburgh.
Personal life
John Leslie Stott was born in EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, the brother of Grant Stott
Grant Stott
Grant Stott is a Scottish broadcaster from Edinburgh, and currently works as DJ on Edinburgh radio station 97.3 Forth One. Grant is the brother of former television presenter John Leslie.-Television career:...
. He attended Liberton High School
Liberton High School
Liberton High School is a secondary school in Gilmerton, in the south of Edinburgh, Scotland. The head teacher is Donald J. Macdonald.The school currently has about 750 students studying...
and James Gillespie's High School
James Gillespie's High School
James Gillespie's High School is a state secondary school in Marchmont, Edinburgh. The school is a comprehensive High School, educating pupils aged 11 to 18 years of age. It has recently celebrated its 200th anniversary, and its campus consists of primarily 1960s buildings alongside the 16th...
. He spent his early years in the church choir and studied music on leaving school and worked as a DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. His first television work was on Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
when he hosted Music Box's all-night music show, Formula One, in 1989. Prior to his television career he worked as a DJ in nightclubs in Edinburgh and Newcastle.
In the move to television, Leslie dropped his last name of "Stott" while working at the Edinburgh nightclub The Amphitheatre, after being told by nightclub DJ Ray Hollis that many people might have a problem pronouncing it.
Blue Peter
On 20 April 1989 Leslie became Blue PeterBlue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
s first Scottish presenter, and also the tallest at 6'4". He was the second Blue Peter presenter to take part in the London Marathon
London Marathon
The London Marathon is one of the biggest running events in the world, and one of the five top world marathons that make up the World Marathon Majors competition, which has a $1 million prize purse. It has been held each spring in London since 1981. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money,...
, following Peter Duncan
Peter Duncan (actor)
Peter Duncan is a British actor and television presenter, best known as a former presenter of Blue Peter and for his later family travel documentaries.-Education:...
. Despite training with athlete Steve Cram
Steve Cram
Stephen "Steve" Cram MBE is a British retired athlete. Along with fellow Britons Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, he was one of the world's dominant middle distance runners during the 1980s. Nicknamed "The Jarrow Arrow", Cram set world records in the 1500 metres, 2000 metres and the mile during a...
, he found the run strenuous. He finished in four hours, thirty-six minutes.
On his last show he was set John's Final Challenge which involved abseiling down BBC Television Centre
BBC Television Centre
BBC Television Centre at White City in West London is the headquarters of BBC Television. Officially opened on 29 June 1960, it remains one of the largest to this day; having featured over the years as backdrop to many BBC programmes, it is one of the most readily recognisable such facilities...
, completing a velcro and wheelbarrow obstacle course, then trampolining and conducting an orchestra in the studio.
Leslie presented Blue Peter with Caron Keating
Caron Keating
Caron Louisa Keating was a Northern Irish television presenter on British and Northern Irish television.-Early life and education:...
, Yvette Fielding
Yvette Fielding
Yvette Fielding is a British broadcaster, producer and actress. She is best known for being the presenter of the TV shows Blue Peter, Most Haunted and Ghosthunting With....-Early life and career:...
, Diane-Louise Jordan
Diane-Louise Jordan
Diane-Louise Jordan is a British television presenter. She was the first black presenter of the children's television programme Blue Peter, being involved in the programme from 25 January 1990 until 26 February 1996, making her its fourth longest-serving female presenter .Born in 1960, Jordan grew...
, Anthea Turner
Anthea Turner
Anthea Millicent Turner is an English television presenter and media personality.-Education:Turner was educated at the independent St. Dominic's High School in Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent....
and Tim Vincent
Tim Vincent
Tim Vincent is a Welsh actor and television presenter who was a presenter on the popular children's programme Blue Peter between 1993 and 1997...
.
Rape allegations
In October 2002 Ulrika JonssonUlrika Jonsson
Eva Ulrika Jonsson is a Swedish television presenter in the UK, who became famous as a TV-am weather presenter and moved on to present Gladiators and became a team captain of the show Shooting Stars.-Early life:...
wrote in her autobiography that a television presenter had raped her at the beginning of her career when she was his junior. Amid media speculation, Matthew Wright disclosed - supposedly by accident - on his television show The Wright Stuff
The Wright Stuff
The Wright Stuff is a British television chat show, hosted by Matthew Wright, and currently airing on Channel 5 each weekday morning from 9:15 to 11:10am....
, that Leslie was the alleged person. Jonsson refused to tell the public or the police whether the correct person had been named. Shortly afterwards, several other women made accusations relating to indecent assault by Leslie, who was arrested and charged with assaulting a woman twice between 25 May and 28 May 1997. He was never charged with offences against Jonsson.
The police dropped the charge against Leslie on 31 July 2003. On the court steps after his clearing, Leslie said that he had "been to hell and back" and that he had "maintained [his] innocence throughout". Leslie's career never recovered, although he and Wright did make light of the situation by appearing together in the video for Bo' Selecta's Christmas 2003 single "Proper Crimbo".
In January 2006 Leslie was interviewed for the BBC series My Childhood in which he analysed his childhood memories with psychiatrist Linda Treliving. In the programme Leslie admitted that he "had never learnt how to treat women with respect" and "never learnt how to chat up women", admitting that he abused drugs, but claiming he did so as a result of childhood trauma. Shortly afterwards in an interview with The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
he repeated this version of events, admitting "my behaviour was at times inappropriate".
On 23 June 2008 British media reported that Leslie had again been arrested in relation to an alleged rape that happened in November 1995. However, again no charges were brought.
Football
Leslie is also known for his affinity for football. He played in goal for the Scottish team in the Celebrity World Cup Soccer Six tournament which took place on 14 May 2006 at St. Andrew's, the home of Birmingham CityBirmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
.
He is a supporter of Hibernian
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
.