LEAVING the entertainment world “never seemed like an option for me” declares Leslie Ash.
It was not a good outcome for the Men Behaving Badly star. She became disabled from walking after a terrible series of events.
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Doctors then told her she would need to use a wheelchair permanently by the time she hit 60.
However, now 61, Leslie is far from needing a wheelchair — and can even walk without her once trusty stick.
In an exclusive chat with Central Recorder as the classic sitcom nears its 30th anniversary, she says: “They said I’d be in a wheelchair by 60 because of my terrible hips and knees.
“I was only given a slight hope of recovery but because I wanted it enough I was able to achieve what I have today.
“I kept asking doctors, ‘What’s my goal? What can I aspire to?’ and they told me, ‘You’ll be able to walk with a stick but you’ll always be looking down at your feet’.
“That was my benchmark. I was determined to get past it, and I did.”
Leslie’s health problems began more than 30 years ago when she contracted the parasitic disease toxoplasmosis, two months into her pregnancy with elder son Joe.
In 2004, she was admitted to hospital with two broken ribs after an accident while having sex in public with Lee Chapman, her ex-footballer husband. After receiving treatment, she returned home but was admitted again when she felt numb in both her legs.
It was then discovered that she was infected with the bug staphylococcus aureus — and that it might have left her permanently unable to walk.
‘I’m too old to do another series – but it’d be lovely’
Leslie later sued the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and in 2008 she won a record £5million in compensation from the NHS because she had caught the antibiotic-resistant MSSA form of the infection after an epidural needle came loose.
The payout was so big — ten times higher than the previous top sum — because it was believed she would not return to active TV roles and was calculated from the loss of her future earning potential.
Leslie puts her bounce-back down to pure “mental strength” and an overwhelming desire to prove her doctors wrong — and to recapture the showbiz career that made her a household name.
The actress, who shot to fame in cult 1979 film Quadrophenia, adds: “You’re on your own really, and you have to be responsible for your own outcomes.
“If I sat down and did nothing I’d be in a wheelchair now, without a doubt. You need a lot of mental strength to keep fighting.”
Despite the odds, she made a comeback to TV in this role as Vanessa Lytton’s manager in Casualty. Later, she appeared in Doctors. And she continues to receive offers.
Most tantalisingly for Leslie’s fans, next February she will link up with Men Behaving Badly cast mates Martin Clunes, Caroline Quentin and Neil Morrissey to mark 30 years since it first aired — though any new episodes seem unlikely.
Neil, who played Leslie’s character Debs’s love interest, Tony Smart, told earlier this year how he was badgering show creator Simon Nye to come up with a script.
He said: “If there’s a script and if the script is good . . . Martin and I and Leslie have all said of course we’ll do it.”
But while Leslie confirms the group are getting back together, she fears a new show might be a stretch too far for her. She says: “There are talks about a reunion. I don’t think we’ll get together to do another episode or series. I’m too old for that, even though it would be lovely.”
Later this month she starts work on Twelve, a short film about a recovery group session for people with eating disorders, which has been written alongside NHS professionals.
Duncan James, a member of the pop band Blue, will appear with her. The 43-year-old singer has previously spoken about his heartbreak over being unable to help his friend, reality TV’s Nikki Grahame, who died this year aged just 38 after a long battle with anorexia. Leslie says: “It will be quite strange to be with Duncan but it will be fantastic too. I’m sure I’ll be the envy of a lot of women, getting the chance to spend time with him.”
The film is produced by Dr Parvinder Shergill, who also plays the lead character, a south Asian girl who struggles to admit to her eating disorder due to her family.
Leslie claims that the drama is unique because it is supported by medical professionals. It also shows what happens to someone who has been diagnosed with an eating disorder.
She adds that she has been “lucky” to have never battled an eating disorder, but she saw many young women struggle with such conditions when she was younger.
She says: “I came across models who were told by their agents that they had to lose weight or not get any work. It was the same with me at Italia Conti performing art school. There were two girls in my class that were slightly overweight, but were amazing ballerinas.
“They were told they couldn’t carry on unless they lost weight and so many of them got tablets from the doctors — I think they were amphetamines — to suppress their appetites.
‘The pills were just numbing my brain’
“Others would make themselves sick and they didn’t look well. The girls I saw had terrible problems with their growth, bones and skin. It was a shame.”
Addiction is an area Leslie knows about, after using antidepressants for a long time during her recovery from MSSA — which can cause a range of conditions from boils to life-threatening sepsis. She says: “They weren’t taking the pain away, they were just numbing my brain so I wouldn’t panic because I couldn’t move or walk and was pretty static.
“I had an addiction to antidepressants and after I realised they weren’t helping me I had to slowly lower my dosage. But with my GP’s help I managed to get off them.
“I didn’t like being hooked on them because I didn’t feel like I could make my own decisions.”
Her independence was vital for Leslie, who had had to deal with adverse comments after she had lip-plumping surgery aged 40 that went horribly wrong and led to her mouth being cruelly labelled a “trout pout”.
Then in 2016 she amazed viewers when she was first filmed walking without a cane on TV’s Loose Women.
To keep her feet on the ground, she must train hard.
To keep her core and muscles strong, she must exercise four times per week. This is the only way she can prevent mobility from declining.
Leslie was also threatened by another threat to her recovery when the nation was put into lockdown in March 2013.
She says: “During lockdown I couldn’t get to the gym and saw a lot of my muscles disappear and deteriorate.
“I lost a lot of my strength and had lower back problems, which made it very difficult for me to walk.
“I have to keep my muscles strong to avoid being in a wheelchair.” Leslie was able continue her journey, but she still uses a walking stick when out in public to inform others about her disability.
She jokes: “It’s handy in case I have to hit anyone or push them out of the way.
‘I walk up stairs rather than take the lift’
“I’ve got balance issues and if I didn’t carry my walking stick, people would walk into me because they are too busy looking down at their phones.”
Leslie worried that her career would end because she was so focused on learning how to walk again.
She says: “It was mind-blowing when it happened. I didn’t know whether it was my age, my disability or what it was that stopped me from working.
“I couldn’t quite put my finger on what happened and at the time I thought, ‘Oh God, that’s the end of my career’.
“I had never thought about it before because I believed it would go on for ever.
I’d worked so hard setting it up over the years, from a very young age. It was 17 years of wondering if I’d get my career back at all.”
Despite her incredible recovery, Leslie is aware that mobility issues could cause her problems in future.
In April the mum of two became a grandma for the first time, to Lucas — the child of her elder son Joe and his partner Farah — but she worries that she may not be able to keep up with him as he develops.
She says: “At the moment it’s quiet, but in future I will need to think about things, as with my two boys I had to run after them continuously.
“Lucas hasn’t started walking or even crawling yet, so I’m OK playing with him on the floor for now.”
Leslie’s battle continues but her determination remains unwavering, as highlighted by her perseverance in learning to walk again.
She says: “Back then I knew if I could recover, I was going to recover, and even now I’ll always walk up the stairs rather than take the lift.
“As long as I can walk without a stick and without looking at my feet, I know I’m doing just fine.”
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