Daniel Evans: Circling the latest celebrity scandal
In 2003, Leslie was dodging tabloid bullets daily. Following a book by Ulrika Jonsson and comments from loose-lipped TV host Matthew Wright, a number of women sold stories about Leslie's alleged bad behaviour as a London socialite.
The media were salivating as they circled the latest celebrity scandal. But of all the lurid accusations reported by a feverish press, only one – for a minor sexual assault – ever came to court. That was thrown out before it even started.
Many will remember Leslie's tearful speech outside court with a fresh-faced nurse called Abi Titmuss by his side. He said he had "been to hell and back". It's debatable whether he ever got "back".
Leslie hasn't had a job on TV since. He went from being the prince of daytime, to the pauper who side-stepped the gallows.
He was catapulted into small screen oblivion and six years on, still hasn't recovered. Anyone would be forgiven for thinking he had been convicted and been languishing behind bars ever since. In this country you are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. The reality when it comes to someone accused of a sexual offence can be guilty, even if proven innocent.
Now, this is largely down to the media, especially when it comes to celebrities. And for a crime reporter like me to call for a change in the law so the accused has anonymity until found guilty, would be shooting myself in the proverbial. But that is what I believe.
"Juicy" front-page stories would be relegated to the news in brief columns, with not only an anonymous victim, but an unnamed suspect. I can picture the look on the editor's face when I return from court to tell him what man A did to woman B in Anonymous Street, Mysteryville. But here is a man who had his life ruined by allegations that were never proven.
If the law had prevented the media from naming and shaming him he could have carried on as normal. The kiss-and-tell – the national tabloids' staple – would become unusable until someone is found guilty.
Leslie is not the only one to suffer trial by media, and he won't be the last. Last year, Ben Freeman, who played Scott Windsor in Emmerdale, was cleared of raping a 16-year-old girl while on holiday. Who knows when he will be back on our screens?
Yes, there is a flaw with anonymity for suspects. Without the fear of a trial being publicised until it finishes, people will be less likely to plead guilty.
In the meantime, with the bumper sales of a celebrity scandal outweighing the cost of that star suing a newspaper, the regular free-for-alls will continue.
And would I still report a sex case involving someone well-known from Bristol? Of course I would… but with a pang of sympathy.
Daniel Evans is the Evening Post's crime correspondent
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