Leslie Ash

In 2014, Leslie was a contestant on the BBC programme, Celebrity Masterchef.

Ash is married to former footballer Lee Chapman, and they have two sons. Her sister is former 'Hot Gossip' dancer Debbie Ash. They appeared together as sisters in Rosie Dixon – Night Nurse.

In 2009, Ash appeared on daytime TV panel programme Loose Women to discuss her new role in Holby City and her previous health problems. Leslie reappeared on Loose Women on 17 February 2012 where she discussed her new on stage tour of All the Single Ladies where she stars alongside Brooke Kinsella and Tara Flynn.

In August 2011, Ash and Chapman settled a claim against the paper and Mulcaire for an undisclosed sum and received an apology. They planned to take action against other newspapers.

In May 2008, Ash worked with Transparent Television to make a documentary about the unregulated cosmetic beauty industry whilst exploring her own experiences. The programme, Leslie Ash: Face to Face was broadcast on ITV on 23 September 2008.

Ash appeared in BBC Radio 4's comic radio series, Vent (2007), alongside Neil Pearson, Fiona Allen and Josie Lawrence.

In January 2007 Ash confirmed she was suing the hospital. Papers lodged at the High Court asserted that Ash would never return to active TV roles. The hospital admitted breach of duty over part of her treatment but denied responsibility for the extent of her injuries and in January 2008 paid out a record £5m compensation in an out-of-court settlement. Steve Walker, chief executive of the NHS Litigation Authority, said the payout set a new record for compensation following a hospital-acquired infection. The previous highest amount was £500,000. The payment was justified by the NHS compensation body as being "because of the amount Leslie was earning at the time she fell ill and takes into account how much she might have earned in the future".

Ash was hospitalised at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in April 2004 after suffering two cracked ribs, saying she fell off a table during frantic Kama Sutra sex with her husband. She was discharged after a few days, but was readmitted after losing all feeling in her legs. In June 2004 while she was still in hospital, it was announced that a Staphylococcus aureus infection might have rendered her permanently unable to walk.

In 1996, during her time on Men Behaving Badly, Leslie released a single "Tell Him" with co-star Caroline Quentin, under the name of "Quentin & Ash". It reached number 25 in the UK singles chart.

In 1987, Ash appeared in the first episode of the third series of the ITV Home to Roost. The episode was entitled Human Interest, and Ash played the role of the flamboyant cleaner, Susie Perkins.

Having appeared with her sister Debbie in the 1978 British slapstick comedy Rosie Dixon – Night Nurse; her first major film role was playing the romantic lead in Quadrophenia in 1979. In 1980, Ash appeared in the Iron Maiden music video, "Women in Uniform". In 1982 she played the role of a fast food chef in the fifth series of Shelley (TV series) entitled "When the Chip hits the Fan". In 1983, she had the starring role in The Balance of Nature (1983), a film about a Cockney girl from a tower block with aspirations to win the Miss United Kingdom competition. The same year, she played Julie Morgan, alias Juletta Shane, in Curse of the Pink Panther. In 1983, she also appeared opposite Nicky Henson as Nancy in the ITV situation comedy The Happy Apple playing a secretary whose opinions successfully reflected public opinion. She then played a regular role in crime series C.A.T.S. Eyes.

Ash was born in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, and first appeared on British television in 1964 at the age of four asking "Mummy, why are your hands so soft?" in an advertisement for the washing-up product Fairy Liquid. She was educated at the independent Italia Conti Academy stage school, and then started a career as a fashion model appearing on the cover of a number of teenager magazines, including Pink, and Jackie, for which she was photographed by David Bailey.

Leslie Ash (born 19 February 1960) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles in C.A.T.S. Eyes. (1985–1987), the BBC sitcom Men Behaving Badly (1992–1997), ITV drama Where the Heart Is (2000–2003), and BBC medical drama Holby City (2009–2010). Her book My Life Behaving Badly: The Autobiography was published in 2007.