At the height of his fame, John Leslie was presenting shows such as Blue Peter, This Morning and Wheel of Fortune.
These days, his wheel of fortune looks slightly different. Using the Companies House service, we looked into his impressive property portfolio - and he’s been racking them up.
Back in 2002, his TV career came to an end after fellow host Ulrika Jonsson claimed in her autobiography that she had been raped by a well known star when she was a 19-year-old secretary, but didn’t name the attacker. Matthew Wright later incorrectly named John as the alleged rapist, and while he apologised it has already caused shockwaves.
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Leslie confirmed he would not sue Wright, saying: "I think he just made a really big mistake and unfortunately I was the one paying the price."
Other women came forward with allegations, though the case was dropped by the prosecution in 2003 and the presiding judge said he could return to his job ‘without a stain on his character’. He lost his £240,000-a-year contract job on This Morning, with ITV bosses replacing him with current host Phillip Schofield.
He started volunteering as a local radio DJ in Edinburgh, and launched a venture into property. Now, we’re looking at the array of homes he's got under his belt.
With business partner Ian Cunningham, John owns properties across the capital under the company Les & Lex limited - as well as houses in Glasgow and London.
Let’s look at the properties they’re purchased here in the city. We counted at least 16.
Parson Green Terrace
John and his company own two homes on Parsons Green Terrace. Both 23/2 and 22/5 are in their ownership.
According to Rightmove, both properties sold in December 2020 for £247,000.
Polwarth Gardens
Over on Polwarth Gardens, John’s snapped up just the one property. 76/1 on the street was sold to him again in December 2020, and went for £361,000.
Murieston Terrace
The company purchased 4/6 Murieston Terrace back in December 2020, for £313,500. Before this, it was last purchased in 2008 for £185,666.
Blair Street
In the old town, they’ve snapped up quite a few properties on Blair Street. In building 10, they’ve got flats 5, 10, 14 and 16.
In September 2020, flat 14 was purchased for £180,000 - while flat 16 was bought for £235,000.
Montrose Terrace
They’ve also got 35/4 Montrose Terrace, which was snapped up for £332,500 in December 2020.
Tron Square
Another city centre property, 9/3 Tron Square was bought by the company for £185,000 in September 2020.
James Court
This home was purchased back in September 2020, for the price of £185,000. Before this, 11/6 James Court was bought for £106,666 in June 2005.
Rocheid Park
Back in 2018, this property at 5/3 Rocheid Park was bought for £390,000.
Liddesdale Place
Over in Stockbridge, 2/4 Liddesdale Place was bought for £175,000 by the company - previously sold for £87,287 in 2003.
Hawthornbank Lane
In the Dean Village area, they also own 23/2 Hawthornbank Lane - which was purchased for £200,000 back in April 2018.
Damside
Another Dean Village property, 6/2 Damside joined their portfolio for £200,000 - also in April 2018.
Gillespie Crescent
Another purchase from April 2018, 40 Gillespie Crescent went for £425,000.
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