John Leslie quizzed on rape allegation

Former Blue Peter presenter John Leslie has been arrested on suspicion of rape and released on bail.

Scotland Yard said a man in his 40s was questioned over an allegation of rape and sexual assault dating from 1995.

The former host of ITV's This Morning was acquitted in 2003 of two counts of indecent assault on a 23-year-old actress in May 1997.

Mr Leslie denied the new allegations, said to concern a party at his London home, the Sun newspaper said.

It reported the accuser was in her early 20s when she claims she was attacked.

Name outed

No charges were brought against the TV presenter, who was born in Edinburgh, following allegations arising from fellow host Ulrika Jonsson's autobiography, released in 2002.

The book itself did not name him, but he was named in an apparent mistake by another TV host, Matthew Wright.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said on Monday night of the current allegations: "Officers are investigating an allegation of rape and indecent assault on a woman dating from November 1995.

"At approximately 7pm this evening a man aged in his 40s attended a London police station by appointment and was arrested in connection with the inquiry.

"He was interviewed and bailed pending further inquiries to a date in late August."

Mr Leslie was the 18th Blue Peter presenter for four years from 1989 alongside Anthea Turner and Caron Keating.

At the same time, he was appearing in newspaper columns for his high-profile social life and a relationship with Catherine Zeta Jones, before she moved to Hollywood.

In the 1990s he worked on ITV game show Wheel of Fortune and daytime programme This Morning, taking over as co-host with Fern Britton when Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan left in 2001.

Following the allegations made against him in 2002, but later dropped, Mr Leslie lost his job on the programme.

Via bbc.co.uk