Men Behaving Badly’s Leslie Ash admits you ‘couldn’t make’ sitcom in today’s cancel culture as she gives health update
MEN Behaving Badly star Leslie Ash admitted the hit sitcom “probably couldn’t be made” in current times due to the climate of cancel culture as she gave a key update on her health.
She appeared on ITV daytime show Good Morning Britain on the 20th anniversary of her contracting MRSA while in hospital, with anchor Richard Madeley, 67, telling the actress she “looked great.”
Leslie, 64, who played actor Neil Morrissey‘s character’s love interest Debs, also admitted she felt “good” following her health ordeal which saw medics forecast she would be confined to a wheelchair aged 60.
The GMB chat turned the focus to the sitcom which saw her rocket to fame.
Men Behaving Badly kicked off on ITV from 1992 before switching to the BBC to run between 1994 and 1998.
Leslie today admitted telly bosses “probably couldn’t make” the bawdy comedy in today’s cancel culture before giving a key update on her health.
The Henley-on-Thames-born star addressed the long-running show which spanned six series as Richard suggested the programme would be questionable in current times.
Leslie then replied: “You probably couldn’t make it today.
“It is good to re-watch. People should learn where we come from.
“It’s different but it’s so funny.”
She added: “It’s a shame [it couldn’t be made now.]
“It’s of our time. But men were like that in those days, I am sorry to say!” before Richard swiftly interjected: “They still are!”
Cancel culture
Essentially, cancel culture is when people are ‘cancelled’ when they say or do something offensive.
This then prompts a boycott of the individual’s work.
Dictionary.com defines cancel culture as the “popular practice of withdrawing support for (cancelling) public figures and companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive”.
Leslie told how the “smutty” behaviour of the two male protagonists might mean the sitcom fell foul of it.
Talking of the hit programme recently, she told us: “I hit the jackpot with Quadrophenia and Men Behaving Badly.
“I love seeing Men Behaving Badly on Gold or the BBC. People say they are big fans. It was such fun — like being back at school.
“Neil was such a funny person to work with — they all were. The four of us were laughing all the time and taking the p*** out of people.
“It was like being in a band. We used to get really young fans in the audience. And it’s nice when someone comes up and says, ‘It’s Deborah from Men Behaving Badly.'”
What is cancel culture?
LESLIE reckons it would likely stop another Men Behaving Badly series - but what is it?
Cancel culture is when people are ‘cancelled’ when they say or do something offensive.
This then prompts a boycott of the individual’s work.
Dictionary.com defines cancel culture as the “popular practice of withdrawing support for (cancelling) public figures and companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive”.
Health horror
Meanwhile, in a shock twist in her career, the actress received compensation after she contracted the killer bug while in the hospital ward.
During her candid GMB chat, she opened up on how it had changed her life.
Leslie, who donned her signature blonde cropped hairstyle and opted for fresh make-up, admitted: “I will never be the same as I was.
“It is 20 years exactly.
“It’s fine – I can still do bits, just nowhere near what it was before.”
She added: “I am very lucky my husband helps me with my rehab.
“He gets me in the gym and makes sure I stay fit – I have got to keep my core strength.”
Leslie, also known for her role in cult film Quadrophenia, cracked two of her ribs falling off the bed during a sex session with husband Lee Chapman.
She then went to hospital and contracted a “deadly strain” of the MRSA superbug due to an abscess on her spinal column.
It left her with a devastating injury – with 25 per cent of her spine damaged.
She also cut a completely different figure after her botched lip fillers in 2002, with images emerging of the results of the procedure.
Speaking about her lip enhancement which shocked many people more than 20 years ago, she previously told The Sun: “The only thing I’d say to people is: Do your homework.”
She added: “This man-made plastic silicone has been injected into me, gone into the muscles around my mouth and become hard. I had steroid injections which helped soften it a bit but it won’t ever go away.”