Lesley Joseph on who she wants to win Strictly as she discusses Corrie rumours

21 September 2023 , 17:08

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Lesley on Strictly (Image: BBC)

Like the rest of us, Lesley Joseph cannot wait for this year’s Strictly Come Dancing to really get going.

And there are a couple of celebrities she’ll be keeping an extra close eye on – especially as she’s one of the few who truly knows how they’ll be feeling. Having danced with Anton Du Beke on the show at 70 – at the time she was Strictly’s oldest ever dancer – Lesley has just lost her title to presenter Angela Rippon as she prepares for the ballroom floor aged 78.

“Seventy seems young now!” says Lesley. “I’ll be watching Angela. She will be brilliant – and she can do the splits, which is amazing.” The actress, who competed in the 2016 series and was the fifth star to be eliminated, will also be rooting for close friend Les Dennis. Lesley reveals Les has been hitting her up for Strictly tips and that the 69-year-old, who appeared in the Birds of a Feather 2020 Christmas special, wants to be a serious contender to lift the glitterball.

Lesley said: “He’s been working out, lifting weights and doing lots of walking to ensure he is as fit and ready as possible. He is not in it to be the joke contestant.” Despite turning 78 next month, Lesley will hardly have time to put her feet up to watch Les and Angela. She is in a theatre tour of Sister Act: The Musical and as we chat on the phone she is walking from her North London home to rehearsals. “I walk everywhere!” she says.

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Lesley with her pal Les Dennis (ITV)

This helps explain how Lesley has managed to stay as trim as she was in 1989 when she shot to fame as Dorien Green, the man-eating, viper-tongued neighbour in sitcom Birds of a Feather. Although very different to her alter-ego, Lesley reveals she has a leopard-print handbag with her, one of her Dorien keepsakes from the show.

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She adds: “I don’t mind ‘Doriening it up’ if that’s what people want. At charity events, I put on sky-high stilettos and a Dorien dress.” The 5ft 2in Oliver Award-nominated actress adds: “Ageing is difficult because it’s a lot harder to keep your weight down... but I also still want to eat cake! I love a Victoria sponge.

“I don’t drink wine but love champagne. I don’t deny myself bubbles!” Lesley, like so many, did not fare well during Covid. She says: “I locked myself away and did not leave the house for a very long time.” Her former Birds co-star and close friend Linda Robson delivered care packages.

Lesley recalls: “It was such a hard time for everyone personally – and professionally particularly.” It’s why she jumped at the chance to star in Sister Act: The Musical last year. She is reprising her role as Mother Superior in the touring show. Born in London in 1945 to a Jewish family, Lesley grew up in Northamptonshire and made her stage debut in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at 19.

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Over the next two decades, the actress worked extensively in theatre, apart from a brief role in a TV programme alongside a certain David Bowie in 1968. “It’s when television went out live in the late 60s. David was Davy Jones back then.” By that time, the aspiring musician had co-founded the Arts Laboratory at The Three Tuns pub in Beckenham, South East London, where he regularly performed.

“Davy was such as laugh. He invited me to see him at his Arts Lab, but sadly, I never did,” Lesley says. “I do regret not continuing our friendship.” The mum of two had to wait a little longer for her own fame – she was cast as Dorien at 44: “It was towards the end of the Dynasty era. Joan Collins had shown women over 40 could be glamorous and do leading parts.”

Lesley, who has son Andrew and daughter Elizabeth, with ex-partner Carl Littlejohn, recalls meeting co-stars Linda, 65, and Pauline Quirke, 64, as terrifying. The other two were already old friends – but luckily the trio got on like a house on fire. Lesley says: “What the three of us had together on screen, I’m not sure anyone else could say that they had that sort of bond – as it was for 33 years.”

The series ran on the BBC from 1989 to 1998 and was resurrected on ITV between 2014 and 2017. Pauline chose not to return for the 2020 Christmas Special episode but Lesley says all three are still friends. Lesley and Linda have worked together on TV shows including Celebrity Coach Trip and now Lesley says she is looking forward to new projects.

Lesley Joseph on who she wants to win Strictly as she discusses Corrie rumours

Lesley in Sister Act: The Musical (Oliver Rosser)

So could Corrie beckon? She says: “I was talking with my agent the other day about me doing a soap next but it would have to be a juicy storyline and only for six months.” For the next year, however, there is no time. Sister Act: The Musical tours until October 2024, with a two-month break for Christmas and New Year. How does Lesley find the stamina?

“Good genes have a lot to do with it,” Lesley says. “My mother died just shy of 104 – she still played yoga and tennis in her nineties. I just appreciate every day and what it brings! Just like my amazing, inspiring mum.”