Lesley Joseph used to wear leopardprint so she'd get recognised.
Lesley Joseph wanted to get recognised
The 78-year-old actress is best known for her role as maneating neighbour Dorien Green in 'Birds of a Feather' - which ran from 1989 to 1998 and 2014 to 2020 - and she told how during the early days of the show, she'd mimic her alter ego's wardrobe in real life in order to deliberately attract attention from fans.
She told the Sunday Mirror newspaper: “The first episode went out to millions of people and nobody recognised me in the street. So I said, ‘OK, I’m going to do something about this!’ and I went home, put on leopardskin and my make-up, and walked the street again. Then people stopped me.”
The veteran actress also recalled she realised how big the show had grown to be when she couldn't even go to the loo without being stopped by autograph hunters.
She said: “The first time I realised how big Birds was when I was on the loo in a restaurant.
Somebody knocked on the door and put their hands under with a pen and paper, saying, ‘Would you sign this, please?’”
And Lesley will never forget her first meeting with co-stars Linda Robson and Pauline Quirke.
She said: “It was 1988 and we were taken to The Ritz. I’ll always remember Pauline was wearing trainers and Linda put sparkling water in her Champagne.”
Lesley has just been announced as a trustee of the Actors’ Benevolent Fund, which supports actors who cannot work because of illness, injury or old age, as well as young people trying to make it in the industry.
She said of the organisation: “It’s in everybody’s interest that the Government keeps the arts going. I know a lot of people that have had real problems and I just want to say that if you’re having a really hard time and your back is against the wall, this charity is there to help you.”
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