FORMER presenter John Leslie has opened up about how he avoided bankruptcy - and reality shows - after rape allegations ended his TV career.
Edinburgh-born Leslie had a high profile career in the 1990s as a presenter on Wheel of Fortune and This Morning, following on from his big break as a Blue Peter presenter in 1989.
However, he was dismissed by ITV in 2003 after his private life became under scrutiny when he was wrongly named as the alleged rapist of Ulrika Jonsson.
Though the charges were later dropped, his TV career and finances never recovered.
In an interview, Leslie spoke of how his life changed overnight, saying "the whole thing was a mess. Everything around me was on fire and it was a hell of a place to be, and money just wasn't at the top of my list of considerations."
He said he went from earning more than £300,000 to having "not a single penny coming in", making massive payments in legal fees and for PR companies.
He was then forced to sell property in London, but was never tempted to go on reality TV to aid his failing finances.
He said: "I had to sell absolutely everything to avoid bankruptcy and to avoid going on reality television shows, which I didn't want to do... I managed to get a mortgage by hook or crook to buy a house next door to my mum and dad's house in Edinburgh for £110,000 and that was my lot."
Now working as a DJ for Radio Forth, he says he is making savings for his nine-year-old daughter.
He added: "I've bought some shares in Royal Mail, I've got a pension and I'm looking at making sure there will be savings for Isabelle, but it's a slow process. I'm starting from the ground up."
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