John Leslie was once a man who had it all. The first Scottish presenter of Blue Peter, onetime boyfriend to rising star Catherine Zeta-Jones and later co-host of ITV’s flagship daytime show This Morning. His future, and place on British TV, seemed assured.

But a series of scandals saw him stripped of his TV roles, as tonight’s Channel 5 documentary – The Rise and Fall of John Leslie – documents.

The programme shows him returning to the This Morning sofa in July 2018 to talk to the show's current presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby about his fall from grace and fight for justice, and he’s clearly feeling emotional.

For, by then, This Morning was being produced from the old BBC TV Centre where he filmed Blue Peter.

“It’s obviously where my career started all those years ago…and This Morning, where my career ended," he said, as he shared the sofa with the show's stars, while the screen carried the headline: John Leslie Exclusive: "It's been a year of hell."

The beginning of the end for John, now 57, came in October 2002. TV presenter Ulrika Jonsson had written an autobiography, titled Honest, in which she alleged that "an acquaintance" had raped her when she was 19.

She didn’t name him, but after Matthew Wright mistakenly identified the predator as John Leslie on his live Channel 5 TV show The Wright Stuff, rumours flew around.

Not surprisingly, John immediately stepped back from This Morning, the show he’d been on since 1999, with his co-host Fern Britton offering an explanation to viewers.

“As you can see I am missing my partner today. And he’s also my friend. He’s asked me to tell you that he’s having a few days off, because he’s got things to sort out….”

When a tabloid newspaper then printed photos of Leslie taking cocaine, ITV sacked him from This Morning.

He was never found guilty of a crime relating to Ulrika, however the accusations didn’t end. There have been other cases relating to claims made against him. More than 30 women have named Leslie in allegations, yet he has never been found guilty of any crimes.

And when he was cleared in 2008 over an allegation dating back to 1995, he left the court saying, “This is the mother of all stitch ups.”

On This Morning John told Holly and Phil – who stepped in when John was axed – “It’s been quite emotional knowing I was going to come on the show and thanks for inviting me on."

“But even this building, at the BBC, it’s obviously where my career started all those years ago and This Morning where my career ended. So it’s been quite a journey.”

John's friend Lizzie Cundy, who takes part in the programme, told OK! exclusively that she feels great sympathy for John.

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"John is one of our greatest presenters, he was always so warm and funny and you were always at ease watching him."

"It would be a real shame if he doesn't come back on TV but it will be hard for people to forget that he's innocent. It will be tough after all this time."

"Phillip Schofield wouldn't be working if it wasn't for him, he replaced him on This Morning. I watch John and you can't help but think he's a different man, this has changed him. It's a very sad story and you can't help but feel for him."

To keep up to date with the latest documentaries on the box, sign up to OK!'s daily celebrity newsletter. The Rise and Fall of John Leslie is on Channel 5 tonight at 10pm

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