Lesley Joseph, known for her role in the sitcom Birds Of A Feather, said she was desperate to be in The Traitors – rather than Big Brother or I’m a Celeb – but was declined
Birds Of A Feather star Lesley Joseph has claimed she was snubbed for the Celeb version of The Traitors.
The actress, who has also had an extensive stage career, said “they didn’t want me” when asked about her desire to appear in the reality TV series. Speaking to a reporter on Wednesday night, Lesley, 79, said: “I couldn’t do Big Brother, because I like my own bathroom too much, and I wouldn’t do I’m A Celeb with putting things in my mouth. I wanted to take part in The Traitors but that didn’t happen, so I think that would be the one I’d do.”
When asked whether she’d tried to go on the show, Lesley, who grew up in north London, responded: “I did but they didn’t want me.” Celebrity Traitors starts filming soon, and some big names have been confirmed already, including England rugby ace Joe Marler and Stephen Fry, but it is alleged Lesley did not make the grade.
She spoke to members of the media at the Spring Ball at the Bloomsbury Ballroom, a charity event supporting the Style For Stroke Foundation and Melissa Bell Foundation.
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The actress, who was in Birds Of A Feather’s original run and the reboot, the latter ending in 2020, has already been in reality shows Celebrity MasterChef and Celebrity Coach Trip. In 2016, Lesley took part in the fourteenth series of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing and was the oldest contestant.
And she revealed she has no plans to retire from showbusiness anytime soon. Speaking to The Sun on the red carpet, Lesley continued: “I’m about to fly out to Malta to do a Channel 5 thing, and I’m also about to do work on a cruise. I’m about to do Addams Family, so I’ve got more work coming out than I know what to do with.”
But she ruled out the return of Birds Of A Feather, which won the TV Choice Award for Best Comedy during its revival in 2016. In it, Lesley starred alongside longtime friend Pauline Quirke, who confirmed in January she has stepped away from acting following her diagnosis of dementia.
Reflecting on Pauline’s career in an interview with Good Morning Britain recently, Lesley said: “What a wonderful actress she is and what joy she has given. Not just in Birds of A Feather but in The Sculptress where she was really scary, and in Broadchurch and Emmerdale, I take my hat off to Pauline. She’s amazing. I won’t talk about her at the moment with her illness because that’s private.”