‘He went beyond what anyone could excuse as flirty banter’: Arabella Weir recalls the ‘frightening’ encounter with the ‘creepy sex plague’ EastEnders legend in her dressing room
Arabella Weir recalls a ‘frightening’ encounter with an EastEnders legend she has labeled a ‘creepy sex scourge’.
The comedian and actress, 65, teamed up with the late Leslie Grantham on cop show 99-1 in 1995 and still has awkward memories of him cornering her in her dressing room.
In a new interview, Arabella claimed how Leslie, famous for his role as Dirty Den Watts, stormed into her room without knocking and stated that he liked her.
Arabella, who played Claudia on the show, revealed that she was rescued by a crew member, with her belief that the staff would be on to Leslie if something like this happened.
She said The sun: ‘Leslie Grantham was a disgusting, creepy sex scourge. He suddenly appeared in my trailer door. He didn’t knock, he just walked in and said something about liking me. It was pretty graphic and I was like, “Oh f**k”.
Experience: Arabella Weir recalls a ‘frightening’ encounter with an EastEnders legend she has labeled a ‘creepy sex scourge’ (pictured in 2020)
Accused: The comedian and actress, 65, worked with the late Leslie Grantham in 1995 on cop show 99-1 and still has awkward memories of how he cornered her in her dressing room (Leslie on the show in 1994)
“I remember thinking he had gone beyond what anyone can excuse as funny flirtatious banter and that maybe I was in trouble. It was frightening. I didn’t feel like I could get any jokes out of it. I thought I was in danger in Harvey Weinstein.
The Fast Show star commented that Leslie was a “real predator” and she could tell he had “something else on his mind.”
Speaking of her rescue, she shared, “Fortunately someone soon knocked on the door and said, “Oh Arabella, you are needed.” I am eternally grateful to that man and looking back he did it on purpose. I think they were watching Grantham the whole time to make sure things were avoided.”
She added that Leslie “thrown his weight around” on the show and stated that she believed he had many different “sexual advances” than other women on the crew.
MailOnline has contacted representatives from ITV for comment.
In 2004, Grantham was exposed by a Sunday newspaper after participating in webcam chats while performing a sex act and sucking his finger in his dressing room.
He apologized to his family for the embarrassment, but later said he was “trapped.” Grantham said he was so devastated by the scandal that he attempted suicide.
Leslie died of lung cancer in 2018 at the age of 71.
Shocking: Arabella claimed how the Leslie, famous for his role as Dirty Den Watts, stormed into her room without knocking and declared that he liked her, with Arabella recalling that it was “beyond what anyone might excuse as funny flirtatious banter” (pictured in 2014)
Claim: “Leslie Grantham was a disgusting, creepy sex scourge. He suddenly appeared in my trailer door. He didn’t knock, he just walked in and said something about liking me. It was pretty graphic’ (pictured in 2016)
In the present day, Arabella appears in Coronation Street, cast as Aggie and Ed Bailey’s friend Yvette.
But despite her years of experience in the industry, Arabella told the publication she was “really surprised” that she was so nervous, noting that it had been 25 years since she felt this way.
She said her character is all “radiance” and comes across as a “hideous snobbish woman” – who frequents the cobblestones after persuading her old friends to invite her over for dinner.
Arabella added that she was “surprised” to get the call for the role as she is not from the North, before correcting herself when she realized that several of the soap’s actors are not from the North.