John Leslie appears in court charged with sex offence

John Leslie is accused of committing the assault in Westminster in December 2008

Former Blue Peter presenter John Leslie has appeared in court charged with sexually assaulting a woman.

He is accused of committing the assault in Westminster in December 2008, when the woman was 30.

Scotland Yard said Mr Leslie, from Edinburgh, was charged with sexual touching of a woman on 5 June.

Mr Leslie, 54, who denied the charge at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday, is due to appear at Southwark Crown Court on 22 August.

He chose to be tried by a jury at the crown court rather than at magistrates court, despite the offence being deemed appropriate to be decided by a district judge.

Prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward described the charge as "a simple allegation of a brief sexual touching over clothing".

District Judge Emma Arbuthnot granted the accused unconditional bail until his trial.

Mr Leslie began his TV career in 1989 when he became a presenter on the BBC's Blue Peter.

He appeared on the children's TV show for five years with co-hosts including Caron Keating, Tim Vincent, Anthea Turner, and Diane-Louise Jordan.

He then went on to present ITV's This Morning and was also a regular host of the Wheel of Fortune game show.