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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 ���˿���'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.