Rowdy pals disrupted Fringe show

John Leslie has been thrown out of an Edinburgh Fringe show after his rowdy pals started heckling the comedian.

Leslie and about ten friends, including girlfriend Abby Titmuss, were asked to leave spoof Eighties pop star Gary Le Strange's show at the Smirnoff Underbelly on Saturday night.

The TV presenter, who was cleared of sex assault allegations two weeks ago, had been hitting the town over the weekend and attended the Hibs-Hearts football derby yesterday

A venue spokeswoman told Fest newspaper: "Leslie turned up at the venue with about ten people. They were all a bit rowdy. They were all asked to leave because they were disrupting the show. They went quietly.

"Leslie must be a bit of a numpty to draw attention to himself like this."

But Leslie's publicist denied he was kicked out, claiming he had been "practically mobbed" by fans, and the management "helped him leave without incident".

Published: 18 Aug 2003