Lesley Joseph

Lesley Diana Joseph (born 14 October 1945) is an English actress and broadcaster, best known for playing Dorien Green in the popular sitcom Birds of a Feather from 1989 to 1998 and then again since 2014.

Joseph was born in Hackney, London and grew up in Northampton. Joseph's mother was born in May 1912, and died in March 2016 aged 103.

Stage

In May 1973, Joseph appeared in Godspell at the Pavilion Theatre in Bournemouth.

Joseph starred in Cinderella at Theatre Royal, Plymouth in 2008 and the Orchard Theatre in Dartford in 2009, and starred as Myra Wilson in the UK Tour of Hot Flush!. In 2014, Hot Flush! embarked on its third UK tour.

From 4 December 2010 to 22 January 2011, she appeared at The Grand Opera House, Belfast as the Wicked Queen in the pantomime Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

In the summer of 2011, Joseph appeared as Chris in the stage show Calendar Girls, based on the film of the same name.

In 2014/15, she appeared at the Theatre Royal Nottingham as the Wicked Queen in the pantomime Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

In 2015, she appeared as Miss Hannigan in the stage production of Annie for certain performances. In 2016/17, she will star in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth.

Birds of a Feather

From 1989 to 1998, Joseph played Dorien Green in the sitcom Birds of a Feather which, at the time, aired on the BBC

In December 2011, it was confirmed that Joseph would reunite with fellow Birds of a Feather cast members, Linda Robson and Pauline Quirke, for a theatre adaptation of the series. The trio toured the United Kingdom from May to July 2012.

A new series of Birds of a Feather was filmed after the rights had been acquired by ITV. The new series began airing on 2 January 2014 for eight episodes. In March, it was confirmed that a second series had been ordered which began airing on 26 December. Following this, a third series was commissioned. This series aired in early 2016.

To celebrate the return of Birds of a Feather, Joseph, Quirke and Robson appeared as guest panellists on Loose Women on 16 January 2014.

Further TV work

Joseph starred in the ITV soap Night and Day from 2001 to 2003 playing the show's resident bitch, Rachel Culgrin.

In 2002, Joseph appeared on a special edition of What Not to Wear, where she was given a makeover by Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine.

In 2004, she starred in The Vagina Monologues opposite Linda Robson and Mica Paris.

Since 2009, she has been a regular newspaper reviewer on This Morning. She appeared in the 2014 series Secrets of the Asylum, a two-part series for ITV. In 2015, Joseph took part in ITV's celebrity sheep herding series Flockstars, beginning on 30 July.

In 2014, Joseph appeared with Forrest Dunbar on ITV2's Freshers: A Year On. She makes frequent appearances on Channel 5's Big Brother's Bit on the Side.

On 22 August 2016, it was announced that Joseph would take part in the fourteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing. She was partnered with Anton du Beke. In their first week the couple scored 23 points for their waltz to "What'll I Do", in week two 26 for their cha-cha-cha to "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps", in week three 27 for their quickstep for "A Couple of Swells" from Easter Parade and in week four 31 for their Charleston to "Won't You Charleston with Me?" from The Boy Friend. The couple left the series in week five after scoring 24 for their tango to "Whatever Lola Wants".

Radio

Joseph began a radio show in 2008 on BBC London 94.9 with Christopher Biggins, airing every Sunday between 9am to 12pm. Biggins left the show after a few months, but Joseph has continued to host. She also stands in for Vanessa Feltz on her weekday morning talk when Feltz is on holiday.

Joseph is Jewish.

She supports Tottenham Hotspur and lives in Hampstead, north west London. She has two children: a son and daughter.

Television

Guest appearances

Stage