Ex-EastEnders star Leslie Grantham, who played Dirty Den in the BBC soap, was booed at the opening night of a venue in Liverpool back in 2006.
During the launch of FAB Cafe on the night of September 28, 2006, the former BBC actor was co-hosting the event – but it would seem the then 59-year-old's welcome by punters was "rough".
Two years prior to the launch of the quirky new Liverpool city centre venue, Leslie was axed from the BBC soap opera over an online scandal that involved him exposing himself on a webcam to an undercover reporter.
There were also allegations that he had insulted co-stars on the show.
On the night of the opening itself, Leslie Grantham arrived at the venue in a Silver Spirit Rolls Royce, according to the Southport Reporter, as long queues of people who had purchased a ticket waited outside.
A review from the Liverpool Echo at the time read: "As someone who attended the opening night, including Grantham's question and answer session, I remember it being a rowdy and tough reception for the actor who had so recently been embroiled in an online sex scandal."
It went on: "While Grantham was partly there to promote his upcoming book, many of the rowdier members of the audience chanted 'Dirty Den' over and over as he took to the stage while jeering and booing the actor throughout the evening.
"The former EastEnder was then subject to a number of tongue-in-cheek questions about the scandal, which only two years earlier had filled the national papers, and his days on the soap."
After questions were opened to the audience, the actor "gamely tried his best to answer questions", such as: "What was it like working with Dean Gaffney?"
By the time he was asked why he stopped working on Eastenders, Leslie reportedly snapped: "Because the scripts were ****!"
The audience is then said to have become increasingly restless as Grantham spoke about his upcoming autobiography and book signing.
But the answer to one last audience question was greeted with a cheer when asked as to whether he would ever go back to Eastenders, the actor replied: "No, I'd rather be in Emmerdale Farm."
After leaving Eastenders, Leslie worked in pantomime, theatre, TV and film, though he appeared back behind the bar of the Queen Vic in 2010 in an interview to mark the soap's 25th birthday.
The actor died in 2018 after being treated for lung cancer.
For more of the latest showbiz news from Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.
Source: Read Full Article
