Leslie's first job in journalism was at the Daily Express in Manchester in 1962.[5] Leslie moved to the Daily Mail in 1967. She interviewed major film stars, entertainers, and political figures, and reported on numerous wars, civil conflicts and political stories in around 70 countries. At the Reuters/Press Gazette launch of the Newspaper Hall of Fame, she was named as one of the most influential journalists of the last forty years. In David Randall's The Great Reporters (celebrating the 13 best British and American journalists of all time) she was profiled as "the most versatile reporter ever".
Significant events on which she reported include the fall of the Berlin Wall, the failed coup against Mikhail Gorbachev, and Nelson Mandela's final walk to freedom. She made secret interviews in Iran and North Korea.[7][8]
After a dangerous experience at a Zimbabwean ZANU farm, Leslie went back to the press hotel in Harare where other reporters sent back stories without venturing out of the hotel. She called them Avon ladies; only interested in make-up (as in made up stories).[9][10]
Her memoir, Killing My Own Snakes, was published in 2008.[11]
Personal life and death
In 1969, Leslie married Michael Fletcher, and they had a daughter.[12]
Leslie died on 25 June 2023, at the age of 82.[12]
Awards
Leslie won nine British Press Awards and won two Lifetime Achievement Awards. In 1999, she was awarded the James Cameron Award for international reporting.[13] She was created a DBE on 30 December 2006, for "Services to Journalism".[14] In 2012, Leslie won the Outstanding Contribution to Journalism Award at the eighth annual International Media Awards in London on 5 May 2012.[15][16][17] She was recognised as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2013.[18]