Leslie Ash (born 19 February 1960 in Clapham, London) is an English actress.She is best known for her role as Deborah Burton in the BBC sitcom Men Behaving Badly, Vanessa Lytton in the BBC medical drama Holby City from 2009 to 2010 and Karen Buckley in the ITV drama Where the Heart Is from 2000 to 2003.Her book My Life Behaving Badly: The Autobiography was published in 2007.n 2009, Ash appeared on daytime TV panel programme Loose Women to discuss her new role in Holby City and her previous health problems. Leslie reappeared on Loose Women on 17 February 2012 where she discussed her new on stage tour of All the Single Ladies where she stars alongside Brooke Kinsella and Tara Flynn.