Leslie Ash, 65, shows off her taut visage as she reunites with Phil Daniels, 66, at Quadrophenia event - 45 years after filming cult classic

Daily Mail​

27-06-2025

Quadrophenia stars Leslie Ash and Phil Daniels looked delighted to be in each other's company again as they reunited 45 years after filming the cult classic.
The actors, aged 65 and 66 respectively, looked in great spirits as they posed on the red carpet at a ballet adaptation of the 1979 British drama at Sadler's Wells in London.
Leslie looked more youthful than ever in the snaps, while casually clad in a black polo neck jumper and trousers teamed with white trainers.
The Men Behaving Badly star was aided by the use of a pink walking stick, two decades after contracting an MSSA superbug that nearly left her unable to walk.
By her side was Phil, who sported a brown T-shirt and navy blazers with tinted shades.
The duo were impressed by the production, calling the cast 'fantastic'.
Quadrophenia, which was set amid the real-life drama of mods and rockers fighting on Brighton beach in 1964, also starred the likes of Sting and Ray Winstone.
The cult classic was based on the eponymous 1972 double-album by The Who.
While it was one of his most famous roles, Phil previously confessed he could barely remember filming the drama.
He said: 'All I can remember about the film is working really hard. We shot it all in six weeks and we did the end first.
'It was quite interesting and it's kind of a nice way of doing a film where you do the end first, so at least you know where you've got to go with the character.'
However, in 2010, Phil confessed that he is constantly asked about his sex scene with Leslie, quipping: ' If I had a pound for every time someone asked me exactly how intimate, I'd be a very rich man.'
Writing for the Mail, he continued: 'I can see it coming a mile off, although people think they're being subtle.
'Since no system of automatic remuneration exists for this routine conversational exchange, I would like to take this opportunity to say once and for all: It didn't happen.'
He added: 'That scene looks good on the screen but I remember it being quite awkward - Leslie really didn't want to do it.
'The problem with Leslie and me --well, it wasn't a problem, because it worked really well in the film - was that I was very raw and young at that time, whereas she already had a boyfriend who was a lot older than her and drove a Porsche.
'I couldn't compete even though obviously I wanted to because she was pretty.
'And while me having the sense that I was not in her league was good for Quadrophenia, it wasn't so good for me.
'Especially as I'd seen her jealous boyfriend hanging around the set a few times - not exactly giving me the evil eye, but almost. It wasn't my fault, was it? But you know what boyfriends are like, especially those who are going out with actresses.
'It wasn't just the boyfriend issue. The whole scene was tricky for Leslie and director Franc Roddam had to coax her into it by saying, 'Get in there for the old wallbanger.'
'You wouldn't generally do too many rehearsals before a scene like that so we were very new to each other.
'It was meant to be a closed set, but there's always someone who shouldn't be there - one of the crew trying every means possible to get a glimpse of the action.
'Excepting the occasional setbuilder with a wandering eye, Roddam was good at keeping people at arm's length.
'I never got The Who's Roger Daltrey coming up and telling me how to do it. Well, we did have a bit of a chat one day while sitting on a couple of deckchairs in Brighton, but that was fine by me.'