Ash speaks out over lip surgery

Leslie Ash is best known for her role in Men Behaving Badly

Actress Leslie Ash says she does not deserve the relentless jibes she has suffered since cosmetic surgery gave her the nickname "trout pout".

The former Men Behaving Badly star, 43, likened her reaction to collagen lip implants to the car accident involving Sir Paul McCartney's wife Heather.

"I had an accident," Ash, who is currently starring in BBC's Merseybeat, complained to the Radio Times.

"People don't laugh at Heather Mills because she lost a leg," she added.

She added: "If I'd lost a leg in a car crash, people wouldn't have felt able to take the mickey out of me so mercilessly."

Corrective surgery

Ash took the decision to have collagen lip implants because she wanted "to maintain a certain image", she said.

"I know I never really needed it doing in other people's eyes, and that's a great compliment," Ash added.

"But I'm 43 and your top lip disappears when you get to that age."

The actress has since undergone corrective surgery, but to little avail.

"Some days it's fine, but if I get any water retention... I get it on my lips. It's a nightmare."