Rosebud at Valentine's: Leslie Caron

Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth

Friday, 13 February 2026 - 1 hour 7 minutes

Gyles meets one of his teenage idols: the French-born ballet dancer and film star Leslie Caron. In this conversation, Caron tells Gyles about her childhood in Paris, under Nazi occupation, (and gives Gyles her unvarnished opinions of German soldiers). She tells Gyles about her father's pharmacy, where the local hookers would go to get their supplies. Leslie talks about dancing for the Ballet de Champs-Elysée, with the choreographer and director Roland Petit, and about being discovered by Gene Kelly. She talks about going to Hollywood for An American in Paris, and working with Fred Astaire, Orson Wells and Cary Grant. She talks about coming up with the idea for Gigi, and the making of that classic film. She talks about her marriages, most notably to the great director, Sir Peter Hall, and about the deaths of her parents.This is a fascinating conversation, full of names and memories from the Golden Age of Hollywood.Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube here. Join The Rosebud Family here. And visit our website here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.