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Leslie Ash walks without the aid of her walking stick on shopping trip following fears she would never walk again after contracting MRSA

Published: 18:01 GMT, 6 March 2016 | Updated: 08:20 GMT, 7 March 2016

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She feared she would never walk again after contracting an MRSA infection in 2004 while in hospital, but Leslie Ash has been pictured shopping without the aid of her walking stick.

The 56-year-old Men Behaving Badly actress looked happy and carefree as she visited a perfume shop with husband, Lee Chapman.

With a huge smile on her face, Leslie waved her arms in the air as if to say, 'Look, no hands,' as she walked down the street, showing how much she has come in her recovery.

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Things are looking up: She feared she would never walk again after contracting an MRSA infection in 2004 while in hospital, but Leslie Ash has been pictured shopping without the aid of her walking stick

Going strong: In her sportswear, Leslie cut a youthful figure, wearing a padded black jacket and Nike leggings with black and pink Asics trainers

In her sportswear, Leslie cut a youthful figure, wearing a padded black jacket and Nike leggings with black and pink Asics trainers.

Once inside the Jo Malone store, the star was pictured trying out different scents with her man.

The star famously suffered a permanently damaging allergic reaction to lip fillers.

Scent-sational: The 56-year-old Men Behaving Badly actress looked happy and carefree as she visited a perfume shop with husband, Lee Chapman

Gent: Lee carried a bag of treats for Leslie as they stood at the till together

What do you think? He gave her jacket a quick sniff after Leslie squirted on some of her favourite scent

After her diagnosis in 2004, she was told she would be paralysed, but against all odds Leslie can now walk short distances without assistance.

After a friend's mother administered a lip-enhancement injection on the TV star, her damaged face left her open to ridicule, after her new lips were famously dubbed a 'Trout Pout'.

She told the Sunday Mirror last year: 'What I thought was just a normal filler turned out to be industrial silicone and my body wasn't breaking it down, so I had big problem.

Dark times: In 2004 Leslie contracted MSSA, a strain of the superbug MRSA, while being treated in hospital for cracked ribs and a punctured lung

Tough going: After her diagnosis in 2004, she was told she would be paralysed, but against all odds Leslie can now walk short distances without assistance

Claims: Rumours suggested that her injuries were caused by a domestic row with footballer husband Lee Chapman, however, Leslie was adamant they were the result of an energetic sex session

'I should have done my homework... It was an unregulated filler and I paid the price.'

Leslie, who enjoyed huge fame in the 1990s in Men Behaving Badly, has rarely appeared on TV screens since a brief stint on BBC's Holby City in 2010 and an appearance on Celebrity Masterchef last year.

In 2004 Leslie contracted MSSA, a strain of the superbug MRSA, while being treated in hospital for cracked ribs and a punctured lung.

Rumours suggested the injuries were caused by a domestic row with footballer husband Lee Chapman, however, Leslie was adamant they were the result of an energetic sex session.

Doctors believed the MSSA bug would kill her and when she survived they said she would be paralysed and in constant pain.

She told MailOnline in June last year: ‘That was scary.To be told just before you were being put under anaesthetic that you might not actually pull through, and that if you did you wouldn’t walk.

'My surgeon had to cut through two vertebrae to stop the infection from galloping up my spine to my brain.’

Despite her terrifying ordeal, where the hospital dished out £5million in compensation, Leslie is now fighting fit and ready to work again.

A good result: Despite her terrifying ordeal, where the hospital dished out £5million in compensation, Leslie is now fighting fit and ready to work again