Coronation Street appears to be teasing the return of a beloved soap character—17 years after their surprising exit from the show.
Les Battersby, played by Bruce Jones, made his debut on the soap in 1997, joining his wife Janice (Vicky Entwistle), daughter Leanne (Jane Danson), and stepdaughter Toyah (Georgia Taylor). Known for his menacing and scheming behavior, Les certainly stirred up trouble on the iconic cobbles, but he also brought a sense of humor to the long-running ITV soap.
Following Janice and Les’s infamous split—triggered by Janice’s romance with Dennie Stringer (Charles Dale)—Les found new love with Cilla Brown (Wendi Peters). He was also known for his rivalries with characters like Martin Platt (Sean Wilson), Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne), and Mick Hopwood (Ian Gain). However, in 2007, actor Bruce Jones left the show.
Reports indicated that Bruce departed after allegations surfaced that he had gotten drunk with an undercover journalist, leaked future storylines, and made inappropriate comments, according to the Mirror. Despite this, it seems a comeback might be on the horizon for the TV veteran.
Currently, in the soap, Leanne has had a turbulent few months. She not only found herself caught up in a troubling cult storyline but also faced betrayal from her fiancé Nick (Ben Price), who had an affair with Toyah.
Nick’s betrayal devastated Leanne after she got involved with the shady “self-help” group, The Institute. However, after leaving the cult and discovering Nick’s fling with Toyah, Leanne shifted from heartbreak to forgiveness, and the two have been living together.
In the episode that aired on October 18, Leanne dropped a surprise announcement on Toyah, revealing her decision to live alone, which means Toyah will need to find a new place. During this moving drama, Leanne hinted at the potential return of her father, Les.
While they were packing, Toyah asked Leanne, “Have you talked to Les lately?” Leanne replied, “Yeah, I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago. He was drunk, obviously, and he expected me to summarize what had been happening in my life since we last spoke.”
Leanne added, “I could hardly hear him anyway. He was at some wrestling show.” She dropped a tantalizing hint about Les potentially returning to our screens by saying, “He mentioned meeting up for a drink, but when I messaged back, he didn’t reply.”
Earlier this year, actor Bruce Jones surprised fans with his unexpected shift to wrestling. Discussing his surprising career move, Bruce told The Guardian that it started as a one-off for his character, Les, but quickly escalated. He recalled, “So, they were like: ‘You don’t mind getting knocked about in the ring a bit, do you?'”
