Coronation Street could be set to welcome back a soap icon – 17 years after they left the cobbles
Coronation Street has appeared to tease the return of a soap legend – 17 years after their shock cobbles exit. Les Battersby, played by Bruce Jones, first rocked up to the soap in 1997 alongside his wife Janice (Vicky Entwistle) his daughter Leanne (Jane Danson) and stepdaughter Toyah (Georgia Taylor).
And it’s fair to say he turned the famous cobbles on its head with his menacing and conniving ways. But Les also brought a touch of humour to the long-running ITV soap. Following Janice and Les’ infamous split due to Janice finding love with Dennie Stringer (Charles Dale) Les also formed a new relationship with Cilla Brown (Wendi Peters).
He also famously got into scraps with the the likes of Martin Platt (Sean Wilson), Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) and Mick Hopwood (Ian Gain). But in 2007, actor Bruce left the show.
Bruce joined Corrie in 1997(Image: Mirrorpix)
It was reported that Bruce had left following claims he allegedly got drunk with an undercover journalist, revealing future storylines, and making inappropriate comments, according to the Mirror. However, it seems a return could be on the cards for the TV legend.
Over in the soap at the moment, daughter Leanne has had a dramatic few months. Not only was she involved in a harrowing cult storyline, but her fiancé Nick (Ben Price) cheated on her with Toyah.
Nick ended up cheating on Leanne, after she became heavily invested in the sinister “self-help” group, The Institute. Leanne has since left the cult though, and sadly found out about Nick and Toyah. Heartbroken and devastated at first, Leanne has forgiven Toyah – with the pair still living together.
During Friday’s episode though (October 18), Leanne told Toyah that she was moving out and wanted to live alone, meaning that Toyah had to find somewhere else to live. The character also dropped a big hint that Less could be making a comeback soon.
As the pair started packing up their things, Toyah asked Leanne: “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 summarise what had been happening in my life since the last time we spoke.”
The soap appeared to tease a comeback for Les
She added: “I could hardly hear him anyway. He was at some wrestling show.” Appearing to tease a potential Les comeback to screens, Leanne revealed: “He said about meeting up for a drink, but when I messaged back, he didn’t reply.”
Earlier this year, actor Bruce revealed his shock career change, when he tried his hand at wrestling. When asked about his unique career switch, Bruce indicated it started off as a cameo appearance for his character, Les, but quickly spiralled to more. He told The Guardian: “So, they were like: ‘You don’t mind getting knocked about in the ring a bit, do you?'”
Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX
