Coronation Street favourite Les Battersby was killed off-screen, and it was revealed during Friday’s episode that he is related to Chesney Brown – and here’s how

Coronation Street was rocked by a tragic storyline as Les Battersby was written out in a shocking twist. The plot saw characters united in their sorrow, including Leanne Battersby, Toyah Battersby and Fiz and Chesney Brown.

In Friday’s episode, Chesney (Sam Aston) bonded with Les’ (Bruce Jones) daughters Leanne (Jane Danson) and Toyah (Georgia Taylor) over the loss of Les, setting the stage for some intriguing scenes over this week. However, fans have picked up on Chesney discussing his relationship with Les. Several were confused on how they knew each other, as new viewers might not be aware of his past.

He referred to him as “Uncle Les” twice before revealing his connection to Bernie Winter. He also admitted that they had drifted apart and hadn’t been in regular contact for years, with Les leaving Coronation Street when Chesney was just a child.

It turns out that Chesney became close to Les when he was young, and when Les started dating Chesney’s mother Cilla, he became his stepfather. Les later chose to adopt Chesney, forming a family unit with Chesney, Les, Cilla and Chesney’s dog, reports the Mirror.

Unfortunately, Les and Cilla eventually separated, and both characters left the street separately. Chesney isn’t biologically related to Les’ daughter Leanne, while Toyah was Les’ stepdaughter through his relationship with her mum Janice Battersby. Stella Price is Leanne’s mother, and Ronnie Clegg is Toyah’s father.

After Les left the show, Leanne didn’t maintain much contact with him, occasionally messaging and speaking to him but rarely seeing him. The same appears to be true for Toyah, with Les seldom mentioned.

In Friday’s episode, Chesney confided in Bernie that he and Les weren’t close after becoming estranged. Despite not being in touch for a while, Chesney still had affection for the character and often referred to him as Uncle Les.

Although Toyah and Leanne were once linked to him, they rarely appear onscreen together and aren’t that close anymore. Friday’s episode reunited them to mourn Les, and they will also appear in scenes together next week.

Chesney became suspicious on Friday when they are informed that Les’ workplace, the abattoir, had offered £50k in compensation for his death, but there’s a catch – they all must sign an NDA. He hopes to investigate this further and get to the bottom of Les’ death.

Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX