Corrie stars ‘fear their characters will be killed off-camera’ after Bruce Jones was told about Les’s death ‘by email’
CORONATION Street stars voice fears their characters may be killed off after Bruce Jones learned via email that Les Battersby will die.
The Sun on Sunday exclusively revealed how ITV soap bosses had taken the decision to kill off the iconic character in an upcoming storyline.
Les is set to die off-screen, 17 years after he was last seen on the Cobbles.
Actor Bruce, 71, played Les in Coronation Street for 10 years until he was suspended for allegedly getting drunk in a restaurant, insulting fans and revealing plots.
Les was written out as a consequence, but die-hard fans have always hoped the character would return one day, especially as his daughter Leanne and step-daughter Toyah are still in Weatherfield.
Bruce revealed how he was told about Les’ demise in an email a fortnight ago.
He said: “I actually thought, well fine, I played him for ten years. It gives me closure.
“Maybe it will stop people asking me all the time when I’m going back, if I’m going back.
“People want me back, but it’ll stop all that, in shopping centres, wherever I go.
“I’m pleased it’s happening but I’m also sad about losing a character I played for ten years. I’m grateful to the street for that.”
He added in the interview with the MailOnline that he had no animosity towards show bosses at all despite the sad decision.
Bruce also admitted he couldn’t see how Les would have fitted back into the show if bosses had ever decided to bring him back.
He said: “I felt relieved, then I felt sadness, then I thought, ‘well, where would he go?’ If he went back, where would he go?
“How would he get back, what would he do? Where would the storylines take him?’
“I don’t think they could really do that much with him, which is a shame.”
Next month Les’s daughter Leanne, played by Jane Danson, receives a call telling her that her dad is dead. She then breaks the news to her sister Toyah (Georgia Taylor).
Former Corrie stars speak out
These Coronation Street stars ‘fear their characters will be killed off-camera’ after Bruce Jones was told about Les’s death ‘by email.'
Vicky Entwistle as Janice Battersby – Janice is the mother of Toyah and stepmother of Leanne through her former marriage to Les Battersby. Moving into 5 Coronation Street in 1997 after it was repossessed by the council, the Battersbys were highly unpopular due to their antisocial behaviour, particularly from Les and the girls.
Janice left Weatherfield in 2011 after Trevor packed his job in and planned on travelling the world, and asked Janice to go with him. Toyah and Leanne regularly visit Janice, spending Christmas 2017 with her and also ring her regularly.
Since leaving Coronation Street, Vicky has worked on the stage. She starred as the Wicked Queen in Blackpool’s 2011 production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and in 2012 toured in Funny Peculiar, an award-winning play by Mike Stott, with Suzanne Shaw, Craig Gazey, Dominic Cazenove and Gemma Bissix.
Matthew Marsden as Chris Collins – Chris was Kevin Webster’s assistant at Coronation Street Garage from 1997 to 1998.
Chris had relationships with Angie Freeman, Sally Webster and Samantha Failsworth and lived at 15a Coronation Street. When he decided to leave the area following his affair with Samantha, he asked Sally to come with him, but she chose to stay and save her marriage to Kevin instead.
Matthew quit the cobbles to concentrate on a career as a pop singer, gaining two records in the top thirty. But he then returned to acting and has had a successful career in the United States of America in films such as Black Hawk Down, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, Tamara, Resident Evil Extinction, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Atlas Shrugged, Part 1. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and four children.
Charles Lawson as Jim McDonald – The actor from Northern Ireland played Jim for 11 years from 1989 to 2000, continued to make irregular appearances.
Jim was involved in a storyline in 2011 tied to Liz’s exit where he was sent to prison for the second time. He reprised the role again three years later in 2014, as part of a storyline involving Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) wrongfully being imprisoned for murder.
Lawson now runs a farm shop in Cheshire with his partner Debbie, and has said he would return to Coronation Street whenever there are good storylines, but has admitted to the show not being the same and getting tired of the role.
A source said: “It’s a huge snub to kill off a popular character like this.
“Bruce created one of the Street’s most iconic characters in Les and always hoped one day he might return.
“A lot of the cast and crew have said it’s a bit mean.
“It’s also bound to infuriate long-term fans who remember Les with great fondness.”
Other Corrie stars have slammed the move but also fear they could be next to be killed off from the soap.
Janice Battersby actress Vicky Entwistle tweeted: “I know Bruce told me a couple of months ago after receiving an email.
“@Brucejonesnew Hope you are ok lovely man. Keep your chin up!! Love Vic. Well all I can do is Thank you for the fun we had.
“I know you are hurt @Brucejonesnew An email does in no way qualify. I guess the constant calls for you to come back upset them!!! Vic.”
Matthew Marsden, who played the mechanic Chris Collins on Corrie for a year in the late 90s, wrote: “Wow. If they were smart at @itvcorrie, they would back down from this, bring @Brucejonesnew back, and say it was a publicity stunt.”
Jim McDonald actor Charles Lawson penned: “Well, he’s dying in Australia, suffering from Mytonic Distrophia, so it won’t be a surprise to me.”