Bruce Jones (actor)
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Ian Royston Jones (born 24 January 1953), better known as Bruce Jones, is an English actor and professional wrestler. He is best known for his role as taxi driver Les Battersby in ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
'' from 1997 to 2007.


Early life

Jones was born in Collyhurst,
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
. As a child, he spent two years on a hospital isolation ward with rheumatic fever. When he was 12, his parents separated and he was expelled from school, after which he was raised in
North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...
by his grandmother. He left school at 16 and worked as a pipe fitter; he was also a fireman.


Career


Early career

Jones had a teacher who encouraged him to become an actor. He and a friend formed a comedy duo, known as Clark and Jones, and he began using his father's name, Bruce Jones, as his stage name. After years acting in addition to day jobs, Jones' first big break came in 1993, when he was cast in the lead role of Bob Williams in Ken Loach's feature film '' Raining Stones''. The film won the ''Evening Standard'' British Film Awards for Best Film and Best Screenplay. In 1995, Jones had a role as a prostitute's client in '' Band of Gold''. In 1996 he appeared in Jimmy McGovern's '' Hillsborough''. In 1997, Jones had a small part in the film '' The Full Monty'', and also appeared with Bob Hoskins in the Shane Meadows film '' Twenty Four Seven''.


''Coronation Street'' years

From July 1997 to May 2007, Jones was a regular cast member of the ITV soap opera ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
'' as the outspoken rogue Les Battersby. Since then, Jones has had numerous credits for film and television productions, including '' Heartbeat'', '' A Touch of Frost'', the pilot episode of '' Harry Hill's TV Burp'', and ''Roughnecks''. He appeared as Dean Martin in '' Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes'', Mr. Bumble in ''Oliver'' for '' Children in Need'', and the Robber in Granada's televised Christmas pantomime '' Cinderella''. He also made several television appearances in game shows and chat shows. In March 2007, he was suspended from ''Coronation Street'' after allegedly getting drunk with an undercover reporter, making inappropriate comments and revealing future storylines. It was confirmed in May that year that Jones would not be returning to the show; he would be suspended until his contract ended in September. Jones noted that he was one of the victims of the since-discredited reporter Mazher Mahmood, and has said that his departure from the programme was voluntary.


After ''Coronation Street''

Since leaving ''Coronation Street'', Jones has performed stand-up comedy routines in Benidorm. On 23 March 2008, he featured in '' Celebrity Wife Swap'' with Sinitta. He played Mick the Manager in the film '' Souled Out'', and also appeared on the TV programme '' The Dark Side of Fame with Piers Morgan''. With four other celebrities, Jones took part in the BBC One show ''Famous, Rich and Homeless'', broadcast in June 2009. The five temporarily lived on the streets of London. Jones was clearly the most affected by the experience, regularly seen breaking into tears and considering pulling out of the programme. He ranted to the camera advocating the reinstatement of hanging in the UK, in order to free up funds to assist the homeless and pensioners. He referenced his horrific discovery of one of the Yorkshire Ripper's victims, describing himself as a victim. In November 2009, Jones appeared in '' Celebrity Come Dine with Me''. The competition also featured presenter Yvette Fielding and Atomic Kitten member Natasha Hamilton; it was won by former '' Catchphrase'' host Roy Walker. The same year, he worked with Manchester-based production company Gritish Films, featuring in the short film ''Down Our Way'', alongside Inspiral Carpets vocalist Clint Boon and actor Gary Graham Smith. During the 2009–10 Christmas season, Jones appeared as King Rat in the pantomime ''Dick Whittington'' at the Contemporary Urban Centre in
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
. In 2011, he performed as Captain Hook and Mr. Darling in '' Peter Pan'' at the Blackfriars Arts Centre in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. He struggled with this role, however, and was reported to have lost his voice. In April 2012, Jones appeared in a music video for the British rock band Never A Hero, which was featured on
Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...
TV. In 2013, while also working as a mechanic, Jones appeared in a one-man play about tackling and recovering from depression, ''TALK!! Tackling the Taboo'', which he commissioned from author and playwright Huw Roberts. On 22 August 2013, Jones entered the '' Celebrity Big Brother'' house with his screen ''Coronation Street'' ex-wife, Vicky Entwistle; on 6 September 2013, he was the fourth housemate to be evicted, on the same day as Dustin Diamond.


Return to feature films

In April 2014, production started on a Welsh feature film, '' Cream'', in which Jones played the lead character, Ron Harris. Filming took place in and around
Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 UK census, the community â ...
. That year, he appeared in British gangster thriller '' Looters, Tooters and Sawn-Off Shooters'', in which he played Roy. In 2020, Jones was cast in the comedy short film ''Shiney'', directed by Paul Holbrook, which was funded by the BFI Network South West. The short film was featured at various film festivals, including the International Film Festival of Wales, who awarded Jones Best Supporting Actor in 2021. Novelist and screenwriter Simon W. Golding wrote the screenplay of ''The Coat'', a thriller feature film, for Jones. It will be directed and edited by Jason Figgis.


Professional wrestling

At the age of 71, Jones made his debut in
professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
, appearing in character as Les Battersby at a Sovereign Pro Wrestling event in Manchester on 18 February 2024. Jones was initially booked to make a cameo to promote an upcoming match; after the promotion received more publicity, however, the promotion asked if he would be willing to be "knocked about in the ring", to which he agreed. At the promotion's next event in May 2024, Jones – as part of the "Les Battersby World Order" – took part in a "Coronation Street Fight" before being confronted by Steven Arnold, in character as Ashley Peacock and leading his own faction, the "Butcher Club".The Les Battersby World Order and Butcher Club are parodies of the New World Order and
Bullet Club , stylized as BULLET CLUB and sometimes shortened to BC, is a professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#stable, stable primarily appearing in the Japanese Professional wrestling promotion, promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling ...
, respectively.


Publications

He published his autobiography, ''Bruce Jones: The Official Autobiography'', in November 2011.


Charity work

Jones has appeared at many Variety Club fundraising events and been an ambassador for the charity. On 16 February 2011, he made an appearance for the Sir Norman Wisdom tribute at De Montfort Hall in Leicester, raising money for the Roy Castle Fund; he spoke of Wisdom's time on ''Coronation Street''.


Awards

*European Actors Award, ''Raining Stones'' *co-winner,
Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...
Award, outstanding performance by a cast in a major motion picture, ''The Full Monty'' *Silver Heart, Variety Club of Great Britain, 2004


Personal life

Jones' first marriage was to Sue Bailey. They had two sons, and divorced in 1982. Jones is a fan of the english rock band Status Quo just like his character Les Battersby in
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
. On the morning of 9 October 1977, Jones discovered the mutilated body of 20-year-old Jean Jordan on an allotment in Chorlton, Manchester, a victim of the "Yorkshire Ripper", Peter Sutcliffe. He was treated as a suspect, and attracted recurring coverage in the tabloids about his supposed "secret". He has attributed the end of his first marriage to the suspicion and his resulting depression. He spoke about the discovery and how it affected him in the
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
series '' The Ripper'' (episode: "Between Now and Dawn"). In 1984, Jones married Sandra; the couple had two children. Jones has had problems with
alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...
. In 1998, he pleaded guilty to drink driving after being tested by police and found to be more than twice the legal limit, and was banned from driving for three years. In 2000, he spent a period in the celebrity rehab clinic the Priory. After leaving ''Coronation Street'', he found it hard to get work, and drank heavily. In August 2009, while drunk, he grabbed and repeatedly jerked the steering wheel of his car whilst his wife was driving it on the A55 in North Wales. He subsequently pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and drink driving. His wife told the court that he had physically and emotionally abused her for years. He was given a
suspended sentence A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...
; he and his wife separated and he became bankrupt and homeless. In June 2015, Jones appeared in a documentary called ''Celebs on Benefits: Fame To Claim'', about celebrities who have hit hard times. In 2019, he hit out against the rollout of Universal Credit, saying that the wait for the first payment was causing severe hardship, and that he had recently helped a family with money for food.


Credits


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Bruce 1953 births Living people English male film actors English male television actors English male soap opera actors Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners People from Collyhurst Male actors from Manchester 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Peter Sutcliffe