Corrie's Les in racist outburst

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STREET MADE MY HUSBAND A BULLYING MONSTER
The wife of sacked Coronation Street star Bruce Jones has revealed how her marriage turned into a nightmare after years of physical and mental abuse from the drunk hellraiser.
Exclusive by David Jeffs, Assistant Editor
4 November 2007
www.people.co.uk

Speaking for the first time about her stormy 24 years with the man known to millions of soap fans as loud-mouthed lout Les Battersby, Sandra Jones confessed: "Corrie turned him into an absolute monster. I really hated him for what he had become. The physical and mental abuse I suffered drove me to the brink of a breakdown. Lesser women would have crumbled. It would get to the point where I would shake like a leaf with fear when I heard him put the key in the door after a long night down the pub. What kind of marriage is that?"

Sandra, 53, revealed how her harddrinking husband: Flew into violent rages after long boozy sessions in the pub with mates. Terrified her so much she walked out on their marriage twice in the middle of the night to flee his foul temper. Humiliated her with a string of cruel insults despite Sandra staying loyally by his side. Drove her on to anti-depressants to cope with his wild mood swings.

Speaking candidly about Bruce, 54, who played layabout Les for 10 years until he was dumped last summer following a booze and racism scandal, Sandra said: "Basically I was married to the real-life Les Battersby during his time in the show. After work he'd be straight down the pub and that's when problems started. Some nights he wouldn't come home until the early hours. Like the loyal or perhaps foolish wife I'd stay up and wait for him and that's when he'd kick off in true Battersby style."

"Once through the door all his aggression and stress would explode. He would use any excuse to start a fight with me - complain about the food I'd cooked for him or the state of the house. Usually he'd start pushing and shoving me with his breath stinking of booze. On other occasions he'd grab my arm tightly and start shaking me as I tried to calm him down. I could see the wild rage and anger in his eyes. It was like he was a man possessed. A couple of times he's punched me on the side of the head when he's been out of it on booze. They weren't hard punches but heavy enough to make my head spin. Next day he would remember nothing about it."

"Once Bruce clipped me on the face with his hands and I went running into another room and locked the door to get away from him I was that scared. I would only come out when he had calmed down or collapsed on the bed. Another thing he liked to do was throw stuff around the house, books, cups, you name it. When he was like this I could feel my whole body convulsing with fear. The next morning of course it was like the real Bruce I'd first met and fallen in love with had come back to me. He'd be all sweetness and light, begging for forgiveness."

During his decade in the show, the twice-married father of four was dogged with stories of his heavy drinking. A year after joining the show he pleaded guilty to drink driving after being found more than twice over the limit. Previously convicted of the same offence in 1992, he was banned from driving for three years. And in 2000 he spent three weeks in rehab at The Priory where he confessed to turning to the bottle to deal with the pressures of being one of Britain's most recognisable soap stars.

Earlier this year Bruce, who earned £120,000 a year, admitted: "The pressure the show put me and my marriage under is huge. If Sandra had had her way, I would have left the show five years ago." Sandra, speaking at their smart home in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, agreed. She said: "Coronation Street turned Bruce into a bullying control freak. He simply wasn't prepared for the level of attention and pressure he would be put under. Ok, he was earning great money and had all the trappings of fame but it was destroying the marriage I had worked so hard at. I hated him for the way he had become. I begged him to quit but at the same time I also knew he loved the job."

"A lot of my friends have told me I was mad to stick by him especially when I ran off to stay with them my face red raw with tears after yet another late night bust-up. On two occasions I walked out in the middle of the night still in my night-dress to escape his foul temper. If he wasn't getting physically abusive he'd stand in front of me saying things with a cruel sneer like 'What am I doing with someone like you', or 'You are not worthy of me'."

And in a further twist of the knife he'd torment Sandra with boasts about all the women who wanted to have sex with him. "Bruce would say things like he could have any bird he wanted and why was he hanging around with someone like me."

Twice-married Sandra herself saw the effect his soap fame had on women. She recalled: "Once we were doing a personal appearance in a club in Sheffield and I heard two girls in their twenties say in front of me, 'I'm going to have Bruce's babies'. Women would throw themselves at him all the time because of who he was. Let's face it, if he wasn't a famous soap star women wouldn't give him a second glance."

After Bruce came out of The Priory, Sandra begged him to seek marriage guidance but he refused. His wife said: "Bruce didn't think there was a problem but I was close to a breakdown, depressed and on antidepressants. When he wasn't working or drinking he'd be sitting around the house like a zombie refusing to do everyday things like shopping and housework."

But following Bruce's shock dismissal from the Street in May, the couple are now trying to rebuild their marriage. Sandra said: "He still likes a drink but nothing like on the scale he used to. We are more like a normal married couple again." Bruce told The People: "Lesser women would have walked out on me long ago. I wasn't proud of the way I was then. Sandra wouldn't know what mood I would be coming home in and I wouldn't know myself. I wouldn't say I was physically abusive. It was a just a 'get out of my way' kind of thing because I wanted to be on my own. I'd just push her away. I hated myself sometimes and would wake up in the morning questioning myself 'Why?' "

Bruce stars in Jack and the Beanstalk next month in Westonsuper-Mare and intends to take Sandra with him for the duration of the panto. He said: "We are going to be staying in a hotel together. "I've got a lot of making up to do to Sandra after everything that has gone on. The Les Battersby of old both on and off the camera is a thing of the past, I promise." Sandra added: "I hope my story gives other women who find themselves in my situation hope. Bruce now knows if he ever turns back to his old ways our marriage will be history for good. Leaving Corrie was the best thing to happen to us."

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Bruce Jones is on 'Celebrity Wife Swap' tonight - I'll upload it later hopefully... should be a good laugh!

[pirtybirdy]

[pirtybirdy]

Thank you so much! :-)

[Twirley]

Cheers, Mr Faceless!

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Coronation Street Star In Benidorm
18/08/08
One of the stars of Coronation Street, Bruce Jones , was in Benidorm this week to perform in a seven night show entitled ” Audience With “. It was performed at the cabaret bar ” The Town ”

While he was here he did a live radio show with an old friend who is living in Albir and talked about films that he had made which has led to more television. Bruce could return in the autumn to compere a show at the Benidorm Palace.

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it's the big time for Les now!

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Ex-Coronation street star in court
Sep 24 2009

FORMER Coronation Street star Bruce Jones is to face trial at crown court over an allegation of dangerous driving on the A55. He also faces two charges of driving with excess alcohol, and one of common assault against his wife.

Jones, 56, who used to play Les Battersby in ITV’s long-running soap, appeared before Prestatyn Magistrates Court last Thursday under his real name, Ian Roy Jones. Jones arrived at court as a passenger in a black BMW four-wheel drive vehicle surrounded by security men.

He faces a charge of common assault against wife Sandra Jones on August 28. He also faces two charges of driving with excess alcohol, once while in a Mercedes ML on the A55 at Rhuallt Hill and a second in the Traveller’s Inn car park at Caerwys. And he is also charged with driving dangerously on the A55 at Rhuallt Hill. All the alleged offences happened on the same day.

The court heard that the driving dangerously charge could be tried at either the magistrates or at crown court. The facts were outlined by prosecutor Julie Hughes, and defence solicitor Jane Miller made no representations. District Judge Andrew Shaw said: “I think the case should be tried at crown court. I will decline jurisdiction.” No indication of plea was given to any of the charges.

Judge Shaw said committal proceedings will be held at Prestatyn Magistrates on November 11. Bail was granted on condition Jones does not contact his wife. Previous residence conditions under which Jones had stayed at a friend’s Rhyl caravan were removed. Jones’ address was given in court as Knutsford Road, Alderley Edge, Cheshire.

Jones played workshy Les Battersby on Coronation Street for 10 years before leaving the soap in 2007.

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[Colston]

What a mess...

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Bruce as band manager in TV gig

Former Coronation Street star Bruce Jones has landed his first TV acting role since being axed from the soap. Bruce, best known as the Street's Les Battersby, will star in sitcom That Band, which follows fictional boyband Overdrive, who fail in a TV talent contest.

A source told The Sun the show is "like Skins meets Phoenix Nights", and added: "Bruce plays the band's manager trying to keep the boys in check." A pilot has been filmed, featuring former Corrie star Scott Wright and Hollyoaks' Lee Otway, and the programme is expected to be screened on E4 or Sky1, the newspaper reports.

Bruce was suspended from Coronation Street in 2007 after allegedly getting drunk with an undercover reporter and making inappropriate comments, and it was later confirmed he would not be returning to the show.

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From the sounds of it, I think that role would be ideal for him - not much of a stretch!

I had to look up who 'Scott Wright' is that was on Corrie, but even seeing a picture doesn't help...

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I suppose the case must have been delayed for some reason last year...

[pirtybirdy]

What a total dickhead. She needs to divorce his ass and take half.

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Former Coronation Street actor Kevin Kennedy warns Bruce Jones to "sober up or die"
Paul Byrne
22/03/2010
mirror.co.uk

Former Coronation Street star Kevin Kennedy has warned pal Bruce Jones: "Sober up or die." Kevin, who played lovable Curly Watts, successfully battled his own booze problems and has been dry for 12 years. Now he has promised to help Bruce beat his demons - after he admitted for the first time he had a problem and needed help.

Kevin, 48, said: "Someone has got to be there for people when they decide enough is enough." Kevin's wife Clare, 40, who works for a private health company, has found Bruce a place in rehab. He went on: "Hopefully he is off to rehab pretty much straight away. Bruce's problem is pretty acute. I said 'I don't want to be stood over a hole in the ground looking at your coffin, because that is the next step for you. If you don't kill yourself, you will end up killing someone else'. I said to him 'I will point you the way, but the hard work has to come from you.'

"I think he has been sufficiently frightened by the depths to which he has sunk, to finally do something."

Despite successful stage roles since leaving the Street in 2003, Kevin says the best thing about staying sober is being a doting dad to daughters, Katie May, six and Grace, four.

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Judge refuses to let Bruce Jones make a start on rehab
Exclusive by Brian Roberts
24/03/2010
mirror.co.uk

Ex-Corrie star Bruce Jones told yesterday of the "shattering blow" after a judge refused to let him make a start on rehab. The alcoholic had hoped to fly to South Africa yesterday to go into rehab and went to court pleading to be dealt with immediately or have sentence deferred for dangerous and drunken driving and assault on wife Sandra.

Barrister Matthew Paul told Mold crown court it was an unusual request to try and jump the gun when the probation service was preparing a report. But Judge John Rogers said the matter would be dealt with on April 16 and told Jones: "Make sure you return, otherwise you will be arrested."

Jones said later: "I'm devastated that the judge wouldn't let me go into rehab and then sentence me when I got back." But he added: "I deserve absolutely no sympathy."

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'He told me he was going to kill me': Wife of Corrie star Bruce Jones opens up about her 'horrific' 26 year marriage
* Sandra Jones said he would strangle her so hard she pretended to faint to make him stop
* He would drag her around by her hair in front of their terrified children
* She is now on anti-depressants as a result of the violence she suffered
28th March 2010

The wife of Coronation Street star Bruce Jones has broken her silence over the violence she suffered at his hands during their marriage. Sandra Jones spoke about how he would throttle her until she pretended to faint, drag her around their house by her hair and call her a bad mother. And she also revealed her terror as he threatened to kill them both after he grabbed the wheel of their car at 70mph while in a drunken rage.

As Bruce, 57, awaits sentencing for the incident in the car, Sandra, 59, opened up about the attack last August. Speaking to the News of the World today, she said: 'He was screaming, "I'll fucking kill us both. I'll put us under a truck. You don't believe me? You just watch". I was petrified. There wasn't a doubt in my mind he meant it.'

She explained how he tried grabbed the wheel during a car journey from their home in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, to a friend's house in North Wales. She said: 'He'd been drinking all day and I picked him up from the pub about 7:30pm. As soon as he walked out I could see he was very drunk, but that wasn't unusual. I was just hoping he'd go to sleep for the journey.'

But Sandra, who has two children with the actor and calls him by his real name Ian, said instead he started going on about getting a gangster from Manchester to sort out some blokes he'd been having trouble with. She recalled: 'He was slurring and repeating himself. Then he started having a go at me. He said, "You're a bad mother. No one likes you".'

He then started an argument with Sandra and accused her of stealing a ring his mother had given him. And Sandra said that was the moment he snapped. She said: 'He leaned across and grabbed the wheel - he had a crazed look in his eyes. He started jerking the wheel up and down and the car started swerving, he was screaming, "I'll drive into the central reservation now and that'll be it over". I knew I was fighting for my life and I slammed on the brakes. The car behind was flashing its lights at us. I managed to get into the slow lane.

'I saw a layby but I thought to myself, "If I pull in there there's only me and him around, he might do anything to me". So I pulled into a pub car park down the road. I was screaming but it didn't stop him. When the car stopped I leaned in the back to get my phone to get the police and he grabbed hold of my arm as I got out and grabbed the keys. I just ran behind the pub and dialled 999. He drove the car across the car park and then the police arrived and arrested him.'

Earlier this month, Bruce pleaded guilty to drunken and dangerous driving and will be sentenced next month. And a charge of common assault against Sandra was left on file which will be raised again if he re-offends. After he was charged, Bruce was also ordered by a court to stay away from Sandra and their home and ended up staying in a friend's caravan in North Wales.

But he would still keep drunkenly coming back to the family home. She said: 'He would rant and rave saying, "This is my house, I have a right to be here". I just couldn't stop him but I didn't want him to get into more trouble. I still cared about him and didn't want him to go to prison. He was still getting drunk. I'd drop him off at the pub at 11 each day and bring him home for his tea before taking him back there. I begged him to cut down on the drink.'

Sandra, who met Bruce in 1984 and married him two years later, then revealed that soon after the death threats towards her started. She said: 'He told me he was going to kill me all the time, if it wasn't that he'd be saying to me, "Nobody likes you - look at the state of you". I started looking in the mirror and believing what he was saying was true. Ian has sapped every little bit of confidence I had out of me.'

And she admitted she was terrified as the court case approached after he boasted to her several times that he would get off. Sandra said she was frightened of being in a court room but took the stand against him and saw him change his plea to guilty after the jury was dismissed on a technicality.

Sandra said: 'I'm not sure I can ever forgive him for making me go through that. Some of the arguments we had were horrific. He'd completely lose it and drag me around the house by my clothes or my hair. Sometimes the kids saw and would run upstairs and lock themselves in their bedrooms. He never punched me but he used to strangle me and the only way I could make him stop was to pretend to faint. I told him I was going to leave a few times, I even packed my bags but he'd stop me, cry and apologise and I'd forgive him.'

She said his behaviour worsened when he was sacked as his character Les Battersby from Coronation Street in 2007 after a string of exposes about his outrageous drunken behaviour. Sandra said: 'That was the beginning of the end really. He stopped working and spend all his time in the pub. All of the savings went and he started borrowing from the bank to fund his boozing.'

She is now selling their Alderley Edge home to pay off massive debts from his drinking. She added: 'I don't think I'll be left with very much at all. I don't even know where I'm going to live. I do wish I'd left him sooner but it's not as easy as everyone thinks. I'm on anti-depressants because of everything that's happened. I hope he does sort his problems out - but I know I can't be with him.'

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