Corrie's Les in racist outburst

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Corrie Star Sentenced For Dangerous Driving
April 27, 2010
Alex Watts,
Sky News Online

Former Coronation Street star Bruce Jones has escaped jail for dangerous driving. The 57-year-old was sentenced to eight months in prison suspended for 18 months at Mold Crown Court.

The actor, who played Les Battersby in the ITV1 soap, admitted yanking the steering wheel of his wife Sandra's car as she drove along a busy road. Jones was drunk and screamed "I'll kill us both" as his wife drove along the A55 in North Wales last August.

He originally denied dangerous driving but changed his plea a day after a jury heard his wife's evidence about how he subjected her to years of drink-fuelled physical and emotional abuse. He now hopes to beat the bottle and save his marriage.

Jones showed no emotion as Recorder Simon Medland handed down the sentence. The judge told him: "You threatened to kill both you and your wife and you jerked the steering wheel up and down, causing the car to swerve within its lane. It is fortunate for you and all others around you that your wife had her wits about her. It is all too easy to see if the cards had fallen differently this might have ended in a fatality for you or your wife or for many other drivers."

Jones is in a 26-week rehab programme to tackle his addiction, his lawyer Dominic D'Souza said. In a statement outside court, he added: "Mr Jones has suffered from an alcohol problem for the last 20 years and he is very grateful that the courts have not imprisoned him today because it gives him an opportunity for the first time really to address what has become a very serious problem for him. It has affected his marriage and his personal relationships with his family, and he feels he has let down his fans and the people who have supported him, to whom he owes the privileges he has had so far as his comforts and earnings."

Recorder Medland told Jones: "The efforts you are making to turn your life around are impressive."

The actor was also ordered to do 100 hours unpaid work and complete a 12-month supervision order. He was banned from driving for 18 months and ordered to pay £1,000 costs.

[pirtybirdy]

Is 26 weeks enough? He needs to do the program afterwards as well. If you come out of rehab and hang out with the same old assholes in the same old haunts, you will more than likely get sucked right back in to old ways.

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He has the suspended sentence hanging over him for 18 months, so if he does anything dodgy in that time at all then he's straight in the pokey for 8 (4) months.

Hopefully he'll get himself together in that time.

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Bruce is homeless
Corrie star is living on pals' floors
By Matthew Acton & Jane Atkinson ,
15/05/2010
newsoftheworld.co.uk

FALLEN Corrie star Bruce Jones has been made HOMELESS after his bank forced him to sell his luxury pad. The 57-year-old - known to millions as the soap's Les Battersby - has been sleeping on pals' floors for the past nine days. His wife Sandra, 59, has also been forced to stay with family after mounting debts forced them to sell their £500,000 home in Hale, Cheshire.

Now, jobless Bruce is left without a penny because his share of the equity has been swallowed up by a loan he had secured on the house. The alcoholic has even had to quit his rehab course at a £1,000-a-week Suffolk clinic because he cannot afford the fees.

A source close to Bruce, who was sacked from Corrie in 2007, said: "It's a huge mess. Losing his home is a major setback in him putting his life back together. He is carrying his belongings from one friend's home to another so he can get a roof over his head and some food in his stomach."

The actor had been hoping to continue his rehab at a new clinic in South Africa later this month but can no longer afford the trip. He admitted he had a problem two months ago after he grabbed the wheel of Sandra's car and threatened to kill them in a drunken rage. He vowed to tackle his alcoholism last month after being handed an eight-month suspended jail sentence for dangerous driving.

Our source added: "Everyone's really worried about him - he's spent a bomb on booze and now he's got nothing."

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Sad to hear.

[SpursFan1902]

That is sad...

[reject]

A certain irony considering his recent TV show...
Though tbh he was the most empathetic and genuine...

Thought it was very funny when his 'heroin user squat buddy' took a hit..
bewilderment...
I dont have to, do I....

sorry to hear all this though.. feckin alcohol n addictions.. Glad he has floors for now...

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Oh no it wasn't: Bruce Jones denies he was to blame for panto being axed
Sue Carr
December 21, 2010

A Christmas panto has been cancelled as a row erupted between the star studded cast and the producers. The production of Cinderella, featuring former Coronation Street actor Bruce Jones and other TV stars, was due to run until January 2 at Hyde town hall. But the show – for which ticket sales have been described as ‘very low’ – was cut short on Sunday as the war of words erupted.

The company behind the show, Halle Productions Ltd, accuse Mr Jones of turning up ‘stinking of booze’. Mr Jones, who has battled an alcohol problem in the past, denies any inappropriate behaviour. The actor claimed the cast had not been paid by the production company and it had nothing to do with him drinking. He insisted he only had a drink after shows were over. Fellow cast members have backed Mr Jones and described him as an ‘utmost professional’.

Halle productions is run by Michael Hizer and wife Casey Lee Jolleys. She worked alongside Mr Jones in the ITV soap when she played butcher Fred Elliott’s mail-order bride.

Last night refunds were being offered to people who had bought tickets. A statement released by Morgan Brown Cahill Solicitors, acting for Halle Productions, said efforts were being made to allow the panto to continue. It added: "The Cinderella pantomime at Hyde town hall has been cancelled until further notice due to unforeseen cast problems. All the monies paid for tickets through Quaytickets will be refunded directly by them. All tickets that were purchased directly at Hyde town hall will be refunded within 24 hours of proof of purchase being provided to the box office."

"Halle Productions apologises for any upset the cancellation of this panto caused to anyone who was looking forward to this family show. Cast members will be paid once all the refunds have been issued."

Mr Jones, 57, who played Les Battersby in the Street, and starred as Cinderella’s father Doc Hard Up in the panto, said he was devastated at the allegations. He said he offered to complete the run for free rather than disappoint youngsters but was told Tameside council couldn’t cover the running costs. He said: "I feel absolutely terrible. I was told by my agent not to go back on stage. They are looking for a scapegoat and they are using me. He (Michael) knows I wouldn’t drink and do a show.

"I would have a couple of pints and about 9-10pm I would go to bed because I knew I had to be up early. We just wanted to do the panto for the kids."

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Bruce Jones fails to sell a single ticket for pub gig
Steve White,
Daily Mirror
23/05/2011

SHAMED former Corrie star Bruce Jones failed to sell a single ticket for a pub gig. The 58-year-old, who played ­layabout Les Battersby in the ITV soap, hit a new career low when fans snubbed his “audience with” show. Jones had hoped to spill the beans to 200 people on his 10 years on the cobbles.

He was suspended in 2007 after allegedly insulting viewers and left the show later that year. But no tickets for the event at the Chilton Country Pub near Chester-le-Street, Co Durham, were sold. And only one person made a phone enquiry about the £18.50 gig, that included a meal. A spokeswoman said: “It had to be cancelled. We are not sure why tickets did not sell. We are normally fully booked.” To rub salt in Jones’ wounds, Benidorm actress Crissy Rock had to add an extra night due to demand.

Jones last year got an eight-month suspended jail sentence for dangerous driving. The boozed-up star tried to yank the wheel of his wife Sandra’s car as she drove. Left £100,000 in debt, he has since vowed to give up drink.

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ooof

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Coronation Street’s Les Battersby on life in Boston and his panto role
Former Coronation Street star Bruce Jones is in town for his latest role in Blackfriars’ panto...here our reporter Laura Hammond catches up with him between performances for a chat about how he’s finding life in Boston...
22 December 2011
bostonstandard.co.uk

THE cobbles of Coronation Street have come to Lincolnshire this Christmas, as former star Bruce Jones is in town. Les Battersby actor Bruce is treading the boards at Blackfriars Theatre and Arts Centre as he stars as Captain Hook in Peter Pan.

Since arriving in the town at the beginning of December, the 58-year-old Mancunian has been settling in well, and said he is enjoying his time in Boston. “I like it here. It’s so historic, It’s great. The people I’ve met in Boston are so friendly,” he said. “Everyone shakes my hand and says ‘hello’. It’s brilliant. Everyone has been great. I’d love to come back. I’ve made some good friends here. I’d like to bring my wife.

“I’ve had a walk around the Stump and that big windmill and had a walk by the river. There’s a lot of stuff you can do. It’s a lovely town. I want to thank the people of Boston for being so nice and kind. It’s not like other towns where you go and you’re ignored.”

This marks the first visit to Boston for the actor - who lives in north Wales. He said he hadn’t realised just how far away it was until he came over for the pantomime. The distance means he will not be able to travel home to spend Christmas with his family – something he said would be very difficult. However, the star has been invited to spend December 25 at the Britannia Pub, on Church Street, with some of his new-found friends.

Since he arrived in Boston, Bruce has kept himself busy getting out and about in the town. Along with doing a couple of shows a day at Blackfriars, he has also been involved in a lot of promotion work and a number of charity events. He was the guest of honour at the Freiston Christmas Tree Festival and opened the Yuletide Fayre at St James’ Church, as well as appearing at Mad and Proud – an event to raise awareness of mental illness. He even took part in a Battle of the DJs competition at the Britannia, in a bid to raise funds for Blackfriars, and on Christmas morning he will be going along to visit elderly people living in a local retirement home. Bruce said: “I never stop my charity work. If someone asks me to do it I will do it. It’s my way of saying ‘thank you’ and giving something back.”

Bruce is best known for his part as neighbour from hell Les Battersby on Coronation Street – a part he played for 10 years until he left in 2006. He said he is still in touch with some cast members and that he would still go back to work on the programme if he was asked. Since leaving the soap, he has been working on films and writing his autobiography, among other things – including starring in pantomimes. Peter Pan is the fourth one he has been involved in, and he said he was enjoying being part in the show.

He added: “It’s going great. It’s been hard, as we only had eight days rehearsal, but the cast are fantastic. It’s the best cast I’ve ever worked with – they help me all the way through. I’m a TV and film actor and it’s very different. To come back to the stage is like being born again.”

Bruce has been suffering with a bad throat since he started on the pantomime, and had almost lost his voice on several occasions – so it has been a quick pint and an early night for him on most evenings. As much as he is enjoying Boston, he said his only plan once the pantomime is over is to go home for a rest. The panto plays at Blackfriars until January 3.