Former Coronation Street star Bruce Jones, who played Les Battersby in the long-running ITV soap in over 1,000 episodes, is swapping the cobbles for the wrestling ring as he prepares to make his wrestling debut at age 70.
The actor is set to make his debut in Manchester next year under the SOVPRO wrestling banner, with the organisation confirming the news on social media.
They wrote: "This is not a drill. This is not a parody. From the infamous cobbles of Weatherfield, The Champion of the Rovers Return, THE Les Battersby makes his SOVPRO debut on Feb 18th."
Bruce himself also confirmed the news, posting on social media: "Come and join the wrestlers and me as Les 18th February 2024 for my debut with SOVPRO."
The news sparked a flurry of comments from wrestling fans, with many making light-hearted remarks about Bruce's on-screen character.
One fan quipped: "They don't call him Les Battersby for no reason", while another joked: "But who will he be facing in that most dangerous of matches, the Coronation Street Fight? My money is on Fred Elliott."
And A third chimed in: "This might be the strangest thing I've ever seen and I'm so for it".
Bruce Jones, who left the ITV soap in 2007, has kept a relatively low profile since his suspension from the show following allegations of drunkenness, leaking storylines and making inappropriate comments to an undercover reporter.
In May 2007, it was confirmed that he would not return to the soap and his character was written out later that year.
After leaving Weatherfield for the final time, Bruce tried his hand at stand-up comedy in Benidorm and made appearances on reality TV shows like Celebrity Wife Swap with pop singer Sinitta, and Celebrity Big Brother.
Bruce has had a number of troubling experiences in life, starting in 1977 when he found the mutilated body of Yorkshire Ripper victim Jean Jordan, which he later said deeply affected him.
He was initially questioned before Peter Sutcliffe was charged with the crimes, and the traumatic event has had a lasting impact on his mental health and led to his marriage ending.
In 2013, he told The Mirror: "I lost my first marriage, my children. I lost everything because of that. It actually destroyed me to learn that people can do that to a human being. I had nightmares."
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