Ian Royston Jones (born 24 January 1953), better known as Bruce Jones, is an English actor. He is best known for his role as taxi driver Les Battersby in Coronation Street. He left the role in 2007. Early life Jones was born to Bruce and Irene Jones in Collyhurst, Manchester. He was brought up in a typical working-class household before he went to live with his grandmother in Wales where he joined his school drama group at the age of eleven and dreamt of becoming an actor. Career Early career Jones' first introduction into show business was when he formed a comedy duo with a friend, and went to work on the club circuit as "Clarke and Jones" for many years. He began using his father's name as his stage name. It was during this time that Jones decided to try to act, and his first big break came in 1993 when he was cast as the lead role of Bob Williams in the feature film Raining Stones by director Ken Loach. The film won the Evening Standard British Film Awards for Best Film and Best Screenplay. Jones was presented with the European Actors Award. In 1995, Jones had a role as a prostitute's client in Band of Gold. In 1996 he appeared as Bob in the film Bob's Weekend, then went on a UK national tour of The Wonderful World of Pantomime produced by Broomstick Productions playing the part of the "Good Robber" alongside playwright Charlotte Jones and Stuart Wolfenden (Coronation Streets'''s Mark Casey) and directed by Gary Broomhead. In 1997, he had a small part in the film The Full Monty. He played one of the males who auditioned to be a stripper, and he received the Stage Actor's Guild Award, (SAG). He also appeared in the Shane Meadows film Twenty Four Seven with actor Bob Hoskins in 1997. Coronation Street In June 1997, Jones joined the cast of the ITV soap Coronation Street, playing the role of the outspoken rogue, Les Battersby. Over the following years, Jones gained numerous credits for film and television productions including: Heartbeat, A Touch of Frost, Roughnecks, and Hillsborough. Jones appeared as Dean Martin in Celebrity Stars in Your 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,