Bruce Jones: 'I left Corrie by mutual consent'

Bruce Jones has insisted that he left Coronation Street by mutual consent.

The 54-year-old actor, who played layabout Les Battersby on the Manchester soap for a decade, said that rumours claiming he made “inappropriate comments” about his cast mates made it impossible for him to return to work.

Jones was suspended from the show in April when a Sunday newspaper alleged that he delivered a “racist rant” after spending an afternoon drinking in a Cheshire hotel. Coronation Street executives decided not to renew his contract in May.

However, Jones dismissed reports that he spoke ill of his colleagues, telling the Daily Mirror: "They said I slagged all these people off when I didn't. That cast to me is like a family so I wouldn't call anyone a w***er. I never swore - the manager of the hotel was stood behind me. He'd have thrown me out.

"And I am not racist. I've got lots of black and Asian friends. Jimi Harkishan, who plays Dev (on the show), said if I was racist, he'd show his backside. And if I'd had 19 pints, how could I remember everything?"

However, Jones admitted that his relationship with show executives had become so dire that a return to the cobbles was out of the question.

"I thought: 'Something's got to give here.' I don't think they'd want me back there the way I was and I don't think I could have gone back the way I was either," he said. "I couldn't have taken anymore."