Iconic former Coronation Street star discovered his character was being k*lled off in an email – despite last appearing on the show 17 years ago!

Former Coronation Street star Bruce Jones was informed by email that his iconic character was being killed off – 17-years after his last appearance on the soap.

Jones, 71, became a household name thanks to his role as fiery Les Battersby, but the character was hastily written out of the show in 2007 after he was suspended for allegedly getting drunk with an undercover reporter, insulting fans and revealing plotlines.

His permanent departure will be confirmed in a future episode of the soap, when screen daughters Leanne and Toyah learn of their father’s death.

Vicky Entwistle, who played Battersby’s long-suffering wife Janice, has since revealed her former co-star learnt of the plot development in a message from ITV.

Responding to a fan on X, formerly Twitter, she wrote: ‘I know, Bruce told me a couple of months ago after receiving an email.’

Coronation Street chiefs are reportedly set to kill a legendary character in a ‘huge snub’.

Jones played Battersby for ten years before ITV bosses moved to axe him over a series of off-screen indiscretions.

Insiders have since claimed his screen death is a snub that will enrage die-hard fans of the long-running soap opera.

A source told The Mirror: ‘It’s a huge snub to kill off a popular character like this.

‘Bruce created one of the Street’s most iconic characters in Les and always hoped one day he might return.

‘A lot of the cast and crew have said it’s a bit mean. It’s also bound to infuriate long-term fans who remember Les with great fondness.’

A separate source told The Sun: ‘Bruce created one of the Street’s most iconic characters in Les and always hoped one day he might return.

‘A lot of the cast and crew have said it’s a bit mean.’

Battersby was known for his outspoken opinions and his following of English rock band Status Quo.

In next month’s instalment Les’s daughter Leanne, played by Jane Danson, receives a call telling her that her dad is dead and then tells the news to her sister Toyah, played by Georgia Taylor.

Jones earned £140,000 a year at his peak and pocketed more than £1million during his Coronation Street career.

But in 2015 – eight years after his departure from the show – the actor revealed he was on benefits after blowing through his £1million fortune.

He also had two houses repossessed and, at one point, had just £14 to his name.