William Roache | |
|---|---|
 Roache in 2017 | |
| Born | William Patrick Roache (1932-04-25)25 April 1932 (age 93) Basford, Nottingham, England |
| Other names | Bill Roache |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1958–present |
| Known for | Coronation Street (1960-present) Ken and Deirdre's Bedtime Stories (2011) |
| Spouses | |
| Partner | Emma Jesson (2010–2012) |
| Children | 5 (includingLinus andJames) |
| Relatives | Rosalind Bennett (daughter-in-law) |
William Patrick Roache (born 25 April 1932) is an English actor. He is best known for playingKen Barlow in theITV soap operaCoronation Street and is the longest-serving cast member in the series as well as a world record holder, having appeared in the show continuously since itsfirst broadcast on 9 December 1960. He is listed in theGuinness World Records as thelongest-serving television star in a continuous role.[1]
Roache[2] was born in theBasford suburb ofNottingham[3] the son of Hester Vera (née Waddicor) and Joseph William Vincent Roache, a doctor. His mother was the daughter of Albert and Mary Zillah Waddicor, a successful businesswoman, who ran a restaurant and tea rooms atAlton Towers, which had been opened as a tourist attraction – but not at that time atheme park – after the death of the20th Earl of Shrewsbury; Albert was a violent drunk.
Roache grew up inIlkeston, Derbyshire, where he attended aSteiner school set up by his grandfather, a physician and surgeon, in the family's garden.[4][5][6] His grandfather was aFreemason who was interested in such things astheosophy,esotericism, hypnotism, spiritualism, and homoeopathy, as well as the teachings of philosopher and educationalistRudolf Steiner. Roache was later educated atRydal School.[7] He joined theBritish Army and was commissioned into theRoyal Welch Fusiliers in 1953. A year later, he was promoted to the rank oflieutenant. He left in 1956 with the rank ofcaptain. Due to an explodingmortar round during his military service, he suffered fromtinnitus.[8]
After leaving the military, Roache turned to acting. He appeared in various stage productions, then had uncredited roles in several films, and later won small parts in television serials includingKnight Errant Limited andSkyport.[9] He played the minor role of a space centre operator in theNorman Wisdom filmThe Bulldog Breed. Shortly before joiningCoronation Street at the beginning of the programme in 1960, Roache played the leading role in aGranada Television play calledMarking Time, transmitted onITV in 1961. In an interview with theLiverpool Post in 2007, Roache recalled "I played a young soldier in Germany who fraternised with a German girl, although I can't remember now how it ended. It was highly prestigious, though, and I have tried to hunt it down but there is no trace of it."[3] He added: "ButTony Warren, who createdCoronation Street, saw it and thought I was right forKen Barlow."[10]
On 16 October 1985, just weeks before the 25th anniversary of his debut onCoronation Street, Roache appeared as the subject of TV showThis Is Your Life.[11]Ken and Me, Roache's first autobiography, was published in 1993, covering his life on and off screen.[12] In 1999, Roache was the recipient of theBritish Soap Awards Lifetime Achievement Award for his role as Ken Barlow. In 2003, Roache appeared onCelebrityStars in Their Eyes asPerry Como singing the song "Catch a Falling Star". In September and October 2005, he appeared as a celebrity contestant inAnt & Dec's Gameshow Marathon.[13] He was the winner ofThe Golden Shot (a remake), progressing through toBullseye in which he was beaten by television presenterVernon Kay. He later enteredAll Star Family Fortunes, hosted by Kay, but lost by two points to his competitors.[citation needed]
Roache's 2008 autobiographySoul on the Street contains a substantial amount of philosophical content in which Roache affirms his belief in the afterlife. In October 2008, he revealed onBBC Breakfast he had had a two-year feud with actressPat Phoenix, a fellowCoronation Street player, during which they did not speak to each other: this stemmed from her changing a scene involving the two of them. However, they did reconcile and became good friends.[14] In 2010,50 Years on the Street: My Life with Ken Barlow, a memoir focusing on Roache's work onCoronation Street, was published to coincide with his 50th year playing Barlow.[15]
On 13 April 2012,Piers Morgan interviewed Roache for hisITV seriesPiers Morgan's Life Stories. During this show Roache admitted to sleeping with around 1,000 women. On 26 September 2012, Roache was featured in theBBC seriesWho Do You Think You Are?, researching his family history.[16] He is currentlyCoronation Street's longest-serving actor, having been in the cast from thefirst episode. In 2018, the bookLife and Soul: How to Live a Long and Healthy Life was released, in which Roache shares his personal philosophy and life experiences.[17]
Roache is currently the world'slongest-serving television actor in a continuous role (as of March 2018) after the 2010 cancellation of the American soap operaAs the World Turns, in whichDon Hastings had played Bob Hughes since October 1960 without a break.
Roache's biography,The Times and Life of William 'Bill' Roache: Actor for the Ages, was released to coincide with his 90th birthday on 15 April 2022.[18][19]
Roache lives inWilmslow, Cheshire.[20] His eldest son, by his first wifeAnna Cropper (1938–2007), is actorLinus Roache (born 1964). The couple also had a daughter, Vanya (1967–2018). Roache and Cropper were married from 1961 until divorcing in 1974. Roache married his second wife, Sara McEwan Mottram, in 1978. She died suddenly on 7 February 2009 at their home, aged 58.[21] With Sara, he had a daughter (born 1981) and a younger son, actorJames Roache (christened William; born 1985). A second daughter, died aged 18 months, on 16 November 1984.
In 1991, Roache won a libel action againstThe Sun, which had described him as boring and unpopular with his fellowCoronation Street stars. He was awarded £50,000 in damages by the jury, the same amount that he had turned down in an out-of-court settlement offered by the newspaper before the case. As a result, he was liable for the £120,000 costs incurred. Roache sued his law firm for negligence in 1998, and was declaredbankrupt in April 1999.[22][23]
Roache is a supporter of theConservative Party, in stark contrast to his character Ken Barlow, who has been stereotyped as aLabour supporter. In 2007, as a guest forDaily Politics, he championedJohn Major as Britain's greatest post-war prime minister.[24] He backed Conservative MPNeil Hamilton in the1997 election againstMartin Bell.[25][26] Roache opposedinstant-runoff voting in favour offirst-past-the-post voting during the2011 referendum on the issue.[27]
Roache became patron of theIlkeston-based production company Sustained Magic Ltd in 2006.[28]
Roache dated weather reporter Emma Jesson from 2010 to 2012.[29]
Roache wrote about his interest inastrology in his biography, which he learned by taking acorrespondence course from theFaculty of Astrological Studies. He said he had impressed members of theCoronation Street cast by the accuracy with which he read theirastrological charts for them.[30]
On 1 May 2013, Roache was arrested byLancashire Police on suspicion of havingraped a 15-year-old girl in 1967, an allegation he denied.[20][31][32] TheCrown Prosecution Service subsequently announced that he was to be charged with two counts of rape.[33] There was a preliminary hearing in aMagistrates' court on 14 May 2013[34] and aCrown Court hearing took place on 10 June 2013.[35] On 6 June 2013, Roache was charged with a further five counts ofindecent assault against girls aged between 12 and 16.[36][37] Roache appeared atPreston Crown Court on 2 September and pleaded not guilty to all charges. The full trial started on 14 January 2014 at Preston Crown Court, before Judge Anthony Russell QC.[38] During the trial, one charge was dismissed by the judge citing a lack of evidence. Some details in two witnesses' accounts changed in the course of the trial.[39]
On 6 February 2014, Roache was found not guilty on all charges.[39][40] Following his acquittal, Roache gave a brief statement saying that there had been "no winners" and expressing his intent to "get back to work".[39] A waxwork of Ken Barlow had been removed from theMadame Tussauds waxwork exhibition inBlackpool due to fears it might be vandalised.[41] The waxwork was returned to the exhibition in February 2014 following Roache's acquittal.[42] Roache resumed filming onCoronation Street in June 2014, and returned to the screen on 4 August of that year.[43]
In 1999, Roache was awarded the British Soap Awards Lifetime Achievement Award for his role as Ken Barlow.
In March 2007, Roache was awarded theHonorary degree ofDoctor of Letters by theUniversity of Chester in recognition of his contribution to television.[44]
Roache was appointedMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the2001 New Year Honours[45][46] andOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the2022 New Year Honours for services to drama and charity.[47][48][49]
| Year | Show | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Behind the Mask | Uncredited | |
| 1960–present | Coronation Street | Ken Barlow | 4,833+ episodes |
| 1960 | The Bulldog Breed | Space Centre operator | Uncredited |
| Knight Errant Limited | Various | 2 episodes | |
| 1961 | The Queen's Guards | Field Radio Operator | Uncredited |
| 1969 | All Star Comedy Carnival | Ken Barlow | |
| 1999 | Comic Relief Special - Wetty Hainthropp Investigates | ||
| 2005 | Comic Relief | ||
| 2011 | Ken and Deirdre's Bedtime Stories | Coronation Street spin-off series; 10 episodes | |
| 2017 | The Missing Crown Jewels | Himself | Part ofAnt & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway |
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
