CORONATION Street veteran Bill Roache is returning to the cobbles to film his first scenes in months.
The Ken Barlow actor, 89, was forced to stop after falling ill with Covid in March.
However, he was pictured meeting the Queen as she visited the set of the ITV soap this week.
And Bill will be back in his role next week.
A source said: “Bill couldn’t wait to be back on set and what better way to mark it than with a visit from the Her Majesty.
“He’s looking forward to returning to filming next week, and hasn’t found it easy being away from the show for so long.”
His last appearance was on March 10, although soap bosses opted not to write Ken out and instead simply kept him off-screen.
Bill holds the world record for the longest continuous stint in a drama, having been on Corrie since it started in 1960.
The actor has been open about his refusal to ever retire from the soap.
He insisted on its 60th anniversary last year: “While I can do it and they want me, I will be there. Retirement is not on the radar at all. I have no plans for that.
“I don’t even like to think about how they’d write Ken out if I did leave, because hopefully that is never going to happen.”
Bill told Her Maj he had first seen her when she visited Jamaica in 1953 and he was an officer with the Royal Welch Fusiliers.
The Queen asked how they had managed to keep filming during the pandemic and said: “It’s really marvellous you’ve been able to carry on.”
He replied to laughter: “Well, ma’am, you’re the one who has carried on.”
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