BILL Roache is listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest-serving television star in an on-going role.
Here’s everything you need to know about the acting veteran.
Who is Bill Roache?
Bill Roache was born April 25, 1932.
He is a TV actor from Basford, Nottinghamshire.
He joined the British Army in 1953 and left in 1956 after reaching the rank of captain. An exploding mortar round left him with tinnitus.
Prior to joining Coronation Street, Bill landed the lead role in a televised play called Marking Time, although it wasn’t broadcast until a year after his Coronation Street debut in 1960.
Bill has two children with his first wife Anna Cropper.
Eldest son Linus Roache is also an actor.
Bill and Anna also had daughter Vanya, born 1967.
Bill remarried Sarah Mottram in 1978 and together they had three more children, Verity, James and Edwina.
Tragically, Edwina died aged just 18-months-old due to bronchial pneumonia.
Bill’s wife Sarah Mottram also died suddenly in 2009 at the age of 58.
Who was Bill Roache’s daughter Vanya?
Bill’s daughter Vanya passed away at the age of 50 on March 4, 2018, due to liver failure and he was granted compassionate leave from the soap.
He revealed how a car crash meant he wasn’t able to say goodbye to Vanya before she died at a hospital in Chichester.
He said: “The pain of losing a child is unbearable.
“To not be able to say goodbye to Vanya was awful but I take some comfort in knowing she is in a better place and at peace.
“But your children going before you is horrendous.”
Bill returned to Coronation Street on March 13, 2018.
Who is Ken Barlow in Coronation Street?
Bill is best known for playing the role of Ken Barlow in Coronation Street since 1960, landing him in the Guinness World Records book as the longest-serving male television star in a continuous role.
Ken Barlow has a reputation on the iconic street as being a womaniser after racking up four marriages and dating 27 women between 1960 and 2007.
His scenes with Deidre Hunt stole the show with their first and second weddings both getting more viewers than the royal wedding between Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
2017 saw Ken involved in a mystery storyline when he was attacked by an unknown assailant who pushed him down the stairs.
In May 2018, Bill set out on a tour of Canada with his own show The Ken Barlow effect – giving a glimpse into his life on Corrie.
What was the Bill Roache death hoax?
On April 18, 2018, Bill, unfortunately, fell foul of a fake news website’s article claiming he had died.
It wrongly published: “Son Linus Roache said in a statement that Bill died of heart failure on the night of Wednesday.”
However acting legend Bill, who plays Ken Barlow in the hit ITV soap, is alive and well.
A representative told The Celeb Report Online they would not be commenting on the “fake news”.
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