William Roache

William Patrick "Bill" RoacheMBE (born 25 April 1932) is an English actor. He has played Ken Barlow in the soap opera Coronation Street since its first episode on 9 December 1960. In 2013, Roache was arrested, charged and subsequently acquitted on suspicion of child sexual abuse and rape. Although he denied these allegations, ITV suspended him from Coronation Street. Following his acquittal, he returned to Coronation Street in 2014. He is listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest-serving living television actor in a continuous role.

Early life

Roache was born in Basford, Nottinghamshire, the son of Hester Vera (née Waddicor) and Joseph William Vincent Roache. He grew up in nearby Ilkeston, Derbyshire, where he attended a Steiner school set up by his grandfather in the garden of the family home. His Freemason grandfather was interested in such things as hypnotism, theosophy, spiritualism, homoeopathy and esotericism, and the teachings of philosopher and educationalist Rudolf Steiner. Roache was later educated at Rydal School which was also attended by his son Linus.