William Roache
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| William Roache | |||||||
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 William Roache |
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| Born | William Patrick Roache 25 April 1932 Ilkeston, Derbyshire, England |
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| Other name(s) | William Roache MBE Bill Roache |
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| Occupation | Actor | ||||||
| Years active | 1958–present | ||||||
| Spouse(s) | Sarah Roache (1978–present) Anna Cropper (?–1974) |
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William Patrick Roache MBE (born April 25, 1932) is a BS Award winning actor, best known for his role as Ken Barlow in the British drama Coronation Street, since 1960.
Roache is the only remaining member of the original cast, having appeared in the first episode on December 9, 1960.[1]
His grandfather was interested in such things as hypnotism and homeopathy, and the teachings of radical educationalist Rudolf Steiner. Roache for a time attended a Steiner school set up by his grandfather in the garden of the family home. [2]
Roache was later educated at the independent Rydal School in Colwyn Bay, North Wales. In 1953, he was commissioned into the Royal Welch Fusiliers. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1954 and left the Army three years later. Due to a mortar bomb explosion that he witnessed while on National Service with the British Army during this time, Roache suffers from tinnitus.[3]
Roache is the second-longest continuous actor in the history of television serials. Only Don Hastings, who has played Bob Hughes on the American soap opera As the World Turns since October 1960, [4] without a break, has played the same character longer. The Guinness Book of Records states that the non-continuous record is held by Helen Wagner, who has played Nancy Hughes on the same soap opera, As the World Turns, since April 1956. Wagner made only sporadic appearances between 1981 and 1985.
In 1992, The Sun newspaper accused Roache of being as boring as his character Ken Barlow. Roache then sued for libel, employing Peter Carter-Ruck as his lawyer. The Sun offered to settle out of court for £50,000. Roache turned this down and went ahead with legal action. He won the case and was awarded the same amount in damages. However, because he had turned down the earlier settlement he was liable for his considerable costs. Roache then sued Peter Carter-Ruck for misadvising him and lost. In 1999, he declared himself bankrupt.
In September and October 2005, Roache appeared as a celebrity contestant in Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon. He was the winner of The Golden Shot remake, progressing through to Bullseye where he was beaten by television presenter Vernon Kay.
Roache is now patron of the Ilkeston-based production company Sustained Magic Ltd.[5] The company exists to help encourage the arts development within Ilkeston and the East Midlands to help develop new actors.
In March 2007, Roache was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Chester in recognition of his contribution to television. In June of that year, he accepted an offer to become an honorary member of the voting panel for the 'Carer of the Year Award' organised by Castle Comfort Stairlifts of Staffordshire.
His son, with his first wife Anna Cropper, is the actor Linus Roache.
[edit] References
- ^ Coronation Street (html). Museum of Broadcast Communications (2007). Retrieved on 2007-01-21.
- ^ Spiritual soap star William Roache to give talk in city Peterborough Today, 25 February 2006
- ^ Soundbite. Deafness Research UK (10 November 2005). Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
- ^ Don Hastings CBS Biography (html). cbs.com (2007). Retrieved on 2007-01-21.
- ^ About Us. Sustained Magic. Retrieved on 4 March 2008.
