William Roache
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| William Roache | |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 April 1932 Ilkeston, Derbyshire, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1950s-present |
| Children | Linus Roache |
William "Bill" Roache MBE, Hon D.Litt (born April 25, 1932 in Ilkeston, Derbyshire) is an English television actor, who plays the part of 'Ken Barlow' in the long-running soap opera, Coronation Street. He is the only remaining member of the original cast, having appeared in the first episode in December 1960.
His grandfather was interested in such things as hypnotism and homeopathy, and the teachings of radical educationalist Rudolf Steiner and Roache for a time attended a Steiner school set up by his grandfather in the garden of the family home. [1]
He was later educated at the independent Rydal School in Colwyn Bay, North Wales. He once served as a Commissioned Officer, reaching the rank of Captain in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.
William 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 As the World Turns since October 1960 [2] without a break, has played the same character longer. Coronation Street debuted in December of 1960 [3], which Roache was an original cast member. The Guinness Book of Records states that the record is held by Helen Wagner, who has played Nancy Hughes on the American soap opera As the World Turns since April 1956. Wagner made only sporadic appearances between 1981 and 1985, but was still considered part of the show's regular cast.
In 1992 The Sun 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 £50,000 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.
He has tinnitus due to a mortar bomb explosion while serving in the army.[4]
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 Vernon Kay. William Roache is now patron of Ilkeston based production company 'Sustained Magic Ltd. The company exists to help encourage the arts development within Ilkeston and the East Midlands to help develop new actors. He is a member of the Druid order and has celebrated the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge. William actually denies being a member of the Druid order, stating that he has in fact studied many different religions and is merely a 'Student of the Truth', assigned to no particular cult or order.
In March 2007, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Chester in recognition of his contribution to television. In June 2007, 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
- ^ Spiritual soap star William Roache to give talk in city Peterborough Today, 25 February 2006
- ^ Don Hastings CBS Biography (html). cbs.com (2007). Retrieved on 2007-01-21.
- ^ Coronation Street (html). Museum of Broadcast Communications (2007). Retrieved on 2007-01-21.
- ^ Soundbite. Deafness Research UK (10 November 2005). Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
