1. William Patrick Roache was born on 25 April 1932 and is an English actor.
33 Facts About William Roache
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William Roache is best known for playing Ken Barlow in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street and is the longest-serving cast member in the series, having appeared in the show continuously since its first broadcast on 9 December 1960.
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William Roache is listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest-serving television star in a continuous role.
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William Roache's grandfather was a Freemason who was interested in such things as theosophy, esotericism, hypnotism, spiritualism, and homoeopathy, as well as the teachings of philosopher and educationalist Rudolf Steiner.
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William Roache joined the British Army and was commissioned into the Royal Welch Fusiliers in 1953.
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William Roache left in 1956 with the rank of captain.
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William Roache appeared in various stage productions, then had uncredited roles in several films, and later won small parts in television serials including Knight Errant Limited and Skyport.
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William Roache played the minor role of a space centre operator in the Norman Wisdom film The Bulldog Breed.
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Shortly before joining Coronation Street at the beginning of the programme in 1960, William Roache played the leading role in a Granada Television play called Marking Time, transmitted on ITV in 1961.
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On 16 October 1985, just weeks before the 25th anniversary of his debut on Coronation Street, William Roache appeared as the subject of TV show This Is Your Life.
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In 1999, William Roache was the recipient of the British Soap Awards Lifetime Achievement Award for his role as Ken Barlow.
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In 2003, William Roache appeared on Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes as Perry Como singing the song "Catch a Falling Star".
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William Roache was the winner of The Golden Shot, progressing through to Bullseye in which he was beaten by television presenter Vernon Kay.
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William Roache later entered All Star Family Fortunes, hosted by Kay, but lost by two points to his competitors.
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William Roache is currently Coronation Streets longest-serving actor, having been in the cast from the first episode.
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William Roache is currently the world's longest-serving television actor in a continuous role after the 2010 cancellation of the American soap opera As the World Turns, in which Don Hastings had played Bob Hughes since October 1960 without a break.
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William Roache married his second wife, Sara McEwan Mottram, in 1978.
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William Roache died suddenly on 7 February 2009 at their home, aged 58.
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In 1991, William Roache won a libel action against The Sun, which had described him as boring and unpopular with his fellow Coronation Street stars.
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William Roache sued his law firm for negligence in 1998, and was declared bankrupt in April 1999.
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William Roache is a supporter of the Conservative Party, in stark contrast to his character Ken Barlow, who has been stereotyped as a Labour supporter.
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William Roache backed Conservative MP Neil Hamilton in the 1997 election against Martin Bell.
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William Roache opposed instant-runoff voting in favour of first-past-the-post voting during the 2011 referendum on the issue.
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William Roache became patron of the Ilkeston-based production company Sustained Magic Ltd in 2006.
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William Roache dated weather reporter Emma Jesson from 2010 to 2012.
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William Roache wrote about his interest in astrology in his biography, which he learned by taking a correspondence course from the Faculty of Astrological Studies.
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William Roache said he had impressed members of the Coronation Street cast by the accuracy with which he read their astrological charts for them.
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On 6 June 2013, William Roache was charged with a further five counts of indecent assault against girls aged between 12 and 16.
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On 6 February 2014, William Roache was found not guilty on all charges.
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William Roache resumed filming on Coronation Street in June 2014, and returned to the screen on 4 August of that year.
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In 1999, William Roache was awarded the British Soap Awards Lifetime Achievement Award for his role as Ken Barlow.
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In March 2007, William Roache was awarded the Honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by the University of Chester in recognition of his contribution to television.
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William Roache was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2001 New Year Honours and Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to drama and charity.