William Roache

William Roache is to reprise his role as Ken Barlow on the ITV soap opera Coronation Street after having being cleared of rape and indecent assault charges. Within two weeks the 82 year-old actor will reportedly resume filming on the show nearly four months after he was found not guilty of two rapes and four indecent assaults.

William Roache Will Be Returning To 'Coronation Street' After Having Cleared His Name.

The longest-serving living actor in a continuous role, Roache has been playing his character since 1960 but was temporarily written out of the soap when the charges were brought against him. Viewers were told that Ken had gone to visit his grandson Adam in Canada whilst the real-life actor defended himself in court.

Continue reading: William Roache Returning To ‘Coronation Street’ After Clearing His Name

The lines between ‘guity’ and ‘not guilty’ are fine, in a judicial sense, anyway. In an oral sense, they’re pretty far apart, but that didn’t stop the recently acquitted Bill Roach mishearing his verdict and descending into a panic.

He told Britain's Mail on Sunday newspaper: "I didn't hear the verdict properly. I didn't hear a couple of 'nots'. I thought I had gone on two, I just heard, 'Guilty, guilty, guilty',” he said.

Bill Roache was delighted with the verdict

Continue reading: Bill Roache Didn’t Hear The 'Not' In 'Not Guilty' - Panicked

Bill Roache, known best for his role on Coronation Street and now, for a torrent of rape and abuse allegations made against him, has been cleared of all charges. The 81-year-old actor was accused of raping and sexually assaulting five women between 1960 and 1970, but has been cleared after a three-and-a-half week trial, according to The Guardian.

Roache has been cleared of all charges.

The 81-year-old actor was accused of having used his privileges to rape a 15-year-old girl and sexually assault four other women. Roache has been on Coronation Street ever since the series’ advent in 1960.

Continue reading: Jury Says "Not Guilty" In Bill Roache's Rape And Abuse Case

Coronation Street's longest serving actor, William Roache, has been accused of five charges of indecent assault against four underage girls in court. The star, who plays Ken Barlow on the soap, was arrest on Thursday (June 6) and is due to appear in court for the five historic offences on Friday (June 7) morning.

Roache, who is 81-year-old, is being called out on several crimes he committed against underaged girls in the Manchester area between 1965 and 1968 and was arrested following a scheduled meeting with police in Cheshire yesterday. The girls Roache stands accused of abusing range between the ages of 11 or 12 and 16.

The charges come a month after the Corrie actor was first arrested on the historic list of offences, charges that the actor vehemently denies ever taking place. His arrest comes in the aftermath of the Jimmy Saville scandal and made the actor, who has served on Corrie throughout it's 60-year run, one of three different actors from the soap to be charged with child-related sex offences in the past few weeks. Roache is a personal friend of fellow sex offender Stuart Hall too, the former BBC presenter who is due to be sentenced in court later this month after admitting to indecently assaulting 13 girls between the 60s and 80s.

Continue reading: Coronation Street's Will Roache Faces Five Different Assault Charges Against Young Girls

Coronation Street Bill Roache appeared in court today in his attempt to refute claims that he raped a 15 year-old girl back in 1967. Roache plays the much-loved character Ken Barlow in the long running soap, and has been doing so since 1960. However his name has been dragged through the muck with this accusation as the police crackdown on historical cases of pedophilia in light of Jimmy Savile’s revelations brought to light after he died last year.

According to RTÉ, in a statement issued earlier this month, Roache had said he was "astounded and deeply horrified by the extraordinary events" of his arrest and subsequent charging. He added: "I strenuously deny the allegations and will now focus my full attention on fighting to preserve my innocence in the challenging times ahead. I would like to offer my sincere thanks to all those people who have offered me their support and good wishes at this difficult time."

Arriving at court, Barlow said nothing to the gathered crowd though looked relaxed in the court room as the case was read out to him. No plea has been put in at this stage, with his lawyer saying that there was nothing to add. He has been granted bail so long as he stays at home or at a family address in London. He has been taken off Coronation Street until the case has finished, becoming the second Corrie actor to abondon the street in lieu of sexual abuse charges being brought against them outside the show, the other being Kevin Webster actor Michael Le Vell.

Continue reading: Coronation Street's Bill Roache In Court To Answer Rape Allegations

Coronation Street actor Bill Roache appeared at Preston Magistrates Court on Tuesday (May 14, 2013) accused of raping a 15-year-old girl. The 81-year-old, who has played Ken Barlow since the legendary soap's launch, is charged with two counts of rape dating back to 1967. Photographers and journalists jostled for position outside court today as Roache smiled and even signed a couple of autographs in the public waiting area before stepping into the courtroom.

Dressed in a navy suit with striped blue shirt and white tie, Roache appeared relaxed and yawned as he waited for proceedings to begin, reports The Sun. He was led to the witness box where he confirmed his full name, address and date of birth. The actor made no statement as he left the court and was driven back to his home in Wilmslow, Cheshire.

After his arrest on May 1, Roache said he was "astounded and deeply horrified by the extraordinary events" of the accusations. "I strenuously deny the allegations and will now focus my full attention on fighting to preserve my innocence in the challenging times ahead," he said, adding, "I would like to offer my sincere thanks to all those people who have offered me their support and good wishes at this difficult time."

Continue reading: Coronation Street's Bill Roache Attends Court, Accused Of Raping Girl, 15

The Coronation Street star William Roache - also known as Bill Roache - has denied the accusation of rape that has been made against him. Roache, who has starred in Coronation Street since its very first episode in 1960, was charged of raping a 15 year old girl in 1967. Two accusations of rape have been made against Roache and the incidents are alleged to have occurred in Haslingden between April and July in 1967.

"I am astounded and deeply horrified by the extraordinary events of the last 24 hours," said the actor, who plays the role of Ken Barlow in the long-running soap. He was arrested at his home in Wilmslow, Cheshire on Wednesday (May 1, 2013). His statement continued "I strenuously deny the allegations and will now focus my full attention on fighting to preserve my innocence in the challenging times ahead. I would like to offer my sincere thanks to all those people who have offered me their support and good wishes at this difficult time."

Lancashire Police have said that they have been reviewing evidence since March 1st. Nazir Afzal, the Chief Crown Prosecutor for the North West, said "Having completed our review, we have concluded that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest for Mr Roache to be charged with two offences of rape relating to a girl, aged 15, in 1967." A spokesman for ITV confirmed that Roache will not be appearing in the soap until legal proceedings were concluded. He's currently the second actor suspended from the soap because of ongoing investigations into sexual offences. Michael Le Vell, who plays Kevin Webster, is also suspended.

Continue reading: 'Deeply Horrified' - Coronation Street's Bill Roache Denies Rape Accusation

Bill Roache, a staple on ITV’s Coronation Street for more than five decades, was questioned at his Cheshire home earlier today, over the rape of a 15-year-old girl back in 1976. This comes after Roache made some pretty offensive comments a couple of months ago in the wake of the Jimmy Savile media frenzy. At that time, the Coronation Street veteran hinted that victims of sexual abuse were being punished for sins of a past life. Or at least that’s what he appeared to say. When asked to clarify, Roach came out with the even more airy “If you accept that you are pure love, and if you know that you are pure love and therefore live that pure love, these things won't happen to you.”

To some, that still sounded extremely airy, and rightly so, but when asked whether he was blaming the victims of sexual abuse for what happened to them, Roach didn’t take the opportunity to retract his comment and said instead: “No, not quite, but and yet I am, because everything that happens to us has been a result of what we have been in previous lives or whatever.”

With that kind of history and his current allegations, it’s not looking too good for Roache right now. In light of the circumstances, the Coronation Street team is going to edit all scenes, featuring the actor from future episodes of the show, at least until the case is resolved. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Lancashire Police commented after the arrest: "We take all allegations of sexual abuse extremely seriously and would encourage people with any information about sexual abuse, or anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse, to come forward and report their concerns confident in the knowledge they will be investigated appropriately and with sensitivity."

Continue reading: Coronation Street's William Roache Arrested On Suspicion Of Rape

Bill Roache, the Coronation Street actor, has been arrested on suspicion of two counts of rape after the Lancashire constabulary conducted a morning search of his house in Wilmslow, Cheshire, before taking him in for questioning. In a statement, officers said the offences are allegedly to have been committed in Haslingden between April and July 1967 and involved a girl aged 15, reports The Guardian, the BBC, and others.

"We take all allegations of sexual abuse extremely seriously and would encourage people with any information about sexual abuse, or anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse, to come forward and report their concerns confident in the knowledge they will be investigated appropriately and with sensitivity," added the statement

Though police would only confirm that the accused was an 81-year-old man, sources outside Roache's home confirmed that he had been arrested. An ITV producer was outside the actor's home as police detectives searched the property. Roache - Coronation Street's long-serving cast member - will not be appearing on the soap in the near future following the arrest. An ITV spokesman said: "Given that a police investigation is underway, it would not be appropriate for us to comment."

Continue reading: Bill Roache (Ken Barlow) Arrested On Suspicion Of Raping Girl, 15

Coronation Street’s William Roache has made an official apology for some pretty abrasive comments he made recently. During an interview with New Zealand’s TVNZ, he made some admittedly vague statements about victims of abuse, which nevertheless managed to ruffle some feathers. While discussing the recent slew of sex abuse scandals, Roache had this to say: "If you accept that you are pure love, and if you know that you are pure love and therefore live that pure love, these things won't happen to you."

After the interviewer noted that that statement sounded an awful lot like victim blaming, Roache attempted to clarify, effectively making matters worse: "No, not quite.. and yet I am, because everything that happens to us has been a result of what we have been in previous lives or whatever."

Naturally, that wasn’t the answer everyone expected to hear. After considerable backlash however, Roache issued an official apology on Tuesday, or rather, an almost apology: "I would never say that victims of sexual offences are in any way responsible for the abuse they have suffered and I offer my deepest apologies if anything I have said has been misunderstood in this way.

Continue reading: William Roache Apologises For Controversial Comments On Sexual Abuse