Coronation Street actor Bill Roache charged with rape
William Roache, the actor who plays Ken Barlow in TV soap Coronation Street, has been charged with two counts of rape of a 15-year-old girl in 1967.
The 81-year-old actor will appear at Preston magistrates’ court on 14 May.
Earlier, a spokesman for Lancashire Police said: “An 81-year-old man from Wilmslow in Cheshire has this morning, Wednesday May 1 2013, been arrested by Lancashire Constabulary on suspicion of rape.
“The man will be interviewed at a police station in Lancashire during the course of the day.
“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.”
An ITV spokeswoman said the broadcaster was not in a position to comment, but it is understood Roache will not appear in the long-running soap while investigations continue.
In March Mr Roache made widely-publicised comments in an interview with Gareth Bray of New Zealand’s One News about victims of sexual abuse.
Interview comments
He said “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.”
His “pure love” comment is a reference to a religious group called the Pure Love Movement. Mr Roache is known to be a member of the mysterious organisation which promotes an ideology based on “purity”.
The group’s website states: “We don’t seek fame and fortune, we seek true love, purity and passion.”
Original cast
Roache is the only remaining member of the original cast of Coronation Street, having starred in the soap’s very first episode which aired on 9 December 1960.
In 1999, he won the lifetime achievement award at the British Soap Awards, receiving a standing ovation from the audience.
He is now recognised as the world’s longest serving television actor. He was awarded an MBE in 2001 by the Queen.