Corrie: William Roache features

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A literary lunch date with spooks, secrets and some amazing words

A PSYCHIC experience at his childhood home sparked the desire to find answers to questions such as 'Is there life after death?' for actor William Roache. Mr Roache, best known for playing Coronation Street's Ken Barlow, was in the bathroom when he looked up to see "what can only be described as a spook". He told the audience at yesterday's Yorkshire Post Literary Lunch in Harrogate: "It was gritty grey with yellow eyes. I looked down and wondered what to do, and when I looked up it was gone. That was the first of four psychic experiences I've had."

Mr Roache recently published Soul on the Street, a partly autobiographical book talking about his life as an actor and describing events which shaped his own spiritual understanding. He also spoke about his time in Coronation Street, saying his agent had to persuade him to appear in what was supposed to be a 13-week drama serial. "That was 47 years ago," he said.

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Life beyond the Street
Boring? Never. The Corrie actor who won a case against The Sun talks to Sarah Caden about how the streets on and off-screen have changed, a marriage break-up and the leaps in spiritual growth he says he has made since the tragic death of one of his daughters
By Sarah Caden
Sunday January 27 2008
www.independent.ie


WILLIAM ROACHE is a man more comfortable talking about death than retirement. The former he does not fear, the latter he cannot countenance. As the man whose 47 years on Coronation Street mean that it's difficult not to call him "Ken" in person, the idea of retiring from Weatherfield and acting fills Roache with horror of the unknown, but when it comes to quitting life entirely, he is not wracked with the same doubts and fears. So, the subject of life after the Street is swiftly dismissed, while life after death is something he can talk about easily and endlessly. It's not the norm, Roache acknowledges, and it's not something he wants to shove down people's throats, but after decades on his spiritual journey, it's something he wants to share.

"I don't like the idea of the dying, the actual act," laughs Roache, expounding enthusiastically on the central subject of his latest book, Soul on the Street, "and, like Woody Allen said, 'I just don't want to be there when it happens', but I don't fear it. On the contrary, I look forward to it because it will be like walking out of a smoke-filled room into the fresh air. Death is only a change of environment, a violent one, because you have to shed the vehicle of this life and break out of it, but that is the death process.

"Once that's done, it is wonderful because you are released," continues Roache, "Then, it is a fantastic thing. In fact, there is more grieving in the spirit world for someone who has to reincarnate. Then, it's 'poor old you, going back to that awful place'."

William Roache shares his convictions regarding life, death and life after death with absolute certainty, though he understands they will come as a surprise to some people. "A lot of people, even colleagues I have worked with for years," says Roache, "don't know this side of me. It will be a revelation to them. And I'm happy for people to know, but you must not go dishing it out willy-nilly or it will be thrown back in your face. Initially, years ago, I had a huge need to tell everyone, but, with time, you slip back into a sensible understanding. Everyone is on a spiritual journey, whether they know it or not, but what the book is for is to reach out to people who are searching."

The 75-year-old actor's own search has been lifelong, by his own reckoning. Though he comes from a medical and ostensibly conservative background, his Derbyshire upbringing was rather open minded. His paternal grandfather -- a GP, as was his father -- had a great interest in homeopathy and hypnotism, and Roache had some of his education at a Steiner school in the garden of the family home. It is back to these days that Roache dates his openness to ideas regarding reincarnation and other areas of spirituality, but he was well into adulthood before his journey as a "Student of the Truth" began.

"Back to the Dark Ages," Roache says, "the family was church, army or doctor, so when I didn't get into medical college, I felt I was really letting the side down. But I was called up for National Service and thought, 'Well, if I get a commission, then I've fulfilled the family honour', and I did, so I did. I stayed [in the army] for six years and became a captain and when I came out I decided to give the acting a go and, really, I'm still having a go."

"I'm a stayer," he says of his stint as Ken Barlow, the last remaining original cast member on the longest-running soap in the world. "I like to get things right and I'm still trying to get Ken right after all these years." He laughs at this summation, much as he laughs and good-humouredly jokes that maybe Ken shares this trait, what with his repeated efforts with Deirdre and his "25 girlfriends and three wives". That's where the similarity to Ken ends, though, as Roache famously strove to prove with an early-Nineties libel case that saw him sue The Sun for a piece that claimed he was as boring as his Corrie character. He turned down an initial settlement, then won the case but incurred huge costs and a subsequent case against his lawyer for bad advice left him bankrupt.

"But it was an interesting thing," says Roache of the experience. "As I say in this book, you learn more from your bad experiences than your good ones. I could regret that experience, but I don't, I had to go through it to learn what I did. I wouldn't do it now, but it was a wonderful opportunity to make a quantum spiritual leap. I learned a lot about pride, how it's a dangerous thing that needs to be chucked out the window and that it's a big enemy that comes in all sorts of forms. Through something like that, if you're lucky, you learn to forgive and that releases you. Amazingly, it was an experience that had no real negative effect on our lives. The children still had a private education, we still had the house, it was truly amazing.

"If you've lived a very cosy life, you don't learn very much," Roache explains, "but I've led an interesting life and enjoyed it, even some of the bad experiences."

An early evolutionary experience for William Roache was the collapse of his first marriage in the early Seventies, to actress Anna Cropper, with whom he had a daughter and a son, the actor Linus. By his own admission, the marriage's failure was his fault for the most part. Working on Coronation Street, he very much enjoyed the trappings of new fame, there was a great social life associated with the show then and he was repeatedly unfaithful. That divorce, however, prompted a reassessment and from that point, Roache's spirituality took on a new significance for him.

It was during his second marriage, to Sara, that Roache's journey into studying the afterlife and reincarnation really began and when their second daughter, Edwina, died suddenly as an infant, his beliefs took on a whole new and real meaning. That said, Roache does not like the word "belief". "Belief," he says, "is dangerous. Belief is only a stepping stone, but turn it into knowledge and it becomes truth. And once you know the truth, it never deserts you."

"My quest predated Edwina's death and it helped tremendously to know what I knew when that happened and helped confirm, more than anything, what I knew," says Roache, who wrote about her loss in his autobiography, Ken and Me, but approaches it from a different, more surprising point of view in Soul on the Street. "It didn't lessen the grief at the time but it helped in the long run," he goes on to explain of what he and Sara went through. "Because grief, you know, isn't for the person who's gone, grief is for what you've lost and for the people left behind and it should only last so long because they've gone to a better place, a place of joy and you should be happy for them. So, you have a certain amount of time when it's appropriate to grieve the fact they're not with you any longer, but that's all."

THE morning of Edwina's funeral, in 1984, Roache had what he calls "an angelic projection". He saw her face and he knew it was a message telling him she was at peace and that he was not to feel bad for her. "There was a great sense of lifting then," Roache says. "The initial, heavy grief lifted and even though it took another two years, maybe, before I could look at a picture of her and accept that yes, she's OK and only a thought away and I'm just sorry we had such a short time, there was a peace after that morning. But that was only a couple of years, you see. Some people grieve for all their lives and there's no need. People are not dead, they are still alive and if you're grieving, that upsets them."

William and Sara Roache were very much on the same page, spiritually, when they lost Edwina and this was "wonderful", he says. They helped their elder daughter, Verity, through her loss together and later had another child, a son, Will. Today, both are starting into their own careers, Verity as a designer with Nicky Haslam in London and Will as an actor. William Roache rolls his eyes at his son's choice, but seems somewhat pleased by it also. "Poor chap," he smiles, "but so long as you make sure they understand it's difficult, then all you can do is wish them well."

"I think Will understands that it's unique to find what I found [on Coronation Street] and that it's a much more difficult business now. Now, you can pop up and disappear very quickly. But even the Street is very different now," he says. "Of course it is, with a cast of 75. There was a time when we all socialised together and were very much a community, but the show's not like that any more and streets aren't like that any more."

Still, William Roache will stick with the Street. He misses Johnny Briggs, who played Mike Baldwin, and will miss their annual bust-up and regrets the departure of Vera Duckworth (actress Elizabeth Dawn). Roache continues to enjoy the work, though, he gets a kick out of the relationship between Ken and his women, wife Deirdre and mother-in-law, Blanche, and will not be going anywhere soon. With pride, Roache -- who will be 76 in April -- explains how he was filming at Granada just hours before flying to Dublin to promote his book and will be back at work after only a day's break when he flies home again. "While I can still do it and while they still want me, I'll keep going," he asserts.

The end of that life, William Roache does not seem to give any time or real thought to, while the end of life itself, he has given time and thought to over many years, leaving him convinced that when it's over, it's really only just begun. There will be another place, where he will be with Edwina again and there will be other lives and other experiences beyond that. This, says William Roache, he does not believe, but he knows.

"But this is only what I've learned so far," he adds. "It's a non-stop journey but there comes a time when you should give out what you've taken in and if you've spent a life searching, you should not keep what you've found out to yourself. You need to give it out and if it helps only one person, then that's good. What I know, you learn over lifetimes and learn to understand, but really, never ends." With Ken and with William, it's about never ending, about being "a stayer".

'Soul on the Street' by William Roache, is published by Hay House at €25.15

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From Coronation Street to Corporation Street!
Ken Barlow comes to Derry
click HERE for video
Stephen Emerson
07 February 2008
derryjournal.com

Diehard followers of cult soap Coronation Street can sleep soundly tonight safe in the knowledge that actor Bill Roache, who plays Ken Barlow, has no plans to quit the hit TV show. Bill, who was in Derry yesterday to discuss the serious matter of consumer debt, told the "Journal" that he will play the role of Deirdre's long-suffering husband until he is unable to do so or he is written out of the show.

The 75-year-old, who was one of the show's founding stars 47 years ago, said: "Retiring is definitely not an option. I will end it when I am not able to do the job or I am written out. I love the street and I am very proud of it. I have this wonderfully dysfunctional family - I have a daughter in prison, a son who is a bigamist and mother-in-law like Blanche!"

Bill says it's sometimes hard to believe he's still playing the role of Ken Barlow nearly 50 years on from when the soap first hit our screens on December 9, 1960. "At the start, no one thought it would run as long as it has" he said. "When I started out there was no such thing as soaps - it was drama serials. We were of that genre. It retains some of that style and has that special formula - it is character-based, well written and well acted. I cannot see any reason why it cannot go on forever. It still has that special thing about it."
Bill says the production of the soap, which regularly attracts more than ten million viewers, has changed beyond all recognition from when it was first aired.

"Plot lines are recorded five weeks ahead of what you see and writers write six to seven months ahead. When the series was started, it was filmed as live. It used to go out on a Friday and Monday. When it was recorded, you couldn't stop and start and do retakes. That system of not being able to edit went on for years."

Despite advances in editing, the Derbyshire-born actor says actors on the Manchester-based soap still have their work cut out. "Filming goes on from eight in the morning to six at night, six days a week. You have your day off on a Saturday. If you are heavily committed you can be in all of those times."

Bill says he has been overwhelmed by the response he has received on the streets of Derry: "The response I have received has been heart warming. The people are unbelievably friendly. I have had taxi drivers shouting out their windows asking how Deirdre is? The profile of Coronation Street here is extraordinarily high. It is a very beautiful city and I have heard very good things about it. I am glad to see that it is thriving."

The Derbyshire-born actor, who is a director with debtsolutions.co.uk, was in the city on to promote his firm's new working relationship with Derry financial firm McCambridge Duffy. Bill says that helping people out of debt is something that he holds dear.

"Debt is the single biggest cause of unhappiness and stress in our lives. The majority of people that have debt problems have them not because they are wreckless but because their circumstances change. People think that there is no solution. Every debt does have a solution. You need to go to someone who can look at it. I have always wanted to help people get out of debt and this is a practical and physical way of helping people. The client comes first. Our rates are as low as they can be. Our aim is to help people."

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Corrie star Roache heading for 50 years on The Street
November 22, 2008

DERBYSHIRE actor William Roache has told of his delight at playing the Coronation Street role of Ken Barlow – speaking for the first time since learning he will complete 50 years in the show.

The 76-year-old, who was born in Ilkeston, is the world's longest-serving soap star. But his job in the hit ITV show, which began life in 1960 called Florizel Street, was only supposed to be temporary. "It was only going to run for 13 weeks. All I can say is that it has been a very long 13 weeks," said Mr Roache. "People have followed my character from day one, and what is so great is that you're allowed to grow old over the years and fall into pieces in front of your audience."

Mr Roache has just signed a new two-year contract which will take him into his 50th year in Coronation Street. During his decades on the show, the actor has tackled storylines involving his daughter being jailed for murder, a bigamist son and regular arguments with a mother-in-law from hell.

He said: "Ex-teacher Ken has a wonderfully dysfunctional family. His mother-in-law, Blanche, throws in one-liners like hand grenades, she loves to stir it up all the time. Ken is a pretty easy-going sort of guy who wants to do right by the world. He would love to live in peace and harmony with Deirdre but his life never works out like that. We weren't called a soap at first. In some ways it's a derogatory term as we were a drama serial back then. It was 1960, the era of the kitchen sink drama, and the series was all about gritty realism. I'm very proud of The Street and the fact that it's still going strong."

Mr Roache was born in Ilkeston and lived in the former Rutland House, which stood where the Weleda complex is today. From the age of five until seven, he attended Michael House School in Ilkeston, before being sent way to Rydal School, in Colwyn Bay, during the Second World War. His first acting part was just three lines in a film called Behind the Mask, starring Michael Redgrave, which led to a small part in the series Ivanhoe, starring Roger Moore.

To find out more about Mr Roache's career, see the December issue of The Derbyshire Magazine, priced £1.75.

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[pirtybirdy]

Sorry to hear about Bill Roache's wife dying. My condolences to him and his family. She was quite young, what a shame.

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Coronation Street bosses suspend filming for funeral of Bill Roache's wife
16th February 2009

Coronation Street producers will close the set for the first time in ten years following a series of tragedies on the soap. Filming will shut down tomorrow to allow the cast and crew to attend the funeral service of Bill Roache's wife Sara, who passed away suddenly at the age of 58 after a suspected heart attack. Roache, who plays Ken Barlow, was left devastated after his wife of 30 years collapsed at the couple's home in Cheshire on February 7.

The show was rocked again last week when Kym Marsh's baby boy Archie died just seconds after he was born 18 weeks premature. Morale is said to be at 'rock bottom' at the Manchester studios as the team struggle to come to terms with the heartbreak.

The show's chiefs are also scrambling to rewrite scripts after storylines were thrown into chaos. Both Roache and Marsh, who plays barmaid Michelle Connor, are at the centre of major plot lines on the soap. Bosses have vowed to give both stars as much time off as they need.

Roache last week missed filming crucial scenes with new love interest Martha Fraser, played by Stephanie Beacham. He is expected to return to work later this week.

Marsh, who described her late son with Hollyoaks star Jamie Lomas as an 'angel', was due to be written out later in the year so she could take maternity leave but will now stay on.

A Coronation Street spokesperson said: 'We will have to tinker with scripts but we will be filming every day this week apart from Tuesday.' Filming was last suspended ten years ago after the death of Bryan Mosely, who played shopkeeper Alf Roberts. A soap insider added: 'We have never known anything quite like this. But the priority is, and always will be, to look after the welfare of our cast.'

Thankfully there has been some joy among the heartache. Last week, Alison King and Jack P Shepherd's girlfriend Lauren Shippey both gave birth to baby girls, while Wanda Opalinska welcomed a baby boy named Rafal.

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I'LL NEVER QUIT THE STREET
EXCLUSIVE Brave star's pledge after wife tragedy
By David Jeffs
Assistant Editor
people.co.uk

Grieving Bill Roache has vowed "I'll never quit Corrie" despite the death of his wife Sara. Pals feared the Ken Barlow star, 76, would leave the soap after Sara, 58, died of a suspected heart attack. But speaking after her memorial service this week, Bill said: "I'll never quit the show I love. Sara would have wanted me to carry on. Apart from my family Coronation Street has been my life. At my lowest ebb it crossed my mind but I knew I could never walk away. Sara always joked that the show was the second woman in our marriage. The cast and crew are like family. I'd stay for another 50 years if I could."

Sara's memorial service was held at a packed church in Wilmslow, Cheshire, shortly after her private funeral. Bill, who has two children from his 31-year marriage to Sara, made the vow never to leave to ex co-star Bruce Jones, 55, who played Les Battersby. Bruce said: "He said despite the shock of losing Sara so quickly he could never bring himself to walk away. It has left a huge vacuum in his life but knowing he has the support and love of all the cast and crew is a great source of strength."

Bruce added: "Producers have given Bill as much time off as he needs but knowing Bill he'll probably want to be back next week. He is a true professional."

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Bill: My tears at loss of Sara
Neal Keeling
March 09, 2009
manchestereveningnews.co.uk

CORONATION Street actor Bill Roache has spoken of his heartache after losing his wife. Sara, 58, died at his side at their home in Wilmslow four weeks ago. She collapsed beside him in bed and never regained consciousness.

Bill, who plays Ken Barlow, said: "I lay down beside her and we chatted away. Then out of the blue, she leaned forward, said `Oh' and fell sideways. I thought she had passed out. Her eyes were closed. She looked peaceful but I could get no reaction. I was sure it was just a faint. Sara had hardly had a day's illness in her life, apart from suffering from asthma more than 20 years ago. She was full of energy, always on the go and she never needed to go to the doctor."

He called 999 and followed the ambulance to hospital but Sara had died before she could be admitted to intensive care. He said: "Hearing that was so shocking. Sara - who had been so alive, so vital. The truth hit me like a physical blow and I broke down. A nurse held my hand as I cried. She was very kind. Then I went to see Sara. She seemed wonderfully serene but as I looked at her I knew her spirit had gone from her body. I laid my hand on hers. I said `Go on love'.

"I knew she was moving into a spiritual realm and, despite my sorrow at losing her, I wished her every joy. As I stood up to leave, the tears came again and I took my last look at Sara, my perfect wife."

He then broke the news to their children, Verity and William. Bill and Sara's younger daughter, Edwina, died in 1984, aged 18 months, of acute bronchial pneumonia. Sara was 17 years younger than Bill. They married in 1978.

He said: "Despite her age, I felt Sara was a wise soul, with incredible intuition. She taught me so much about loyalty. Every morning I come down and say, `Hello love, how are you?' I still can't believe she is gone. In retrospect I believe Sara died instantly in the bedroom beside me. It was a beautiful way to go, with no suffering.

"We had the same feelings at the end as we did at the beginning. We were still in love but it had matured. I wouldn't consider re-marrying. It would be impossible to match the marriage I had. She was perfection to me and that could never be attained again. She was my best friend and my greatest critic. Our relationship was a 35-year conversation and I will always have those memories. In fact, I will live more than happily on my memories of Sara. They will last me the rest of my days."

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I read today that 'This week, Bill Roache – alias Ken Barlow from Coronation Street – is hosting the Tories' first pub quiz.' at the Conservative party conference.

The boring old fart can feck right off. What a traitor to the street! booo hisss.

[pirtybirdy]

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Ken Barlow to celebrate 50 years on Coronation Street
April 02, 2010
manchestereveningnews.co.uk

William Roache will take centre stage in a special production to mark his 50 years as Coronation Street’s Ken Barlow. A special tribute night for the veteran actor, who has appeared in nearly 4,000 episodes of the soap, will be held in Bolton later this year.

A host of star guests are expeted to attend the event at the Reebok Stadium on Friday September 24. Paul Wild, chairman of the Bolton branch of organisers the Variety Club, said: "This event provides a unique opportunity to honour a much-loved actor who has made his character such an important part of British life. It will be a very exciting night, and not just for the fans of Coronation Street. There will be plenty of surprises – William Roache counts people like Cliff Richard, Cilla Black and Prince Charles among his friends and acquaintances, and many people want to pay tribute to both his longevity and talent.”

William, 77, said: “I am really looking forward to it – it’s a wonderful honour and I am very grateful to the Variety Club for arranging it.”

Ken Barlow appeared in the first episode of the Street on December 9, 1960. Then he was a fresh-faced, radical Manchester University student who showed his intellectual side in a terse exchange with parents Frank and Ida (see below). That show also featured Ken’s girlfriend fellow Manchester University student, Susan Cunningham.

Over half a century the ‘silver fox’ has been married four times, widowed twice, divorced once and had 27 girlfriends. World famous actresses who have played his love interest include ex Bond girl Joanna Lumley and most recently Stephanie Beacham.

In the Street the Guardian-reading Ken Barlow has led a life packed with incident and variety. His first wife, Valerie Tatlock was electrocuted by a faulty hairdryer, and his clashes with love-rival Mike Baldwin over Deirdre prompted updates to be flashed up on a screen during a Manchester United home game at Old Trafford. In his working life Ken has been a teacher, newspaper editor, supermarket trolley-pusher and Father Christmas.

Dramatic Entrance - first lines of a legend

Ken’s mum: “Sauce Ken?”
Ken: “No thank you.”
Mum: “Oh, I got it specially. You always loved it when you were little.”
Ken: “Did I?”
Dad: “What’s up?”
Ken: “Nothing.”
Dad: “What’s that snooty expression for then?
Ken: “What snooty expression?”
Mum: “That new pullover has turned out a treat. Mind you I’ll not knit you another one in that colour though. Navy blue plays the devil with my eyes.”
Ken: “Oh no.”
Dad: “Don’t they do this at college then? I bet they don’t eat in their shirt sleeves either.”
Ken: “What do you mean?”
Dad: “Oh I’ve noticed you looking at me.”
Ken: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Dad: “Oh yes you do. We’re not good enough for you.”

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William Roache and Sarah Tetteh
William Roache is still up for Ken Barlow enjoying more romance, even after 27 women in 50 years on the soap
Sarah Tetteh
15/04/2010

He's romanced nearly 30 women and notched up four marriages during his time on the cobbles. And despite nudging 80, Coronation Street legend Ken Barlow is not quite ready to say goodbye to his lothario image just yet. Incredibly, actor William Roache, who has been in our living rooms for 50 years playing Ken, is begging scriptwriters to sex up his storylines even more.

Bill, the only remaining character from the first episode in 1960, wants a racy romance to celebrate the soap’s 50th anniversary this autumn. And despite his age Bill is quite the charmer. Huddling up on the sofa, placing a re-assuring hand on my knee, the bubbly star grinned: “A few more gorgeous girlfriends would be lovely. How are you fixed, darling? You’d be great as my on-screen girlfriend.”

But don’t dust down the wedding hat just yet because there’s only one true love in Ken’s life. Of his on-screen wife Deirdre (Anne ­Kirkbride), Bill says: “We’re like a married couple in a way off-screen as well. We’re really fond of each other. We’ve done so much together. I’m lucky to have someone to work with like her. If she ever left I’d be very upset, just as Bill Tarmey (Jack Duckworth) was when Vera went.”

But first and foremost Bill is desperate for the racy plot lines to continue – including more “hot barmaids” to get his teeth in to. “I thought it was great last year having a girlfriend, ­especially at my age. A few more would be great. I’ve lost count of romances I’ve had in the show not to mention the four weddings. The lovely Joanna Lumley being one of my girlfriends was a particular highlight. Not a bad life is it?” He added: “Ken did ­misbehave last year with Stephanie Beacham. I’m pleased about that too.”

As we chat over tea, fruit scones and clotted cream at the posh Hilton hotel in Manchester, a gaggle of grannies swoon over the surprisingly youthful MBE. He waves over cheerfully and smiles. Then a group of lads in their 30s ­recognise him and pat him on the back, offering to buy him a drink. Unfazed by his popularity, Bill says: “I love my job. I don’t want to retire. While they want me, while I’m useful – I’d love to stay. With my dysfunctional family I’m still useful to the show. An alcoholic son, a murderess daughter... It’s good drama.”

Incredibly, he will be the world’s longest-serving soap character this winter. “There’s a guy in New York in As The World Turns who beats me by two months, but his show is not being commissioned this year. So I’ll be in the Guinness Book of Records as longest-serving TV actor.”

And the dad-of-four says of staying young: “I’m 78 this month. I don’t exercise but I don’t smoke or drink much. It’s in the genes. However, I do like champagne. I’ll celebrate my birthday with a glass or two and have dinner with my children.”

It is surprising how upbeat he is, ­considering the tragedy he suffered last year. His wife Sara died suddenly at their home in Wilmslow, Cheshire, aged 58. Bill admitted he cannot contemplate romance. Speaking softly he said: “I’m just looking after the family, dealing with things, taking life as it comes. We’re coping and life is going forward. I’m trying to get my two children settled in London. The fans are wonderful. People are very caring, I’d like to thank them all as I didn’t manage to answer all the letters as there were a tremendous amount.”

Despite playing Ken for so long, Bill says he is nothing like the character and is fed up of his weedy image. “People always say Ken and I are interchangeable,” he says, “but that’s not true. Over 50 years, there have been moments where I’ve had a problem with that. The scriptwriters are brilliant, but they can be very naughty sometimes with little things I might not like. “One example was in the Ken-Mike-Deirdre scenes. Ken was being made out to be a sort of wimp.

“Imagine when your wife has had an affair with somebody you’re having an argument with your wife in your hall. There’s a knock on the door, the guy she’s having an affair with is standing there smug. You stand there while he has a long dialogue at the door saying, ‘Are you all right Deirdre? Is there anything I can do,’ and Ken just stood there. So I said to the director, ‘Sorry, as an actor I cannot do this’.

“The director said: ‘What do you want to do?’ I said ‘I want to hit him’. He said we couldn’t do that because it’s not in the story. I said well let me go to hit him and then he can shut the door. So I really went for it. However by mistake I caught Deirdre and it made her cry. We stopped and she said, ‘I didn’t know it was gonna be like that.’ I said, ‘Well it is.’ I went too quickly so I caught her. She was really staggered at the ferocity.

“We set up again and I thought Anne isn’t going to move quick enough so I slammed her against the wall. And that was the scene we got lots of awards for. People said it was brilliant. Anne was brilliant. She was crying but carried on.”

Once the cameras stop rolling Bill gives his all for causes he believes in. Despite being partially deaf from a mortar bomb on National Service in 1953, he doesn’t let that hinder him on set. Bill, who is fronting the 2010 Specsavers Sound Barrier Awards, said: “My hearing affected me socially. Charity balls, pubs were a nightmare, anywhere where there’s noisy background and on set when people whisper. It went off at full blast in my ear. I was deaf for about three weeks. It was a tremendous ringing.

“In those days I thought I’d get over it but I didn’t realise the extent of the damage. Sometimes it’s a nightmare. I avoided pubs, noisy places. I would often miss out. If someone’s talking and I miss an important word they think I’m daft. I never regarded it as a major thing until I had tests done and virtually 50% of my hearing was obliterated. Youngsters are exposed to so much stuff – nightclubs and turning the volume up at home on computer games. Terribly important to get this message over.”

But he is over the moon with a digital hearing aid he had fitted. He said: “You can hardly tell it’s there. I’m very pleased with it. Now I can come clubbing with you.” What would Deirdre say?

[SpursFan1902]

I got my hearing aid fitted, now I can go clubbing with you... not something you hear everyday...