Coronation Street’s William Roache is best known for playing Ken Barlow in the ITV soap since the very first episode.
Roache is the fourth longest-serving soap actor in the world, behind Lesley Saweard, Patricia Greene and June Spencer, who all starred in The Archers.
In fact, his services to the entertainment industry saw him awarded with an MBE in 2011, and then an OBE in 2022.
So, how old is the legendary soap actor, and what do we know about his family life?
Here is what you need to know.
How old is William Roache?
Born 25 April 1932, William Roache is currently 91-years-old.
How many times has William Roache been married, and how many children does he have?
Roache has been married twice and has had five children. However, Two of them have tragically died.
He married TV and stage actress Anna Cropper in 1961, but the pair parted divorce in 1974.
The actor previously admitted cheating on Anna with up to 1,000 women in an interview with Piers Morgan in 2012.
‘I regret it deeply. I had the opportunity, but that doesn’t mean I should do it,’ he said.
‘I had rehearsals up in Manchester from Monday to Friday. The opportunity was there.
‘There were plenty of girls around. I shouldn’t have done it. I didn’t have any control over my own sex drive. I didn’t have the strength to control it.’
And he admitted hurting at the thought of the pain he caused his two children, adding: ‘It depressed me. I’m so sorry for the things that I did. The hurt was the children. I’ll always regret that. Every morning I woke up regretting and hurting.’
Anna died in 2007 aged 69.
The pair had two children together – Linus, 54, and Vanya, who died aged 51 in 2018.
Who was William Roache’s second wife?
William then married actress Sarah Roache in 1978. They stayed together until her death aged 59 in 2009.
The couple had three children together – James, 32, and Verity, 37. Edwina, born in 1982, sadly died when she was just 18 months in 1984.
What is William Roache’s net worth?
According to the site Celebrity Net Worth, William’s net worth is around $5 million dollars or £3.9million.
How much does William Roache get paid?
It is believed Roache is the highest-paid member of the cast, earning around £250,000 a year.
This week (March 11), William Roache was issued a deadline from the High Court to pay a tax bill.
William chose to not appear at the specialist hearing on Monday, where HMRC lawyers said the sum has now been reduced due to previous payments.
Jacquille Jarrett, who works for HMRC, said the actor asked for a 12-week adjournment, which was unopposed to ‘allow the sale of property’. Judge Stephen Baister granted the delay, confirming the case will continue in June.
Back in February of this year it was reported that William was now allegedly facing bankruptcy for a second time.
At the time, the High Court papers obtained by The Sun claim he has coughed up just £41,666.65.
The publication also claims fresh details are revealed in the paperwork with the HMRC saying: ‘The debtor is justly and truly indebted to us in the aggregate sum of £546,348.53 being the sum of £588,015.18 claimed in a statutory demand less the sum of £41,666.65 paid since the date of issue of the said demand.’
