The English actor, William Roache has been active in the entertainment industry since 1958 and he is best recognized for his portrayal of Ken Barlow in the ITV soap opera, Coronation Street which started airing in 1960.
Away from his entertainment career, William has birthed 5 children from 2 marriages. Between 1961 to 1974, he was married to English stage and television actress, Anna Cropper. He then moved on with Sara McEwan in 1978.
William Roache is still active on the screens
For a career that spanned over 4 decades, it is normal to assume that 92-year-old William Roache has retired from acting. However, that is not the case as he is still in showbiz.
Moreover, he is listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest-serving soap actor in the world ever, acting and appearing in the same role uninterruptedly.
He has also clinched several awards and honors including Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2022 for his services to drama and charity.
Throughout His Life, William Roache Has Been Married Twice
He was married to Anna Cropper for 13 years
William was first married to Anna Cropper in 1961 and they had two children. Their son, Linus Roache was born in 1964 while their daughter, Vanya was born in 1967.
Unfortunately, William’s alleged adultery caused problems in the couple’s relationship. William also acknowledged cheating on Anna severally and this led to their divorce in 1974.
Meanwhile, Anna was also an English stage and television actress who studied acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.
She later made her television debut as Chrysalis in The Insect Play (1960). She also starred alongside William in Coronation Street in 1962.
However, Anna came to prominence playing a young schizophrenic in the television play In Two Minds (The Wednesday Play, BBC, 1967).
He married for the second time in 1978
Roache said he began a relationship with Sara Mottram in 1970 or 1971 after they met at a charity function. Their relationship evolved, leading them to officially tie the knot in 1978.
With Sara, he had a daughter named Verity who was born in 1981. The pair also birthed a son named James Roacher in 1985. They also had another daughter called Edwina. However, Edwina died on 16 November 1984, when she was only 18 months old.
Similarly, Williams’ second wife, Sara McEwan Mottram died suddenly on 7 February 2009. She was aged 58.
William has not remarried since the passing of his second wife. But he dated weather reporter Emma Jesson from 2010 to 2012.
Roache has been arrested on suspicion of rape
Roache was taken into custody by Lancashire Police on May 1, 2013, after it was alleged that he had sexually assaulted a fifteen-year-old girl in 1967.
Subsequently, the Crown Prosecution Service declared that he will face two charges of rape. Roache was later charged with five further counts of indecent assault on females between the ages of twelve and sixteen on June 6, 2013
On September 2, he showed up in Preston Crown Court and entered a not-guilty plea to all of the allegations. The full trial started on 14 January 2014 at Preston Crown Court, before Judge Anthony Russell QC, and Roache was found not guilty on all charges.
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Some of William Roache’s Kids are also Entertainers
Linus Roache
William Roache’s first child, Linus Roache has also trailed the career path of his father. Linus has starred in Coronation Street playing Peter Barlow, the son of his father’s character Ken Barlow.
At the moment, Linus is a 60-year-old British actor popularly known for playing Executive ADA Michael Cutter in the NBC dramas Law & Order (2008–2010) and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2011–2012). In addition, Linus played Ecbert, King of Wessex in Vikings from 2014 to 2017.
Moreover, the celebrity kid and actor was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for playing Robert F. Kennedy in RFK (2002) and also won a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor (TV) for his role as Ralph Wigram in The Gathering Storm (2002).
He married English actress Rosalind Bennett in Malvern Hills, Worcestershire, in 2002.
James Roache
Born on December 29, 1985, James Roache is an English actor who is best known for starring alongside his father William Roache in Coronation Street where he played James, the long-lost grandson of Ken Barlow (played by his father).
He also played the role of his own father William as a young man in the ITV drama The Road to Coronation Street.
James has also appeared on popular television shows such as Cold Blood (2007), Rise of the Foot Soldier (2007) and Sellafield (2006).
