Coronation Street legend Bill Roache has reportedly signed a six-figure deal to remain on the ITV soap – after fans feared his character was set to be killed off in a dramatic car crash storyline.
The actor, 93, who has played Ken Barlow since the show first aired in 1960, is said to have agreed to another one-year contract.
The new signing will extend his record-breaking stint on the cobbles to 66 years, and he’s reportedly hoping to continue long enough to hit the 70-year milestone.
A source told The Sun: ‘Devotees of Corrie and Emmerdale know that they aren’t afraid to bump off certain characters in sensational storylines.
‘So when they saw the image of the burning wreckage of two cars in publicity shots for the special episodes, they could have feared the worst.
‘Thankfully they’ll have cobbles icon Ken on their screens for at least another 12 months.’
Coronation Street legend Bill Roache has reportedly signed a six-figure deal to remain on the ITV soap – after fans feared his character was set to be killed off in a dramatic car crash storyline (pictured 2020)
The actor, 93, who has played Ken Barlow since the show first aired in 1960, is said to have agreed to another one-year contract (pictured on the soap 2022)
The renewed deal will come as a relief to fans who believed Ken might be killed off during Corrie’s upcoming crossover with Emmerdale.
Daily Mail has contacted Bill’s representative and ITV for comment.
It comes after Bill revealed that he had a two-year feud with one of his ‘unprofessional’ co-stars.
The actor made the revelation during a rare public appearance with some of his co-stars for An Audience With Coronation Street in Salford.
Reflecting on his tiff with the late Pat Phoenix, who played Elsie Tanner, Bill explained that they had a falling out during a scene involving the death of his then on-screen wife, Valerie Tatlock (Anne Reid), in 1971.
He said: ‘I had a scene where she’d said something unkind to my wife, and I told her off.
‘Pat said to the director: “I don’t think she’d take this from this young man…” She said she wanted to do something in the end, and the director said: “Yes, Pat, anything you want.”
‘So Pat asked me to pause, and she’d throw an ashtray at me. I said: “No, Pat, you know what you’ve done here, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s unprofessional.” We didn’t talk for two years.’
The new signing will extend his record-breaking stint on the cobbles to 66 years, and he’s reportedly hoping to continue long enough to hit the 70-year milestone (pictured with Frank Pemberton in 1960)
A source told The Sun: ‘Devotees of Corrie and Emmerdale know that they aren’t afraid to bump off certain characters in sensational storylines,’ (pictured last year)
They continued: ‘So when they saw the image of the burning wreckage of two cars in publicity shots for the special episodes, they could have feared the worst. Thankfully they’ll have cobbles icon Ken on their screens for at least another 12 months’
The off-screen tiff happened when the actors disagreed over the events surrounding the intensity of the character’s death, which saw her electrocuted by a hairdryer.
While the pair continued to act together on the iconic soap, their relationship when the cameras weren’t rolling remained frosty for a whopping two years.
Bill added: ‘Two years later, we’re standing together waiting to film a scene, still not talking, and it was her birthday coming up.
‘She said, “Oh, I suppose you’d better come to my party then,” and we became good friends after that!’
The veteran actor said that, before finding fame on Corrie, his late friend had been trying to make it in the entertainment business for several years.
As a result, when she finally made a name for herself, Bill said, she absolutely loved her new life as a celebrity.
Pat was a familiar face to viewers of the show in years gone by and played Elsie between 1960 and 1973.
She returned to the show in 1976 but left again in 1982 – a mere two years before she passed away at the age of 62 from lung cancer.
It comes after Bill revealed he had a two-year feud with ‘unprofessional’ co-star Pat Phoenix after she made ‘unkind’ comments to his on-screen wife Valerie Tatlock (Pat and Michael O’Hagan pictured on the soap in 1980)
Bill was recently honoured for his work as an actor with the Lifetime Achievement Award at The Entertainment Agents’ Awards.
Accepting the award, he said he hopes to still be on the cobbles when he is 100.
He said: ‘It’s a huge honour to receive this award, and I am very grateful for it.
‘I’ve enjoyed a wonderful career, and to have spent so many years working on such a special programme like Coronation Street has been magical.
‘I’ve been fortunate to work with some absolutely incredible actors over that period and made a lifetime of memories.
‘I’m looking forward to being in the programme for many more years to come – hopefully until I am 100!’
