Photo: Mikey / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)

William Roache

ウィリアム・ローチ　/　うぃりあむ・ろーち

Actor from United Kingdom

April 25, 1932 (age 94)　・　Basford, United Kingdom

actor
television actor

My Take

Sixty-plus years playing the same character is something I struggle to even imagine. William Roache has been Ken Barlow since Coronation Street first aired in December 1960, making him the longest-serving soap actor on the planet, and to me that record says less about luck than about temperament. Soaps chew through performers; surviving them for decades requires a steadiness that borders on monastic discipline. I find it quietly moving that British television let one man grow old on screen alongside his audience. His 2022 OBE felt less like an honor and more like the nation acknowledging a beloved piece of its own living history.

Overview

William Patrick Roache (born 25 April 1932) is an English actor. He is best known for playing Ken Barlow in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street and is the longest-serving cast member in the series as well as a world record holder, having appeared in the show continuously since its first broadcast on 9 December 1960.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1. Profile

Name (English): William Roache
Name (Japanese): ウィリアム・ローチ
Reading: うぃりあむ・ろーち
Born: April 25, 1932 (age 94)
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac: Taurus / Monkey
Origin: Basford, United Kingdom
Blood type: Private
Height: Private
Agency: Private
Occupation: actor / television actor

2. Background

Elementary school: Private
Junior high: Private
High school: Private
University: Private

Awards & achievements

Member of the Order of the British Empire
2022 Officer of the Order of the British Empire

3. Relationships

Spouse: Private
Children: Private
Parents: Private
Siblings: Private

4. Personality

Motto

Private

6. Links

Wikipedia (Japanese)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William%20Roache

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