Bill Roache says Queen Camilla leaves phone 'off the hook' to watch Corrie

Soap legend Bill Roache was on stage at the weekend - to spill royal secrets and stories about Coronation Street. The veteran actor, 93, who has played Ken Barlow on the soap for more than 60 years, was part of a Corrie live show.

Bill is known for his portrayal of Ken Barlow in the ITV soap after making his debut in its first episode in 1960. And he insists his recent work has the royal seal of approval. Asked if Queen Camilla is a fan of Corrie, he said: “The Royals are fans of the show.

"When Camilla came to the set I asked if she ever watched the show and she said ‘I can tell you that at 7.30pm on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday the telephone goes off the hook’. That is really lovely.

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“Prince Phillip could be a bit touchy if you were not careful. When Preston was honoured once they(Royals) came up and I was invited privately and someone asked if I would do a four minute talk for the Queen and Prince Phillip."

Camilla visited the set in 2010 and even pulled a pint in the Rovers Return. Bill holds the Guinness World Record for the longest-serving TV soap star in the world and was made an OBE in the Queen's New Year Honours list in December 2021 for his services to drama and charity.

But he recalled it wasn’t always plain sailing as he had a two year feud with Pat Phoenix, a legendary Corrie actress who played Elsie Tanner from 1960 until 1984. Looking back, Bill recalled: “Pat and Violet Carson(played Ena Sharples) dominated the Street. Once I had a scene where she said something unkind to Val, my wife.

“In this scene I told her off and when it came to the rehearsal she said to the director ‘I don’t think she’d take this from this young man(Ken)’. She wanted to do something at the end and said to me ‘Can you pause with all these things you say at the end and I am going to threaten to throw this ashtray at you’. I said ‘No Pat I won’t’.

“I said ‘As far as I am concerned it is unprofessional’ and we did not talk for two years. Two years later we were waiting to go in for a scene and it was her birthday coming up and she was throwing a party and she said ‘Oh well. I suppose you better come to my party if you want to’. I said ‘I would love to Pat’ and we became really great friends.”

Bill also claimed Cliff Richard was once offended after Corrie actress Margot Bryant criticised his weight in the soap. He said: “Cliff loves the Street so much he actually once sat in the Rovers as an extra. I played tennis with him a few times.

“In a scene once Margot Bryant(who played Minnie Caldwell 1960-1976) said he was a ‘chubby little lad’. It made him go on a diet and he has been on it ever since. Margot Bryant used to say what she thought of everybody. You did not mess with her.”

During the ‘An Audience With’ event at The Lowry theatre in Salford, Bill also had video messages shown to him and the audience, including one from Joanna Lumley who Bill proposed to on Corrie when she played Elaine Perkins in 1972 on ITV.

Joanna said: “Bill? Why did I ever turn you down? You asked me (as Ken) and I turned you down. What was I thinking? You made me so happy,” Bill replied: “Joanna was unknown then and you can tell she was confident. She was very very lovely.”

Live show An Audience With Coronation Street continues with another date in Glasgow on Wednesday.

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