WHY I FORGIVE SEX TRIAL ACCUSERS
Star tells of his torment over false abuse claims
BILL Roache today opens his heart about the false sex abuse claims and trial that shook his world.
And despite his terrifying ordeal, the Corrie star, 86, said he holds no resentment towards his accusers.
He said: “We have to be forgiving, it releases us.”
BILL Roache’s world was shattered by false allegations of historical sex abuse in 2013 when he was arrested in a dawn raid at his home.
And the 86-year-old has now opened his heart about that horrific moment and the nerve-wracking trial after which he thought he was being found guilty by a jury who had actually cleared him.
But despite his ordeal, Bill – Ken Barlow in Corrie – tells in his book Life and Soul, serialised exclusively in the Mirror over the next three days, how he forgives his accusers who put him through hell. Making my way into a beautiful compartment on an Emirates plane about to depart Dubai, I should have had nothing to worry about. I was flying first class on the final lap of my journey home from Auckland to Manchester. I’d been the narrator of Corrie!, a Coronation Street play by Jonathan Harvey. But just as I was settling myself into my seat, an intense feeling swept over me: “Oh – I don’t want to go home.” I felt it so strongly, and just couldn’t account for it. I loved my home, everything was good. Why should I have that feeling? It was only afterwards that I realised why. I was to be arrested three days later. Back home, the buzzer for my electric gate went at around 8am on May 1 2013. I was still jetlagged, and though the intercom was by the bed, I didn’t hear very well what was being said. Thinking it was the postman, I pressed the “open” button, got out of bed, put my dressing gown on and went to open the front door. Five policemen were walking up the drive. I let them in, and then one of them said: “We’re arresting you,” and went through the charges. I heard the words as if they were being spoken somewhere in the distance.
Shock affects you in funny ways. You go into a sort of unreal mode.
As the policeman was speaking, the colour seemed to drain from everything and there was a sort of mist around us.
Then they told me two policemen were going to search the house, two were going to drive me to a station and one was going stay with me while I got dressed. He stood in the bedroom watching while I found some clothes.
They took the computers and went through everything in the house. Then they drove me to a police station in Leyland, Lancashire, about 40 miles from my home.
I was still convinced there was nothing seriously wrong. I thought that once I’d answered their questions, I’d go home and that would be the end of it. My manager John Hayes arranged for a lawyer to come as soon as possible. It was going to take about three hours for him to get there, so I sat in a prison cell all that time, which felt like an eternity.
When eventually he did arrive, the police questioned me.
Interestingly, one of them said to him: “Don’t worry, I don’t think Mr Roache is going to be charged.”
That was because they had to send the details to the Crown Prosecution Service and wait for their reply, and they were absolutely convinced it wouldn’t happen.
But then the CPS did charge me. And it just went on from there.
In the wake of the horrendous situation with Jimmy Savile, John had told me I might be a target, because at that time celebrities were being accused of similar crimes.
John’s theory was that an interview I had done with Piers Morgan in April 2012
I don’t feel resentment. We have to be forgiving because forgiving releases us
had some part to play in my arrest. Ken’s colourful relationship history on the Street was Piers’ way into talking about my personal life.
Ken’s had 22 girlfriends. In my real life, it’s no secret that my first marriage failed because I’d been unfaithful.
I was working away from home five nights a week and the opportunity to stray was there. I deeply regret this, and because of it I lost my marriage and was separated from my two older children, Linus and Vanya, for some time. But I certainly wasn’t Ken, going from one marriage to the next.
In my marriage to Sara I had been completely faithful, and we had been together for 31 years and had three beautiful children, Verity, Edwina and William. Nevertheless, Piers persisted in asking me how many women I’d slept with and I said I did not know.
He started throwing numbers around. This was personal, and I didn’t want to talk about it. So I deflected his questions with a shrug or a “maybe”, and at one stage I even jokingly pretended to walk off stage.
When he continued to press me for numbers and asked if it was 1,000 women, all I said was: “It could be. I don’t know.” Well, it went viral – “Bill Roache slept with 1,000 women”.
And I’d never said I had, but I took it with good humour.
At the time I had no idea that this interview was creating an impression of me that was entirely wrong.
Looking back, it seems that it was certainly a trigger for the later claims, however unintentional.
I got home from the police station, shocked and exhausted. I was so happy and relieved to find my family there waiting for me.
We found the trial wasn’t going to be for nearly a year, and of course Granada had to suspend me, but they still supported me right through the case. They were wonderful. I had nothing but support from my colleagues and friends, too.
Several of my co-stars were to be character witnesses. If you believe in someone, you support them no matter what. Of course, I missed work.
I was out of the Street for around 14 months, but it was the first time in however many years – 54 or so – I didn’t have a script to learn. I must say I quite enjoyed that.
Looking back, I could see that year out as a gift. I was never alone and I had more time with my family than ever before. It was obviously a very frightening time for them, but they were wonderful – so loving and supportive. They virtually gave up their careers during that time.
Will, like Linus, is also an actor, and Verity is a Reiki healer and interior designer. We created a sanctuary. We played endless games. Linus and I invented a kind of triathlon of golf, chess and backgammon that we called The White Cottage Cup after the name of our house.
The trial drew nearer until finally the first day, January 14, 2014, arrived. It took three and a half weeks, and the one day I was slightly nervous was the day I was going to be in the witness box.
I wanted to make sure I was alert and I heard everything. And I just wanted to speak the truth. It must be terrible covering up something and lying in the witness box, because you’ve got to remember your lines.
I spoke the truth and just hoped that it would all come out okay.
John thought the jury could be out for days, but they came back in under three hours with unanimous verdicts.
When they were being read out, I didn’t actually hear the “not” on some of them, just the “guilty”. But I saw Verity was crying. Then I realised all was well. And that was that. It was all over. It was time to get back to work. As I said at the time, in that situation there were no winners. I don’t feel any resentment. We have to be forgiving, because forgiving releases us. It’s not easy talking about hard times, but it’s good to talk, because I believe in learning from what happens to us and going forwards. We have to go forwards in life and do what needs to be done. We just have to deal with it.