MY MAFIA FAMILY!

As his long-lost grandson and son return, Corrie legend William Roache says the Barlows are turning into...

He may be a soap legend who’s been on Corrie since its very first episode back in 1960, but the fear of being axed at any moment is always lingering in the back of William Roache’s mind. ‘When I heard about my latest storyline, I got paranoid,’ he says of his iconic character Ken Barlow suffering a stroke in harrowing scenes a couple of weeks ago. ‘The first thing I asked was, “Do I get better?”’

He did, of course, but given how debilitating and widespread strokes are, the next thing Bill fretted about was portraying it accurately. ‘Thankfully we got to speak to Professor Pippa Tyrrell, one of the country’s leading stroke specialists, and she was wonderful. She said the onset is rapid, so that was how I played it.’

Bill, 84, admits he still doesn’t know whether Ken will make a full recovery from the stroke, which was brought on by the return of his wayward son Peter. ‘Pippa said it can take days, weeks, or months to recover, and sometimes not at all, so that’s left it wide open for the writers,’ he says. Added to the mix – and the stress – is the return of two familiar faces who come to town after hearing Ken’s been taken ill. There’s Daniel

Osbourne, Ken’s illegitimate son by hairdresser Denise, and his grandson Adam Baldwin, neither of whom have been seen for nine years.

‘Ken’s got his daughter Tracy, who’s a murdering psychopath,’ says Bill, ‘then we saw the return of his son Peter, a lying, alcoholic bigamist, and now we’ve got two more lads turning up who both have baggage. Daniel is Ken as he once was, a university graduate with problems we don’t know about. The other, Adam, is the son of his daughter Susan and Mike Baldwin, his arch- enemy. These two instantly dislike each other. Ken will try to be peacemaker, but I can’t see it working. And because of his stroke he mustn’t be stressed. What a great situation!’

Having been in Coronation Street

since it started, Bill is relishing the new direction the Barlow family has taken. ‘After 56 years I’m fortunate to have a vital and vibrant story. It could go on for years, with grenades going off all the time. The Barlows have always been female, with Deirdre, her mum Blanche and the two children, and suddenly now it’s four males. I hope we’ll be like a Mafia family – we fight like crazy, but if anybody else attacks us... bang, we’ll get them!’

The only thing missing from the Barlow family is a Mafia moll. ‘There’s been a bit of flirting with Audrey Roberts,’ teases Bill. ‘Whether that develops or fades away we’ll have to see. But at the moment Ken’s got his hands full dealing with his very dysfunctional family.’