4:01pm Thursday 2nd September 2010
FORMER East Lancashire soap veteran William Roache has spoken of his pride at starring alongside his two sons in Coronation Street.
The sprightly 78-year-old, legendary for playing Ken Barlow since the first episode in 1960, will appear alongside sons Linus, 46, and James, 24, for a brief but hard-hitting storyline.
Bill said: “I’m thrilled to bits. It’s my 50th as well as Coronation Street’s.
"If I could have a 50th anniversary present, this would be it.”
Linus is Bill’s son from his first marriage to Brierfield-born Anna Cropper, who died in 2007 aged 68.
The family lived in Haslingden and Rawtenstall until Bill and Anna divorced in 1974.
Linus has carved out a successful career as an actor and has become a well-known face in the United States from his role in Law And Order.
James, from Bill’s second marriage to Sara, already has several TV credits to his name, and even plays his father in a BBC drama about the birth of the Weatherfield serial.
Linus and William had long talked about the possibility of turning the Weatherfield soap into a family affair for the three actors, and new producer Phil Collinson made their dream a reality this year.
Their storyline sees Ken discover he has a long-lost son, Lawrence (Linus), after finding a 50-year-old letter in the skirting board.
At first Ken is delighted with the new addition to his family.
“The son I find is actually an English teacher. He’s all the things I’d want a son to be — cultured, sophisticated, handsome of course.
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But there’s a darker side to Lawrence’s character. He refuses to accept that his own son, James (James Roache), is gay, so liberal Ken sets about trying to prompt a reconciliation.
“It’s interesting because when we first got the story, the superficial view was that it was too brief, the character of Lawrence was too hard, and we weren’t happy with it.
"But the minute you start working on it you realise how good the writers are,” Bill says.
The three actors set up a workshop at home as they worked on their scripts.
But it didn’t stop them from feeling a twinge of nerves when the cameras first started rolling.
Bill says: “The day you don’t feel nerves is probably the day you should think about moving on.
"The fact we worked on the scenes together at home really broke the ice.
“There’s a scene I had with Linus, where the characters explore their own lives — how Lawrence feels having not had a father, and what Ken missed out on. I felt a lot of history doing that scene.”
Their role on the street was a chance for the brothers to revisit the set they have fond childhood memories of.
James says: “I remember going to the corner shop and eating all the chocolates.
"They had real chocolates, you could go in and stuff your face. And I used to have a go on Maude’s wheelchair, that was great fun.”
But for Linus, who played Peter Barlow as a nine-year-old, Granada Studios wasn’t just about playing games.
“One day, someone on set came up to me and said, ‘How does it feel knowing that so many million people are going to see you on screen?’ “Suddenly it hit me that people actually watch it and I wasn’t going to be able to just have fun.
"That was the moment I became nervous for the rest of my life.”
There is yet another connection between the Roache clan and Coronation Street that adds poignancy to the brothers’ appearance on the show.
The family was left stunned when James’ mother Sara died suddenly last year at the age of 58.
She appeared in several episodes herself — as a judge in Tracy Barlow’s murder trial — and Bill says she would be thrilled by his new storyline.
“She is very much still with me and would have loved my sons being on the street,” he says.
In November, Bill will take over from American actor Don Hastings as the longest continuous actor in a TV serial, a month before Corrie celebrates its milestone anniversary.
Although many might feel this is an appropriate moment to close the door on the soap, he insists he has no intention of slowing down.
“Retiring isn’t an option for me. I’m very lucky and appreciate the work, particularly in the current climate.
"While they want me and while I can do it, I’ll be here.”
Linus Roache first appears on screen as Lawrence this Sunday and Coronation Street celebrates its 50th anniversary on Thursday, December 9.
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