Roache: Corrie's more than a soap

Coronation Street's Bill Roache has revealed he doesn't like the word soap - despite starring in one for more than half a century.

The actor has played strait-laced Weatherfield stalwart Ken Barlow since the show began in 1960, but told the Guardian: "I'm in the Guinness Book Of Records, but I don't like the word soap. Thankfully, it says I'm the longest serving actor in the world in an ongoing drama. That is my classification."

Bill, who recently celebrated his 80th birthday with a street party on set, added: "When it started there was a whole new realism sweeping through cinema. We were part of that surge: method acting, Marlon Brando, James Dean, John Osborne, Look Back In Anger.

"We were the cutting-edge drama of the day."

The veteran star also said the secret of the show's success was down to its everyday characters.

"It's about underdogs struggling against adversity. Everyone identifies with that," he said.

"And then it's their loves and all the problems they have. They are not in a high social strata with lots of money."