Overview
- Roache said on the Session 7: Interesting Lives podcast that he is not retiring and plans to keep working.
- The actor has portrayed Ken Barlow since Coronation Street’s first episode in 1960, making him the world’s longest‑serving soap star.
- He argued that ageing is a belief system and urged people to do more as they grow older rather than step back.
- Roache described a “pseudo‑method” approach, saying he sees himself as Ken’s caretaker and that the character often feels like an extension of himself.
- He recalled refusing a past storyline in which Ken accepted his child being taken away, saying it did not fit how he had fought for the child.