Coronation Street actor Bill Roache reveals details about his court trial period when he was accused of rape and indecent assualt
Actor Bill Roache's new book 'Life and Soul' has revealed new details about his court battle that occurred back in 2014. The Brit actor had been of rape and sexual assault and was declared not guilty of two rapes and four assaults by the Preston Crown Court. He was 81 years of age at the time. The women had alleged that they were 16 years old and under when the incident happened, between the period of 1965 to 1971.
Loved by many for his portrayal of Ken Barlow in the soap opera 'Coronation Street', he has revealed in his new book that he had his fingers crossed about the trial. Daily Mirror reported, "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," he wrote, "But I saw Verity was crying. Then I realized 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." Verity Roache, his daughter, had accompanied him to the court proceedings.
His book also expressed gratitude for the amount of love that his near ones had showered him with through the difficult time. "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."
He really did seem to miss work at the time because his first statement after getting acquitted was, "In these situations, there are no winners... we should be much kinder to ourselves. If you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work."