Bill Roache: I hardly know the names of some of my castmates

Coronation Street star Bill Roache says soaps have become so big that he “hardly” knows the names of some of his castmates.

The actor, 86, has played Ken Barlow on the cobbles since the ITV soap’s launch in 1960.

He told Channel 4 show Sunday Brunch: “When we started there were only 15 cast members and we were all in every episode.

“That’s when you had that lovely community feel. You could all go off in a bus to Blackpool. You couldn’t do that now. It’s too big.”

He said of some of the other cast: “There are some. I hardly know their names.

“You go in and you work with your family, my wonderful, dysfunctional family….You do your scenes and you go home.

“Some of the others, you might meet them in the green room for a cup of tea but you might not see them for weeks.”