Roache: wife would have loved son's Street role

'Coronation Street' veteran William Roache told how his late wife Sara would have been delighted by his real-life sons’ arrival on the cobbles next month.

The actor, who plays Ken Barlow, will appear in the soap with the couple’s 24-year-old son James and with Linus, 46, his son from his first marriage.

The family was left stunned by Sara’s sudden death last year as a result of a heart condition, but the actor believes she is still with him.

William said: “She would have loved my sons being on the street with me.

“I feel she is very much still with me. She is really vibrant and in my understanding she is still alive.

“You carry on just as actively over there as you do over here and she would have liked it.”

Sara appeared in several episodes of the soap herself in 2007, and William joked that a role in the show should be a condition of being in his family.

“My wife was the judge who sent Tracy down. My first wife was in Coronation Street as well. You have to be in Coronation Street, that’s the criteria or I couldn’t possibly marry you or be part of the family.”

He added: “Maybe I should have it in my contract that future grandchildren must appear.

“My daughter Verity is an interior designer so she is the sensible one in the family. But we are hoping she will come in as an extra in the Rovers when we are doing one of our scenes.”

The brothers’ short stint on the cobbles sees Ken discover he has a long-lost son, Lawrence (Linus Roache), by an ex-girlfriend.

However, there is a rift between Lawrence and his own son James (James Roache) because Lawrence cannot accept James is gay.

William said: “Ken argues the case that Lawrence should be more tolerant of his son. It’s a very balanced story.”

The 78-year-old appeared in the soap since its first episode in 1960.

“I couldn’t have a better 50th anniversary present than having Linus and James with me,” he said.

Law And Order star Linus, who played the young Peter Barlow in Coronation Street when he was nine years old, said it was “a dream come true”.

James, who also plays the young William Roache in a BBC drama about the birth of Coronation Street, added: “It’s a real privilege, especially at my stage of my career. It’s an absolute honour to be working with both my brother and father in the same thing.”

Linus first appears on screen as Lawrence on Sunday September 5.