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| Bill Roache 'astounded' and 'deeply horrified' by rape allegations | Bill Roache 'astounded' and 'deeply horrified' by rape allegations |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Coronation Street actor Bill Roache has said he is "astounded and deeply horrified" by recent events, as he denied allegations that he raped a 15-year-old girl in 1967. | Coronation Street actor Bill Roache has said he is "astounded and deeply horrified" by recent events, as he denied allegations that he raped a 15-year-old girl in 1967. |
| Roache, who was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of two counts of rape and later bailed after being charged, said he intended to fight for his innocence. | |
| "I am astounded and deeply horrified by the extraordinary events of the last 24 hours," he said in a statement on Thursday. | "I am astounded and deeply horrified by the extraordinary events of the last 24 hours," he said in a statement on Thursday. |
| "I strenuously deny the allegations and will now focus my full attention on fighting to preserve my innocence in the challenging times ahead. | "I strenuously deny the allegations and will now focus my full attention on fighting to preserve my innocence in the challenging times ahead. |
| "I would like to offer my sincere thanks to all those people who have offered me their support and good wishes at this difficult time." | "I would like to offer my sincere thanks to all those people who have offered me their support and good wishes at this difficult time." |
| Roache, 81, who plays Ken Barlow in the ITV1 soap, was arrested by Lancashire constabulary on Wednesday morning on suspicion of offences involving a 15-year-old girl in 1967. | Roache, 81, who plays Ken Barlow in the ITV1 soap, was arrested by Lancashire constabulary on Wednesday morning on suspicion of offences involving a 15-year-old girl in 1967. |
| He is the longest-serving cast member on Coronation Street, having appeared in its first episode on 9 December, 1960. | |
| It is understood that Roache will not be appearing on the soap in the near future following his arrest, posing a complex challenge for producers to edit his character out of several storylines. | It is understood that Roache will not be appearing on the soap in the near future following his arrest, posing a complex challenge for producers to edit his character out of several storylines. |
| Detectives searched the actor's house in Wilmslow, Cheshire, and took him to be interviewed at an undisclosed police station in Lancashire. | Detectives searched the actor's house in Wilmslow, Cheshire, and took him to be interviewed at an undisclosed police station in Lancashire. |
| Lancashire constabulary said the offences are alleged to have been committed in Haslingden between April and July 1967. | |
| Nazir Afzal, chief crown prosecutor for CPS North West, said: "We have carefully considered all the evidence gathered by Lancashire police in relation to William Roache following allegations of rape. | |
| "Having completed our review, we have concluded that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest for Mr Roache to be charged with two offences of rape relating to a girl, aged 15, in 1967." | |
| Roache will appear at Preston magistrates' court on May 14. | |
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