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| Coronation Street's William Roache 'urged girl to write back' | Coronation Street's William Roache 'urged girl to write back' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| William Roache wrote to a 14-year-old girl he indecently assaulted saying "write to me when you start school again, love Bill", a court was told. | William Roache wrote to a 14-year-old girl he indecently assaulted saying "write to me when you start school again, love Bill", a court was told. |
| Giving evidence at Preston Crown Court, the woman, now 63, said her contact with the Coronation Street actor felt like a "relationship". | Giving evidence at Preston Crown Court, the woman, now 63, said her contact with the Coronation Street actor felt like a "relationship". |
| Mr Roache, 81, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, denies two counts of raping a 15-year-old girl in East Lancashire in 1967. | Mr Roache, 81, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, denies two counts of raping a 15-year-old girl in East Lancashire in 1967. |
| He also denies five counts of indecent assault involving four girls. | He also denies five counts of indecent assault involving four girls. |
| Those alleged offences involve girls aged 16 or under in Manchester between 1965 and 1968, the court heard. | |
| 'Went exploring' | |
| The complainant told the court Mr Roache forced her to perform a sex act on him in the gents' toilets at Granada Studios in Manchester in the summer of 1965. | |
| She had visited the studios with a friend to take part in a children's talent show, the jury heard. | |
| The woman said following her performance she and her friend "went exploring" within the building. | |
| She said she spotted a Coronation Street actor and later ended up in Mr Roache's dressing room. | |
| At one point she and Mr Roache left the dressing room, she said, and he pulled her "roughly" by the arm in the direction of a men's toilet. | |
| She told the court Mr Roache took her hand and indecently assaulted her. | |
| The complainant said: "I was shocked and I didn't really understand what was going on, but the one thing I thoroughly understood was that I should not have been in the gents." | |
| 'Flattered by attention' | 'Flattered by attention' |
| The complainant said she received the letter, a few weeks after the alleged assault, which read: "Thank you for your marvellous letter and the nice things you said in it. | The complainant said she received the letter, a few weeks after the alleged assault, which read: "Thank you for your marvellous letter and the nice things you said in it. |
| "I am enclosing a photo which I hope you like. | "I am enclosing a photo which I hope you like. |
| "I am away for three weeks now but I would like a letter from you waiting for me when I get back. | "I am away for three weeks now but I would like a letter from you waiting for me when I get back. |
| "Write to me when you start school again and tell me more. Love Bill xx." | "Write to me when you start school again and tell me more. Love Bill xx." |
| Asked how the letter made her feel, the woman said: "I suppose I was flattered at the attention. | Asked how the letter made her feel, the woman said: "I suppose I was flattered at the attention. |
| "I didn't understand some of it. I had not written a letter. I left a note as well as my address. | "I didn't understand some of it. I had not written a letter. I left a note as well as my address. |
| "The 'tell me more' didn't make sense. I don't know what it referred to." | "The 'tell me more' didn't make sense. I don't know what it referred to." |
| The trial continues. |