CORONATION Street star William Roache has denied Ken Barlow is being killed off after fans feared he was sick.
The veteran actor, 87, set the record straight today after it was rumoured he was leaving the soap when Ken developed a nasty cough.
William Roache denied he’s leaving Coronation Street
He was diagnosed with pneumonia and rushed to hospital with the life threatening condition – but thankfully William has revealed he will pull through.
The actor told ITV’s Lorraine: “Someone rang me up to say, ‘I take it you’re dead’.
“What happened was that Ken was out looking for Daniel on the hill and Peter had to say ‘your father’s been out looking for you and he’s really tired.’
“It was just to show I’d caught a bit of a cold.
“But then just before one scene, a director asked me to cough during it so I did it.
“That was it, there’s no follow up story!”
The 87-year-old was left devastated in 2009 when his wife Sara died suddenly at the age of 58.
In a further blow, William lost his on-screen wife Anne Kirkbride, 60, died of breast cancer in 2015.
Asked how he has coped with tragedy in his life, William said:“I have a knowing, and I know that life goes on after death.
“We go home after death. We go to where we’ve come from and it’s a much happier place.
“You don’t have to grieve for the person who has died, they’re OK.
“You grieve because you miss them, and that’s natural and understandable.
“If there’s love there you will meet up and life will go on.”
Bill appeared in the debut episode of the ITV soap and will celebrate his 60-year anniversary next year.
Discussing his potential exit, one fan speculated: This past couple of episodes Ken has had a bad cough. Could be nothing but at his age you never know.
Another agreed adding: I did wonder whether it has been scripted as part of his exit storyline? Maybe Ken has developed a terminal illness?
While someone else wrote: I thought the cough would lead to discovery of a nasty condition.
