Coronation Street star Bill Roache ‘recovered well’ after testing positive for coronavirus

Actor says he is ‘looking forward to returning to the cobbles as soon as possible’

Coronation Street star William Roache has recovered after testing positive for Covid-19, ITV has said.

The 88-year-old, who has been part of the beloved soap since it launched in 1960, wanted to clarify he had taken some time off following recent reports about his health, according to the BBC.

He has apparently “recovered well” and is now “looking forward to returning to the cobbles as soon as possible”.

Roache and Coronation Street’s other older castmembers were initially kept away from the set when the pandemic began, as they were among the most at-risk from the virus.

Filming resumed in June last year, following an enforced break in production due to the lockdown that began in March 2020.

Last year, Roache received the Guinness World Record for the longest-serving TV soap star, having worked on Coronation Street for six decades.

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Tonight (Monday 29 March), a tribute will be shown to Johnny Briggs, the actor who starred for 30 years as Mike Baldwin, the rival of Roache’s character, Ken Barlow.

Briggs died in February, aged 85.