In the fictional world of Coronation Street, hundreds of characters have come and gone, and a wealth of different stories been told. But for all the changes, one thing has remained the same. From the very first episode, on 9 December 1960, right up until the present day, it has been home to Ken Barlow.
When we first met Ken, then a student of English and History, he’d not long turned 21. This week, the Weatherfield bookworm hits another milestone birthday – he’s 80! Can you believe it?! And no one is quite as surprised as star William Roache.
‘I never imagined that, one day, we’d be filming Ken’s 80th – nobody did!’ explains William, who, in real life, is a sprightly 87. ‘When we started filming Coronation Street, it was only meant to be an 11-week stopgap.
‘When we got on air, of course, we became something really big. We were cutting-edge realism in kitchen-sink drama. But still, no one would ever have imagined that we’d be running, nearly 60 years later.’
REFLECTION TIME
Ken’s certainly had an eventful life – he’s been married four times, for starters, and probably dated more women than his current male counterparts put together.
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