View Full Version : Street actor Roache's wife dies
The wife of Coronation Street star Bill Roache has died unexpectedly at their Cheshire home, show officials said.
Sara Roache, 58, married to the Manchester show's Ken Barlow for more than 30 years, had not been ill and died on Saturday.
Mr Roache, 76, who has two grown up children with Mrs Roache, said his family were "all in a state of shock".
Bev Callard, who plays Liz McDonald, led the tributes to Mrs Roache praising her charity work for disabled children.
"She was just gorgeous, a beautiful human being," said the actress.
'Devoted couple'
"I have known her for many years and met her before I joined Corrie.
"We met many times at charity functions which she gave so much of her time to.
"She was heavily involved in a talent contest each year where money was raised to send disabled children on the holiday of a lifetime.
"A few years ago she played a judge in the show at Tracy Barlow's trial."
Show bosses told Mr Roache - who joined the Corrie cast nearly 50 years ago making him the longest serving soap actor - to take off as much time as he needed.
A spokesman said: "William and Sara were a devoted couple and our thoughts are with William and his family at this very sad time."
How sad. Any death of a loved one is sad but more so when its so sudden and with no apparent warning.
xxloopylauraxx
08-02-2009, 22:06
i couldnt believe it when i read it.werent they on family fortunes just a few months ago? how sad.
I am sure they were on the new Mr and Mrs show which is hosted by Philip Schofield and Fern Britton. Such sad news. :(
Thats really sad, y mam and dad said she was really nice as they met them both at a few charity dos in manchester.
tammyy2j
09-02-2009, 12:34
RIP
sympathies and prayer to the Roache family
I love Linus on Law and Order :heart:
Chloe O'brien
09-02-2009, 14:27
What a shock William and his family must be devasted.
RIP :( it is sad for all the family
Pinkbanana
09-02-2009, 19:05
All though sudden, apparently Bill was with her when she died. Truly tragic though.
sindydoll
09-02-2009, 21:21
this is absolutly tragic...omg what a shock
Sara Roache, the wife of Coronation Street actor Bill Roache, may have died from a heart attack, it has emerged.
A file is currently being prepared for the coroner who will then decide if a full inquest is necessary, the Manchester Evening News reports.
Mrs Roache, who had not been unwell, died suddenly aged 58 at her home in Cheshire.
A spokeswoman for Coronation Street confirmed that programme-makers would not try to rush Roache, who plays Ken Barlow, back to the show.
She said: "There is no pressure on him to come back and we will look at how we progress."
Dawn Acton, who plays Tracey Barlow, said: "My sympathies are with him and the rest of the family."
She added that she met Sara when she was very young and remembered her being very friendly.
Roache said he was in a "state of shock" since his wife passed away.
tammyy2j
17-02-2009, 15:30
CORRIE will come to a standstill today as cast and crew rally round veteran Bill Roache for the funeral of his wife Sara.
Bosses have given everyone permission to down tools for the day so they can attend a memorial service in Wilmslow, Cheshire.
Sara died suddenly a week ago after suffering a suspected heart attack. She was just 58.
Bill, 76, who plays soap legend Ken Barlow, will lead a private funeral this morning to be attended by just close family and friends.
This will be followed by a memorial service open to all colleagues from the Manchester-based soap, who will then join him for a wake at the family home.
A Corrie spokeswoman said: “We will have to tinker with scripts but we’ll be filming every day this week apart from Tuesday.”
Coronation Street star Bill Roache paid tribute to his late wife Sara at a public memorial service today.
The actor, who plays Ken Barlow on the ITV1 soap, was joined by fellow cast members and other mourners at Bartholomew's Church in Wilmslow, Cheshire this afternoon. A private funeral for friends and family had been held hours earlier.
Mrs. Roache passed away suddenly at her home earlier this month. She was 58.
Bill and Sara tied the knot over 30 years ago and had two grown-up children together, Verity, 29 and William, 23. Their second daughter Edwina died of a chest infection in 1984, aged 18 months.
Speaking at the service today, Roache explained: "[Sara] was the perfect mother to Verity and Will. She did everything. She dressed us, fed us, and she made the house beautiful.
"She paid the bills, she taxed the cars. She jokingly said to me some time ago 'if I went before you, you wouldn't have a clue what to do would you?' How right she was. But it wasn't just that, and being the loving wife and mother, she really was my best friend."
He added: "I am the luckiest man alive to have had such a loving, loyal, devoted beautiful wife for 35 years and to have two beautiful and loving children in Verity and Will. Sara has fulfilled her destiny and gone to a wonderful home to join our daughter Edwina. I know, and I really do know, she is in a beautiful place and we are eternally connected."
Samia Smith (Maria Connor), Ann Kirkbride (Deirdre Barlow), Sue Nicholls (Audrey Roberts) and David Neilson (Roy Cropper) were among the Corrie stars who attended the service.
CORRIE’S Bill Roache fought back tears yesterday to make a heart-rending tribute to tragic wife Sara.
Telly pals — clearly moved by his touching words at a memorial service — broke into spontaneous applause as he told them Sara had made him the “luckiest man alive”.
Bill, 76, was speaking just ten days after her sudden death at the age of 58. The cause has not yet been revealed but it is thought she may have suffered a heart attack.
The couple have two children, Verity, 29, and William, 23.
Filming of the ITV soap was halted for the first time in a decade yesterday to allow cast members to pay their respects to Sara. Among the 200 mourners were Bill’s on-screen wife Anne Kirkbride, telly’s Deirdre.
She gave Bill, TV’s Ken Barlow, a hug as she left the service at St Bartholomew’s Church in Wilmslow, Cheshire.
Other Corrie stars there were Samia Smith (Maria Sutherland), Jane Danson (Leanne Battersby), Helen Worth (Gail Platt), Sue Cleaver (Eileen Grimshaw), Antony Cotton (Sean Tully), Jennie McAlpine (Fiz Brown), Tupele Dorgu (Kelly Crabtree), David Neilson (Roy Cropper), Katherine Kelly (Becky Grainger), Sue Nicholls (Audrey Roberts), Michael Le Vell (Kevin Webster), Jack P Shepherd (David Platt), Simon Gregson (Steve McDonald) and Ryan Thomas (Jason Grimshaw).
Bill, married to Sara for more than 30 years, broke down as he began to speak. But then he reassured everyone: “I’ll get through it, I’ll get through it.”
Bill went on: “When I met Sara, 35 years ago, she was a young, beautiful, vibrant girl and only a few days ago she was still young, beautiful and vibrant, the perfect wife. I am the luckiest man alive to have had such a loving, loyal, devoted beautiful wife for 35 years.”
Bill, whose daughter Edwina died in 1984 of a chest infection aged 18 months, said Sara had “fulfilled her destiny and gone to a wonderful home to join Edwina”.
Former Corrie stars Bruce Jones, (Les Battersby) and Sue Jenkins (Gloria Todd) were also at the service along with Shadow Chancellor George Osborne and ex-Arsenal player Lee Dixon.
Bill and Sara were popular on Cheshire’s social scene and were supporters of the Tory party in Tatton, where Mr Osborne is MP.
Sara’s funeral service was held yesterday morning.
The pictures in the paper show how truely devastating the day must have been and how loved she really was
Coronation Street star Bill Roache has thanked fans for their support following the sudden death of his wife Sara at the age of 58.
Roache, who plays Ken Barlow on the ITV1 soap, said that he and his family have gained "great comfort and strength" from the letters and cards they have received.
The 76-year-old also expressed his gratitude to people who attended a memorial service held this week, during which he said he was the "luckiest man alive" to have had such a loving, loyal, devoted and beautiful wife.
"We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been in touch to express their condolences and offer their support," he said.
"The memorial service was such a memorable day and exactly what we wanted it to be - a celebration of Sara's life. The feeling of love and affection in the Church was amazing. Knowing that so many people were touched by Sara's death and have offered their help and support means a great deal. Thank you."
The couple married more than 30 years ago and had grown-up children Verity, 29, and William, 23. Their second daughter Edwina died of a chest infection in 1984, aged 18 months.
Bill Roache has reportedly pledged his future to Coronation Street following the sudden death of his wife Sara.
The 76-year-old actor vowed never to quit his role as Ken Barlow on the ITV1 soap after attending a memorial service for his partner this week, according to The People.
"I'll never quit the show I love. Sara would have wanted me to carry on," the newspaper quotes Roache as saying. "Apart from my family, Coronation Street has been my life. At my lowest ebb it crossed my mind but I knew I could never walk away.
"Sara always joked that the show was the second woman in our marriage. The cast and crew are like family. I'd stay for another 50 years if I could."
Roache is said to have made his comments in a conversation with his former co-star Bruce Jones, who played Les Battersby on the show.
Jones explained: "He said despite the shock of losing Sara so quickly he could never bring himself to walk away. It has left a huge vacuum in his life but knowing he has the support and love of all the cast and crew is a great source of strength."
Sara Roache passed away at the couple's home in Cheshire earlier this month. She was 58.
GRIEVING Corrie star Bill Roache returned to work for the first time yesterday after losing his beloved Sara.
Bill, 76, who plays Ken Barlow, was left heartbroken when his wife of 30 years collapsed and died at their Cheshire home on February 7.
Bosses axed filming last week for the first time in a decade to allow cast and crew to attend a memorial service for mum-of-two Sara.
Corrie bosses had told the star to take off as much time as he needed before returning to the street.
But a subdued Bill returned to The Street yesterday with a gentle introduction, filming one scene with Deirdre. He also had meetings with Corrie bosses. An insider said: “They talked how his storylines were going to be altered to cater for his recent absence.”
Coronation Street star Bill Roache has opened up about his grief at the sudden death of his wife.
Roache was left heartbroken when his partner of more than 30 years passed away at their family home in February.
The 77-year-old revealed that his Corrie co-stars Anne Kirkbride (Deirdre Barlow) and Stephanie Beacham (Martha Fraser) helped him through his recent troubles.
"They are my family. They all came to the service and they are so loving," he said.
Four months on from Sara's passing, Roache said that he still does not know what caused the 58-year-old's death.
"There is going to be an inquest," he told The Sun. "The coroner gave an interim death certificate, they did toxicology tests and an autopsy but there was nothing untoward.
"The coroner was perfectly happy it was natural causes but they just can't pinpoint what it was. It wasn't a heart attack, because if it was a physical thing like the heart you would see right away. The cause will be so minute that I feel it has to be in the brain."
Speaking about his emotions since Sara's death, he said: "It was such a shock. It was like having the carpet pulled from from under me. I've found the grieving process is not a straight line, it's variable. You have a sort of numbness to begin with - a terrible grief - then great waves.
"You have periods when you feel totally normal. It's almost callous, as if life is just going on without Sara, and then of course it hits you on the back of the neck."
Roache added: "I know that we will be together again one day. That much I'm sure of. Sara was everything to me and no one could replace her - I would never want that. Good heavens, no."
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