Anne Kirkbride described William Roache as a "perfect gentleman" in her court statement yesterday.
The 'Coronation Street' actress, who plays William's on-screen wife Deirdre Barlow in the long-running ITV soap, gave evidence in the ongoing trial against the actor - who is accused of historic sex offences involving underage girls between 1965 and 1971 - and insisted he was always "impeccably" behaved towards her.
Anne, who has worked alongside William, 81, since 1972 when she joined the soap, claimed she has never seen the actor behave in an untoward manner with young women.
She told Preston Crown Court yesterday (29.01.14): "He was always the perfect gentleman.
"We have obviously had several young actresses playing our daughter.
"He has never been anything other than helpful, supportive. Never a suggestion of anything else in all of the years I have known him."
Anne, 59, went on to describe her co-star - who plays Ken Barlow - as "lovely".
She added: "We shared a lot of the same interests in spiritual things. I just found him very easy to talk to."
William's fictional son Chris Gascoyne - who plays Peter Barlow - also praised the actor.
He said: "Bill kind of sets the precedent for everybody. Decent, time for everybody, not a 'star'."
The trial continues.
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