Bill Roache has returned to work on 'Coronation Street' following the death of his daughter.
Bill Roache
The 85-year-old actor has been left grief-stricken following the passing of 50-year-old Vanya - his child with first wife Anna Cropper - from liver failure earlier this month.
Bill was granted compassionate leave by bosses on the ITV soap but he has now made the decision to return to the set and resume filming scenes as his character Ken Barlow.
Vanya's death is the third major family loss for Bill as his second wife Sara Mottram died in 2009 aged 58 and their daughter Edwina passed away from pneumonia at the age of 18 months.
Vanya leaves behind her fiancé Toby Evans, who she lived with in Chichester, West Sussex.
Toby confirmed that she had died from liver failure, saying: "Vanya was a nice person, a lovely person. It was liver failure that she died of. It happened very quickly."
Bill's family also includes his daughter Verity and two son Linus and James.
Although he is now well into his 80s, Bill has insisted he wants to continue working on 'Coronation Street' for as long as possible or until he is no longer physically able to.
The actor - who has appeared on 'Corrie' since the first episode aired on 9 December 1960 - said: "I never think about [retiring]. I enjoy what I'm doing and I'm lucky in that I'm in a job where I can age. I'm actually falling to bits in front of people's eyes and that's what I'm meant to do. If I were playing James Bond, I'd grow out of the age where I could play the role. But Ken Barlow is me - he's getting older and I'm getting older with him."
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