Bill Roache has signed a deal reportedly worth £250,000 to stay on 'Coronation Street.'
Bill Roache signs bumper pay deal to stay on Corrie
The 90-year-old actor has played Ken Barlow on the ITV soap opera since its very first episode in 1960 and the bumper pay deal will see him appear on the show for at least another year as his character - who was famously married to Deirdre Barlow until her death in 2015 - is embroiled in another love triangle with Wendy Crozier and Martha Fraser.
A source told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: "Ken Barlow has been at the heart of Coronation Street since it started 62 years ago and that's not changing any time soon. And as we've seen with his recent love triangle storyline, he's no plans to slow down."
The news comes just days after Bill - who holds the world record for the longest-serving actor in a continuous role - received his OBE from King Charles for services to acting and revealed that the pair shared a joke about just how long he has been in the soap.
Bill said: "Charles was lovely - very friendly. He said, 'Not still working are you?' I said, 'Yes, I just had two ex-girlfriends on the show'. He said, 'Oh, that must have been work', and I said, 'May I wish you a long and joyful reign, sir?' And he said, 'Thank you, that will be a lot
of work too.'
"I love the Royal Family. I met the Queen about seven times.
Charles is really, really friendly and more easy going, possibly in a
sense. But the Queen was... when she came [to visit the 'Corrie' set] less
than a year ago she always listened, she was attentive, on the ball and didn't miss a trick. And they always love the humour!"
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