General Chat

Coronation Street actor Bill Roache has been charged with five indecent assaults dating back almost five decades, on four girls aged between 12 and 16.

The 81-year-old from Wilmslow, Cheshire, was arrested this morning after attending a police station in Lancashire by appointment.

A statement from Lancashire Constabulary said: "The offences are alleged to have been committed in the Manchester area between 1965 and 1968 and to involve four girls aged between 12 and 16 years at the time."

Roache was released on police bail to attend Preston Magistrates' Court on Friday.

A statement from the Crown Prosecution Service's Chief Crown Prosecutor for the North West, Nazir Afzal, added that the allegations were made after the actor was charged on May 1 with two counts of rape - charges he denies.

The latest charges are of two indecent assaults in relation to a 14-year-old girl in 1965, one on a 16-year-old girl in 1965, one on a girl aged 13 or 14 in 1968 and one on a girl aged 11 or 12 in 1968.

Speaking after he was charged with rape, Roache released a statement insisting he was innocent.

"I strenuously deny the allegations and will now focus my full attention on fighting to preserve my innocence in the challenging times ahead," the statement said.

"I would like to offer my sincere thanks to all those people who have offered me their support and good wishes at this difficult time."

ITV has said in a statement that Roache will not be appearing in Coronation Street until legal proceedings have concluded.

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