Bill Roache, 88, forced to take time off the soap after testing positive for Covid

Coronation Street legend Bill Roache has been taking time away from the Cobbles after testing positive for coronavirus.

The veteran actor, 88, has recovered well and has said he is looking forward to returning to the long-running soap as soon as possible.

A spokesperson said: ‘Following recent reports about his health, William Roache has asked us to clarify that he took time off work after testing positive for Covid.

Recovering: Coronation Street legend Bill Roache is taking time away from the Cobbles after testing positive for coronavirus

‘He has recovered well and is looking forward to returning to the cobbles as soon as possible.’

MailOnline understands that due to the way the show is scripted there can be a lag between actors leaving the show and when they return if they are written out.

While scrips for Bill are still being produced the soap is also currently limiting filming time with the more elderly cast during the pandemic.

Long-standing star: The veteran actor, 88, has recovered well and has said he is looking forward to returning to the long-running soap as soon as possible (pictured on Coronation Street in 2017)

Bill, who plays elder statements Ken Barlow, is the only remaining character who still appears on the show since it first began in 1960. 

During his time on the ITV programme, Ken has been married four times to three different women, as well as being embroiled in several love affairs.

He was also involved in a long-standing feud with arch rival Mike Baldwin, who was played by the late Johnny Briggs until in 2006.

Bill previously told how he wants to say on the soap as long as possible, and insisted at its 60th anniversary: ‘While I can do it and they want me, I will be there. 

‘Retirement is not on the radar at all. I have no plans for that.

‘I don’t even like to think about how they’d write Ken out if I did leave. Because hopefully that is never going to happen.’

A spokesperson for Bill, said: ‘Following recent reports about his health, William Roache has asked us to clarify that he took time off work after testing positive for Covid’ (pictured 2017)

In November last year, Bill admitted that he believes he is getting younger every year due to thinking positively.

Bill told The Sun: ‘I’m getting younger every day. A lot of it is just belief.

‘It’s a collective consciousness, ”Oh I am too old for this”. It’s all in the mind. I wasn’t joking when I said I was getting younger every year.

‘If you think positively, your cells will renew themselves all the time. If you go down, the renewal process will go down. If you stay up, the renewal process will go up. You don’t have to age as much as people think. I’m not, anyway.’    

Way back when: ‘If you think positively, your cells will renew themselves all the time. If you go down, the renewal process will go down,’ he told The Sun