Coronation Street icon Bill Roache’s health secret as he marks 92nd birthday

Coronation Street icon Bill Roache has shared his secret to good health and a long life.

Roache, who celebrated his 92nd birthday in April, has become Britain’s longest-serving soap actor, having been in the ITV show since its very beginning in 1960. Playing the role of the legendary Ken Barlow, Bill has been full of energy during his time on the cobbles – and it shows no sign of stopping any time soon.

Fans of the show have commended the long-time actor for his energy and ability to remain vitalised, even at the age of 92. Several have asked him what secrets he has to maintain his physique and mental ability so they can be in such great shape.

A recently unearthed video of Bill divulging his secrets has since been found, and his routine for staying so agile is surprising. In an interview on This Morning back in 2022, Roache revealed how he manages to keep his brain and body on top form.

Speaking to then-hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, he explained that “fun fitness” is the key to his long-term strength. He manages to do this by going to an exercise class that runs during the week, during which he attends once or twice, to keep his body in check.

Rejoicing in the classes, the Ken Barlow star said: “What’s amazing about that is you’ve got five-year-olds up to me and the exercises are appropriate for everybody. It’s like playing tag at school or something.

“Keeping active like that is so important and that seems to be what your life looks like,” he added. “There’s no slowing down.”

In the classes, there are a variety of different things that Bill said he can do, some of which are particularly taxing, even for muscle-mad gym-goers. In his routines, he explained how he has tailored his exercise to the likes of basketball, boxing and aerobic activities.

“It’s not like going to the gym and doing a heavy serious workout,” he explained. “It’s called fun fit for a reason – we play games like tag zombies.

“It’s like a form of school game, you’re chasing around. We’re doing things that we enjoy all the time. It’s good to be together.”

However, not everything is up Bill’s street as he explained how he tries to avoid introducing stressful elements into his life that could cause him unnecessary problems. He crossed off the usual things that helps keep up his sharp ability like “eating enough vegetables” and “drinking enough water”.

But later on, he added that stress was the worst thing that could affect someone’s health: “If you listen to the news and read the papers, there’s not much joy around, is there? If you can enjoy yourself and find the joy in whatever you do, it makes such a big difference.”