Coronation Street actor Bill Roache angers fans for claiming his co-star Anne Kirkbride was an 'alcoholic'
'She had been alcoholic but she was off the drink. Then she was on anti-depressant drugs all her life,' Bill Roache reportedly said
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Your support makes all the difference.Coronation Street actor Bill Roache has angered fans for reportedly referring to his late co-star Anne Kirkbride as an “alcoholic”.
While Roach currently plays the role of Ken Barlow, Kirkbride was his on-screen wife Deidre Barlow in the ITV soap for 42 years, before she died at the age of 60 in January of last year.
The 82-year-old actor reportedly said Kirkbride had been taking anti-depressants for much of her life but had stopped drinking before she died.
Speaking at the Royal Television Society Awards in London, he reportedly said: “What happened to Anne was - she was alcoholic. She was on drugs for depression. She was a beautiful person”.
“She had been alcoholic but she was off the drink. Then she was on anti-depressant drugs all her life,” the veteran soap actor added.
He also claimed she would delay filming because she was “weepy and wailing”.
Roache, who is Coronation Street's longest serving cast member, has faced a backlash for his alleged remarks on Twitter, with one user writing: "Shame on Bill Roache for calling out Anne Kirkbride's mental health. Using the phrase "crying and wailing" to describe it is awful!"
Kirkbride had been diagnosed with breast cancer and had also suffered a stroke before she died.
Kirkbride’s husband, David Beckett, responded to the comments in a statement, which said: ”Whilst Anne did describe herself as an alcoholic, as many alcoholics do, she had not touched a drop of alcohol for 30 years or more.”
A spokesperson from ITV told The Independent: “We would not comment on anything relating to the health of an actor in the show past or present”.
Roache did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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