ON THE RECORD

William Roache (Ken Barlow of) Coronation Street).... was on BBC Breakfast last week and mentioned a couple of things of note that the press is picking up.

One excerpt from that interview mentions his Guinness record of playing the longest continuous character on television. This isn't however, a world record, as he is well aware. That record belongs to an American actor called Don Hastings who has played Bob Hughes on the American soap, As The World Turns, since October 1960, two months longer than Bill has been playing Ken Barlow. There are two other actors that have played their characters longer but both women have not been continuous in their portrayal. Eileen Fulton, who has played the much married Lisa on the same soap since May 1960, has left the soap three times over the years. Helen Wagner beats them all, having played Nancy Hughes, "Bob's" mother, again on the same show, since April 1956 but was only on the show sporadically over a five year period in the 1980s.

What favor did Mr. Roache ask of Don? Read the rest of the story to find out!