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Ken and Me
As Coronation Street's Ken Barlow, Roache has led a stormy life. From early on, he was beset by romantic problems. The wild fling his third wife, Deirdre, had with his arch-enemy Mike Baldwin, so gripped the nation that news of its ending was reported in The Times and the House of Commons.
352 pages, Paperback
First published October 14, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 11, 2018
In some ways I loved this book, in others I disliked it.
It was fascinating to read the account of Roache's childhood and life pre-Coronation Street. His account of his famous libel trial was also interesting, especially as we got to hear his side of the story, which was little reported at the time.
There were several aspects to this book that have caused me to mark it down though. Firstly, there are several glaring spelling errors that are repeated throughout- "Brian Mosley" and the "Royal Welch Fusiliers" being the most grating. Irritating though spelling errors are in themselves, I always think that they are indicative of sloppy research on the part of the author / ghostwriter, which leads me to question the accuracy of other facts in the book.
Secondly, Roache does a very good job in the first few pages of the book of making himself sound very pompous. He repeatedly states his belief at being born to make a difference as if he is somehow more important than everyone else. Later in the book he states his belief of people being reincarnated into the status in life that they deserve on account of their previous lives. Whilst in this instance the statement is made in respect of the Royal Family, one cannot help but be left with the conclusion that Roache believes himself to be in some way superior.
I thought that Roache's political views might irk me somewhat (he is a staunch Conservative- I am most definitely not). However, on the whole he made a good argument in support of his political beliefs. The only part that I found objectionable was his assertion that the Conservatives were caring towards the less fortunate, as I believe there to be little evidence to support this and Roache did not proffer any.
Finally I was disappointed at the almost entire lack of stories relating to Roache's time on Coronation Street. I did not expect (or indeed want) Roache to slate his colleagues, but it was almost as if Coronation Street was incidental to his life.
It was fascinating to read the account of Roache's childhood and life pre-Coronation Street. His account of his famous libel trial was also interesting, especially as we got to hear his side of the story, which was little reported at the time.
There were several aspects to this book that have caused me to mark it down though. Firstly, there are several glaring spelling errors that are repeated throughout- "Brian Mosley" and the "Royal Welch Fusiliers" being the most grating. Irritating though spelling errors are in themselves, I always think that they are indicative of sloppy research on the part of the author / ghostwriter, which leads me to question the accuracy of other facts in the book.
Secondly, Roache does a very good job in the first few pages of the book of making himself sound very pompous. He repeatedly states his belief at being born to make a difference as if he is somehow more important than everyone else. Later in the book he states his belief of people being reincarnated into the status in life that they deserve on account of their previous lives. Whilst in this instance the statement is made in respect of the Royal Family, one cannot help but be left with the conclusion that Roache believes himself to be in some way superior.
I thought that Roache's political views might irk me somewhat (he is a staunch Conservative- I am most definitely not). However, on the whole he made a good argument in support of his political beliefs. The only part that I found objectionable was his assertion that the Conservatives were caring towards the less fortunate, as I believe there to be little evidence to support this and Roache did not proffer any.
Finally I was disappointed at the almost entire lack of stories relating to Roache's time on Coronation Street. I did not expect (or indeed want) Roache to slate his colleagues, but it was almost as if Coronation Street was incidental to his life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 4, 2025
I always liked the Coronation Street character Ken Barlow, who William plays. William is the same age as my dad and there are some similarities in their characters, although from different backgrounds and so I really enjoyed reading about his early life, his education and time in national service before he joined the Corrie cast.
June 28, 2020
An interesting and sometimes funny read. The majority of the book was about his time before Coronation Street. Learned a lot about him and enjoyed the read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews