Veteran Corrie actor Bill Roache is alive and well and thank God for that.

The 85-year-old soap icon was the subject of a fake news article circulating on social media yesterday which claimed that Roache's son Linus had announced his father's passing from heart failure.

It was all a cruel hoax though, as the Corrie Twitter account soon confirmed:


Bill Roache, who has been on Coronation Street since the start, has only recently returned to work following the tragic death of his 50-year-old daughter Vanya.

The actor has also said recently that he has no intention of retiring any time soon so here's hoping we have many more years of Ken Barlow yet to come.