Coronation Street’s Bill Roache seen out shopping ahead of bankruptcy hearing after £550k tax bill
CORONATION Street star Bill Roache has been spotted casually buying pastries in Cheshire ahead of his bankruptcy hearing this month.
The soap star was warned in March that he had three months to pay back a massive six-figure sum he owes in taxes.
He originally owed HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) a debt of £546,348.53 but lawyers confirmed that his debt has been reduced since then.
Roache was hit with a massive £588,015.18 bill from HMRC in 2018, after a tribunal ruled he participated in “a tax-avoidance arrangement”.
According to High Court papers obtained by the Sun in February 2024 he had paid back £41,666.65 of that sum.
That means he likely still owes £550,000 and his chance to pay it is running out.
The actor does own a mortgage-free home worth £900,000 in Cheshire, and the court has been giving him ample opportunity “allow for the sale of property”.
However, Roache does not seem to be phased by his predicament, and spent his Sunday nipping in to a bakery for some sweet treats.
Roache was previously declared bankrupt in 1999.
He holds the record for being the longest-serving TV star in a continuous role.
The 91-year-old has played Ken Barlow in Corrie since its first episode aired in 1960.
In 2021 Roache was made an OBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours list for his services to drama and charity.