Bill Roache Trial: Coronation Street Co-Star Warned Teenage Girl About 'Cockroach' Actor

A woman who claims she was sexually assaulted by actor Bill Roache has told a court she was warned about his behaviour by a fellow Coronation Street star.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, alleges that Roache groped her when she was around 14 after he arranged for herself and her sister to go on a visit to Granada Studios in Manchester.

It was here the alleged victim told Preston Crown Court that another Coronation Street actor, Peter Adamson, warned her not to hang around with Roache as he would "lead you astray".

The woman also said Adamson, who played the part of Len Fairclough in the ITV soap, referred to Roache as "cockroach".

She told the court: "It was Len Fairclough that made the comment. Because when he said it he looked directly at him and he looked at us and said 'you want to keep your eye on him, he will lead you astray'.

"He called him a cockroach, with a capital C."

Under cross-examination, the witness admitted she made a mistake when she previously told the court she was warned against Roache by Johnny Briggs, who played the part of Mike Baldwin.

She said she made the mistake as she was feeling "mixed-up, upset and confused" at the time.

The defence barrister argued that she was in fact lying about the alleged assault.

She replied: "It happened, no matter what you are saying or what your job is, it happened. I have no reason to lie, no reason in the world.

"I'm telling the truth. Why the hell would I put myself through all of this?"

Roache, 81, is accused of five counts of indecent assault and two counts of rape involving five girls aged between 11 or 12 and 16 between 1965 and 1971. He denies all charges.