Coronation Street star Bill Roache missed daughter's death because of car crash

'By the time I got to her, it was too late'

Coronation Street star Bill Roache has spoken out about how he missed his daughter’s death due to a car crash en route to the hospital.

The soap opera stalwart – who plays Ken Barlow – revealed he was on set in March 2018 when Vanya fell seriously ill with a liver condition. He immediately began the 300-mile journey from Manchester to Chichester, West Sussex, picking up his son Will in London on the way.

He told the Sunday Mirror how they were 15 minutes away from the hospital when a satnav led them down a snow covered country road.

“The car just went straight on, smashed a sign, went over a traffic island and hit a hedgerow, smashing the whole front of the car,” he said. “Recovery said they couldn’t get out for five hours. By the time I got to her, it was too late.“

He described the pain of losing a child as “unbearable” revealing his prior experience of such tragedy when his daughter Edwina died from acute bronchial pneumonia just 18 months after her birth in 1984.

“To not be able to say goodbye to Vanya was awful,” he said. “But I take some comfort in now knowing she is in a better place and at peace. I like to think about the happier times we had. And when I say ‘I love you Vanya’ I know she hears it.”

Roache is also father to Verity and Linus who appeared in the most recent season of US series Homeland.

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