How tall is William Roache

William Roache's Height

5ft 6 ½ (168.9 cm)

Peak height was 5ft 8 ½ (174 cm)
English actor, best known for playing Ken Barlow on Coronation Street. In the 1970's he once had himself listed as "5 feet 11 inches" although later had it reduced to "5 feet 9"

How tall is William Roache
William & Sacha Parkinson
Photo © ImageCollect.com / Keith Mayhew/Landmark Media.
I’ve just lost 18lb from cutting sugar from my diet. People don’t realise just how much refined sugar piles on the pounds. It’s lethal. I feel much better for it and my energy levels are constant. It took me a while to conquer my sweet tooth — but after a month or so, the craving for sweets stopped. I’m trying to keep my present weight (12st), which is right for a man of 5ft 9in.
-- Daily Mail, 2010 (Nov 16)

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Add a Comment35 comments

Average Guess (12 Votes)
Peak: 5ft 8.4in (173.7cm)
Current: 5ft 6.29in (168.4cm)
Sandy Cowell said on 9/Feb/23
@ Torrinator - Yes, I can believe 5ft8 for Anne Kirkbride. I read an article about her, and she was either 5ft7 or 8. This will have been back in the 80s.

Cheers to you, Torrinator, and thanks for writing! 😁👍🏼
Sandy Cowell said on 9/Feb/23
Ken has gone round to the Critchley boy’s house, his
car having been vandalised by him. His father answers, haggard of face and with a can of beer in his hand.
Neglective father = rebellious son.

Yes, he IS acting all defensively, which was rather predictable.

Poor Ken.
Sandy Cowell said on 8/Feb/23
Ken is having a spot of bother with a pupil named Aidan Critchley, played by Dean Ashton. Born in 1987, he’ll only be 14/15 when this was filmed, so he probably grew to quite a height, as he’s already taller than Ken.

What a RUDE boy!
Nik Ashton said on 9/Jan/23
Peak - Dunno!

Current - 5’6.25”.
Torrinator said on 7/Jan/23
@Sandy Cowell
For Anne Kirkbride from what I’ve seen she always looked very close in height to Roache, if not having a slight edge. I can believe 5ft 8 for her.
In Bill Roache’s case I think he was still near 5ft 8 in early 2000s then fell towards 5ft 7 over the decade after that.
Sandy Cowell said on 6/Jan/23
Ken’s mother-in-law, Blanche, waltzed in with none other than ROY HUDD in this morning’s Classic Coronation Street! He played Archie, and because he was an undertaker, he went round telling people how tall they are! A fella after Rob’s heart, or what? 🤩

Of Deirdre, he said, “Five foot eight.” I’d read that and also five foot seven. Deirdre was played by the late Anne Kirkbride.

When Archie saw Jack Duckworth, he burst out with “Five nine!” I said in the comfort of my messy lounge floor, “Why, thanks Roy! I’d been wondering for ages….”

Then it was Jack’s wife, Vera, who was to be sized up. “Five seven, but you have been more. You’re SHRINKING - no offence….”

Vera snapped back, “Well, plenty taken!” I know how she feels, but it doesn’t half help to talk about it. It puts things into perspective.

I missed this episode yesterday, but it was worth its weight in gold; I got up at 5.35am to see it and I’m so glad I did.

It isn’t time for me to ‘size up’ Bill today, but I must add that I was thinking only the other afternoon that he doesn’t look by any means short and his confidence makes him seem taller.
Sandy Cowell said on 4/Jan/23
Bill looked quite tall today!

His screen wife, Deirdre. played by Anne Kirkbribe, who I read was 5ft7, seemed a considerable amount shorter than William, so therefore, I think he’s worn extremely well.
Sandy Cowell said on 3/Dec/22
Bill is another actor with a very distinctive voice. I don’t have to look up to see who it is if he’s talking, as happened just now.

He sounds taller than he is!

5ft8.5 peak and 5ft6.5 now.
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 8/Jul/22
How dreadful. Today’s Classic Coronation Street carried the news that Ken’s daughter, Susan, and the twin sister of Peter, was killed in a motorway accident. 😿🥲

She and son, Adam, were fleeing from Mike Baldwin.
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 19/Apr/22
I see what they were up to! They had a 125 minute special on William Roache yesterday, probably as an Easter special.

I’m watching the repeat.
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 19/Apr/22
I don’t believe it! ITV3 are showing the first ever Coronation Streets and I’ve been wondering, if assuming, that I’m going to find these as boring and inane as I did when my Mum was watching it. So far, I have done, though when this started on 9th December, 1960, I wasn’t even born yet.

Ken is the only character who is still in it, and in comparison to all the elderly people, he looks quite tall, but no way is he boyish. He should be, considering he’s playing younger than he is, perhaps 19.

Okay, he can have 5ft8.5 and 2” shorter today.
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 9/Dec/21
🎂 In yesterday's Classic Coronation Street, Ken celebrated his fictitious 60th birthday. Ironically, today is the 61st anniversary of the first ever showing of Coronation Street, and yes, William Roache was in it all those years ago! 🎂

He plays a bit younger than his years.

5ft8.5 for his peak and 2" less for today's height. 😀👌⏳
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 23/Apr/21
'Classic Coronation Street' has finally got round to the infamous Soap Court Case involving Deirdre Rachid, played by the late Anne Kirkbride, who I read was 5ft7, and Jon Lindsay, Deirdre going down for 18 months and Lindsay, a married man who used her, getting away with a suspended sentence.

This is the only Soap Court Case to ever make front page headlines with 'Free Deirdre Rachid' and I believe it was even discussed in Parliament!

Of course, she gets out - eventually, after maintaining her innocence throughout and remarries Ken, becoming Deirdre Barlow again, much to her daughter, Tracey's delight.

Bill gets 5ft8.5 and 5ft6.25 for today's height.
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 23/Feb/21
That was a different and original way, Ken, of catching the young Nick Tilsley and Leanne Battersby in bed together in this morning's Classic edition of Coronation Street, 'Classic' being the operative word!

He fell through the ceiling and landed on top of them!

👏😆👏😂👏😄👌

Peak - 5ft8.5; Now - 5ft6.25.
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 28/Jan/21
That drunken beast of a son of Bill's Coronation Street character, Ken, really went too far yesterday, hitting his old Dad and causing him to fall to the floor with a bloody nose. 😝🖕 to Peter!

However, it looks as though it's the straw that broke the camel's back and that Peter WILL kick the filthy muck now, in which case, I think Ken will feel it's worth it.

Bill Roache gets 5ft8.5 peak (5ft11? Get away! 😲) and today's height's around 5ft6.25, as he's in his late 80s in reality and plays younger. 😁👍
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 31/Dec/20
The pep talk given to Peter by his Dad, Ken, played by William, including an account of how low and suicidal he'd felt just before 1990 started, which he'd kept to himself for 30 years, did more for Peter than anything the doctors in the hospital could do. Okay, so he desperately needs medical help to help his liver, but without the will to go on, his chances of survival are minimal. He'll need to stay sober for six months if he's to get a liver transplant, but how can he do that when he's given up on life?

I hope Ken's words of wisdom help his son, and more importantly, give strength to any viewers out there in a frail state of mind, caused by alcohol or anything else. As most of us know, being positive strengthens the immune system.

William gets 5ft8.5 for his peak and 5ft6.5 for today's height.
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 19/Aug/20
William Roache has an entire programme devoted to his 'Coronation Street' character tonight. So far, my favourite part has been the clip in which he is trying to teach Raquel to speak French and she innocently asks him to sleep with her! Fantastique! 😄😂😆

Peak height - 5ft8.5
Now - 5ft6.5
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 1/Jul/20
I much prefer the Ken of today than the hypocritical Ken of last century!

He cheated on his wife, Deirdre, but when he gets a taste of his own medicine and someone cheats on him, all hell breaks loose, and he chucks the woman, hairdresser Denise, even though there's an infant son involved. 😝

It's surprising that the infant son, Daniel, who features in today's 'Coronation Street' isn't full of bitterness and is a lovely person, who's going through a difficult time right now, mourning the premature death of his young wife from cancer. The young man is bringing up his baby son single handedly.

Yes, Ken is definitely a better guy now and HAS been supporting Daniel in his time of need, support and understanding. 😢

William Roache, who plays Ken Barlow, gets 5ft8.5 for his peak and 2" less for today's height.
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 28/Mar/20
How can a small dog like Ken's 'Eccles' piddle copiously on the carpet of the retirement home? What a fuss over nothing! 🐶😂😂😂👍

William gets 5ft8.5 peak and 5ft6.5 now.
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 23/Mar/20
Did I hear correctly just now? Did Ken really say, "They'll think it's a load of *ollocks!"?

Surely not, and NOT on 'Coronation Street'! 😂😂😂

Peak - 5ft8.5
Today - 5ft6.5
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 10/Feb/20
I was pleased to see he hasn't retired yet, turning up in the next one too!
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 7/Feb/20
I've just read that Bill Roache really has finished his time in 'Coronation Street', retiring after the 10,000th episode. I wish him a long and happy retirement.

Peak height - 5ft8.5
Today - 5ft6.5
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 24/Nov/19
I have heard that Bill is genuinely ill.

I wish him a speedy recovery. 🤗
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 6/Nov/19
Well done, Ken, for offering your love and sympathy to your son, Daniel, at the time he needs it most. I hope his advice to the bereaved young man and widower hits home and that he comes back for Sinead's funeral and into the arms of his family and loved ones. 😢

Peak height for William - 5ft8.5
Today's height - 5ft6.25.
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 19/Oct/19
@ Nik - That's ironic! My Mum used to watch the show when I was a seriously little kid, in the Ena Sharples days. I remember she (Ena, of course!) was always moaning. I was too young to take in heights then, because when you're that small, all adults seem like giants!

Now this is how young I was; it was before the days where I had any idea that adults stop growing, so I don't think I had even heard of the term 'grown-up'. One year - I was 3 going on 4 or 4 going on 5, I waited outside my brother's bedroom thinking that, when he opened the door, I'd have seen that he'd have sprouted up overnight because of his new age! Now that IS embarrassing to admit to, but well worth laughing about now!
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 19/Oct/19
@ FiveEightJake - I'm a 'decent' 5ft1, and I say decent because I had been up since 12.30am and in and out of the kitchen making tea and watching films all night, so you could say that it wasn't my morning height even though it was 6-6.30am!

Have a great weekend, FiveEightJake!
😁😃😋👍
FiveEightJake said on 17/Oct/19
@ Miss Sandy Cowell well I arise at around 175.3 - 175.6 and normally hit 173.7 - 174 depending on activity levels so I’m a decent five eight you could say :)

How tall are you? If you don’t mind me asking :)
Nik Ashton said on 16/Oct/19
@ Sandy Cowell - I thought you would estimate him to be 5’6.25”, I was right!
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 15/Oct/19
@ FiveEightJake - There's no point in asking YOU how tall you are! 😂😂😂
Nik Ashton said on 15/Oct/19
The average guess for his current height is 5’6.38” and the average guess for his peak height is 5’8.38”! There have been 4 votes!
FiveEightJake said on 14/Oct/19
Rob isn’t 2 inches quite a lot to lose for a bloke of average stature. Can I expect to lose that much aswell as I’m same height as him peak.
Editor Rob
Sometimes height loss is inevitable, but a proportion of it can be preventable.

There's several factors from genetics, lifestyle, food intake and exercise that might determine our losses.
GUK said on 13/Oct/19
I saw him campaigning with the local Tory MP in the 1990s. Then I would have guessed him at 5ft 9 to 5ft 10. Certainly not under 5ft 9. He has shruck a lot since then though.
Nik Ashton said on 12/Oct/19
He is probably about 3/4” above average for a man of his generation!
Nik Ashton said on 11/Oct/19
It’s great to welcome William Roache to the house that Rob built! If William is 5’6.5” then he is ever so slightly shorter than me! (3/4” is nowt!)!
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 11/Oct/19
Bill's performance the other night, on the day which celebrated his 80tb Soap Birthday, was so moving that I actually cried, and I don't think I was the only one.

Fictitious it may be, but the storyline of a brave young girl losing her battle with cancer is about as sad as they come.

William has been in 'Coronation Street' since it started on the 9th December, 1960. I hadn't quite been born yet, but there were three kids in my class who celebrated there Birthdays on that day: Christina, Susan and Martin. I started watching the Soap properly when I was 17 and to be quite honest, I wasn't all that fond of him. He was too much of a philanderer and I found his vanity rather irksome! However, lately he has become less self-centred and some of his actions have shown that it's never too late to change for the better.

I watched 'Classic Coronation Street' at 6 this morning and found him supporting Deirdre, who is unconsolable because her 16-year-old daughter, whom William's character Ken helped bring up, has moved in with a 23-year-old man, so I can see a glimmer of light creeping into his personality. I know he is yet to have another affair, resulting in the conception of Daniel, the husband of the tragic Sinead, and father to their tiny son, Bertie. William/Ken's Birthday speech on Wednesday was from the heart, one could tell that and the tears looked genuine.

The Classic series is from the early 90's - 93 I think - and yes, you can notice that William's height has naturally dwindled over the years. Now I would put him at around 5ft6.25/5, and 26 years ago, he looked just below 5ft8.

I remember William appearing on 'Countdown' in Dictionary Corner with Susie Dent. He was charming and self-deprecating, and had no reason to be the latter! He has every right to be proud of himself, being the longest serving Soap Star of all time. He is 87 in real life, so it makes sense that he will have lost height back in 1993, when he was 61, but to work day in and day out must call for a rigid fitness regime. How otherwise would he have the energy?

I will go with 5ft6.25 for his today's height and 5ft8.5 for his peak height.

Welcome to Celebheights, Bill, and thanks, Rob, for giving him a page.

😁👍🎈...🏘️🏠🏠🏠🏡🏡🏫...🏆🏅
Editor Rob
I think he probably has lost a couple of inches. Looked taller even in the 90's than in recent couple of years...but it's a long time he's been working, I suppose he holds the world record for longest role on TV ever.

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