By Laura Fox and Codie Bullen For Mailonline
00:42 19 Feb 2024, updated 00:45 19 Feb 2024
Coronation Street‘s Bill Roache has reportedly tried selling one of his properties to clear his six-figure tax bill, as he faces going bankrupt for the second time.
The actor, 91, had been given until January to make his payment in full, but a prospective buyer for the property pulled out, according to court documents obtained by The Sun.
The court had not been told by last month and so is pressing ahead with the action, meaning Bill could still face bankruptcy.
Bill, who owns a mortgage-free home worth £900,000 in Cheshire, tried to sell a property to repay his debt to HMRC, but no further details about the site have been revealed.
MailOnline has contacted a representative for Bill Roache for comment.
Bill, who has played Ken Barlow on Corrie since 1960, entered an agreement in 2018 to clear a £588,015.18 debt owed, but has only paid £41,666.65 so far.
Friends from Bill’s spiritual group previously claimed he is ‘doing fine’ as he ‘faces bankruptcy’ for a second time, according to The Mirror.
At a Stride for Truth group meeting on Friday night, one member said they were ‘100% supporting’ Bill.
The organisation, which strives for world peace and enlightenment, meets in a room above a foot clinic in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester.
Stride for Truth’s Facebook reads: ‘The ultimate vision and plan is true and everlasting world peace. A new world order shall be established and a new collective consciousness created.
‘This new order and new Earth will be love centric. Strength shall return to the human heart and no longer shall lies, deceit, greed and wickedness thrive. The truth shall set us free.’
Bill, who is now the highest-paid member of the cast, earning around £250k a year, ‘owes the taxman nearly £550,000’.
The Sun have published his six-figure debt, just weeks after it was revealed he’s facing bankruptcy for a second time.
Bill initially owed £588,015.18 and entered a 2018 agreement to clear it, but the High Court papers obtained by the publication claim he has only paid £41,666.65.
He had until last month to pay the full amount of £546,348.53, and now faces a High Court battle in March.
Bill’s interest payments come to £14,699, while he also faces late-payment fines of more than £8,000, which are both included in the total.
It comes after HMRC said it does ‘not comment on individual cases’, but a spokesperson told The Mirror: ‘We take a supportive approach to dealing with customers who have tax debts, and do everything we can to help those who engage with us to get out of debt, such as offering instalment plans.
‘We only petition for bankruptcy as a last resort.’
A spokesperson for Coronation Street told the publication: ‘We’re really sorry to hear of Bill’s financial situation. Bill has an ongoing contract with Coronation Street and remains a much-loved member of the cast.’
Papers were lodged against the father-of-five at London’s High Court on Tuesday, and details of the cause of the tax debt remained confidential.
At the end of the nineties Bill ended up bankrupt following a libel battle with The Sun for calling him ‘boring Ken Barlow’.
He won the case but was judged to have wasted court time with the law suit and was awarded only £50,000, the amount the paper had offered him to settle out of court.
He was left with huge legal bills which he compounded with the decision to sue his lawyers over the case, landing him in up to £600,000 of debt.
It was reported in December last year that Bill has signed on to star in Coronation Street for another 12 months, marking his 63rd year on the soap.
The actor, 91, has played Ken Barlow on the ITV soap since it debuted back in 1960 when he was paid £70 a week.
He holds the world record for the longest-serving TV actor in a continuous role and is even listed in the Guinness World Records.
Bill previously said he wanted to still be on the soap at 100 years old.
Last year he told The Mirror: ‘Someone said to me, ‘Look, Bill, you’re in the Guinness Book of Records, you’ve got the MBE, you’ve been in Coronation Street for over 60 years, what else is there?’
‘I said to him, ‘I would like to be the first centenarian who is still cast in an ongoing drama’. That’s my aim, to be 100 and still working on Coronation Street.’
‘While they want me and while I can do it I’ll continue to do it.’
Bill has also said: ‘People will say when are you retiring? Are you going to take a break? But then what happens?
‘Whilst I can do it, and whilst they will have me, I have no intention of retiring. I am so fortunate to work for an organisation that is happy to have me.’
Last December, Bill was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) by King Charles for his services to acting following more than 60 years on Corrie.
Bill, who was previously awarded an MBE, revealed the hilarious reaction of King Charles, who playfully asked: ‘Not still working are you?’
In May 2022, Bill revealed he nearly quit the soap to pursue his dream of appearing in Westerns alongside the likes of Clint Eastwood .
He admitted he first aspired to star in films when he launched his career as an actor, telling the Sunday People: ‘When I started out I wanted to be in films, particularly I wanted to be in Westerns.
‘There was a time in the middle of my career, when I was in my 40s, I thought if ever I’m going to get out and do something else, now is the time.
‘But I only thought about it. I never actually did it. I realised I’m really proud of Coronation Street, lucky to be in it.’
