Bill Roache, a staple on ITV’s Coronation Street for more than five decades, was questioned at his Cheshire home earlier today, over the rape of a 15-year-old girl back in 1976. This comes after Roache made some pretty offensive comments a couple of months ago in the wake of the Jimmy Savile media frenzy. At that time, the Coronation Street veteran hinted that victims of sexual abuse were being punished for sins of a past life. Or at least that’s what he appeared to say. When asked to clarify, Roach came out with the even more airy “If you accept that you are pure love, and if you know that you are pure love and therefore live that pure love, these things won't happen to you.”

To some, that still sounded extremely airy, and rightly so, but when asked whether he was blaming the victims of sexual abuse for what happened to them, Roach didn’t take the opportunity to retract his comment and said instead: “No, not quite, but and yet I am, because everything that happens to us has been a result of what we have been in previous lives or whatever.”

With that kind of history and his current allegations, it’s not looking too good for Roache right now. In light of the circumstances, the Coronation Street team is going to edit all scenes, featuring the actor from future episodes of the show, at least until the case is resolved. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Lancashire Police commented after the arrest: "We take all allegations of sexual abuse extremely seriously and would encourage people with any information about sexual abuse, or anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse, to come forward and report their concerns confident in the knowledge they will be investigated appropriately and with sensitivity."

William Roache, Night of Heroes
After some eyebrow-raising comments, the arrest doesn't come as a huge surprise.