Bill Roache enjoys 'a bit of what's bad for him'

Bill Roache still enjoys "a little bit of what's bad" for him after turning 90.

The 'Coronation Street' legend - who has played Ken Barlow on the cobbles since the very first episode aired on ITV in 1960 - celebrated the milestone birthday last week, and he insisted the secret is finding a "balance".

He told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "I know what’s good for me. But I’ll have a little bit of what’s bad for me – because you should enjoy your life – but then I’ll compensate.

"I try to eat as sensibly as possible. But also the big thing in life is enjoy it."

The soap veteran revealed he's still "in very good health", and he has urged people to be measured with their fitness regimes.

He added: "People go to the gym everyday and jog everyday and they diet all the time. I believe in enjoying life in balance.

"My work involves standing most of the day. Even at home I stand a lot. On top of that I play golf, which I enjoy. I’m in very good health. I feel good. My dieting, again, is all balance."

Bill has repeatedly set himself the goal of still appearing on 'Corrie' when he's 100, and he's only got a decade to go to hit that milestone.

He said: "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.”