Bill Roache has revealed he once told Coronation Street producers he simply could not perform a storyline they had written for his character Ken Barlow.
The 94-year-old actor recalled a plot involving Ken's illegitimate child with a hairdresser that left him deeply uncomfortable.
"Ken had an illegitimate child by a hairdresser and he was looking after this child on his own and was very protective of it, was fighting for it tooth and nail," Mr Roache explained during an appearance on Session 7: Interesting Lives podcast.
"Suddenly, not in just one episode, but in one scene the mother of the child comes along and takes it away and he says okay. I said, 'I'm sorry, I just can't do that.'"
Bill Roache plays Ken Barlow in the ITV soap
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He went on to recall how the producer acknowledged the abruptness, but it was too late to alter the script.
Mr Roache described the experience as "a big wrench," having invested so much emotionally in protecting and caring for the fictional child only to have the plot resolved in a single sentence.
He added: "I took it personally, I was personally involved. It wasn't Ken, it was me doing this but under the name of Ken.
"I feel I'm Ken's protector, I feel I'm looking after him. His caretaker rather than protector. That's what I do," he said.
Bill Roache is the longest serving soap star in history
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He went on to admit: "I took them all personally. As an actor you shouldn't do that, if you're doing different parts all the time, you'd be all over the place."
After more than six decades portraying the same character, Mr Roache concedes the boundaries between himself and Ken have become increasingly blurred.
He described his technique as "pseudo-method," explaining that, unlike actors who must transform into vastly different characters, he has essentially been playing himself under Ken Barlow's name throughout his extraordinary tenure in Weatherfield.
Mr Roache maintains he does not consider himself an actor in the traditional sense, preferring instead to simply absorb his scenes and believe in what is happening.
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Bill Roache
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"In my book, I don't act, I just do, and I believe it. That's it. I don't think about acting at all. I just absorb, take it all in, feel that's who I am, that's what I'm doing, and do it," he explained.
The star, who first appeared as Ken in the soap's inaugural broadcast on December 9, 1960, secured the Guinness World Record for longest-serving soap opera performer in 2010.
His record appears unlikely ever to be surpassed, given the remarkable 65-year span he has spent on the cobbles of Weatherfield.
Mr Roache insists retirement is not something he contemplates, preferring to focus on enjoying life rather than dwelling on his advancing years.
He stated: "Actually, as you get older, you should start doing more, not less. We're lucky to be here, as we are, so make the most of it.
"Life is a miracle. Our actually physical body is a miracle and it's capable of so much more."
He expressed a desire for his future to continue much as it has, dismissing suggestions that he should ease up or give things up as counterproductive to healthy ageing.