Coronation Street's William Roache marks 90th birthday with new pictures

Actor Bill Roache has celebrated his 90th birthday with portraits capturing his 'vibrant essense'.

The pictures of the Coronation Street legend, who has played Ken Barlow in the soap since its first episode, were taken by his son as he marked his milestone birthday.

Will Roache took the portraits at the family home in Cheshire capturing Bill smiling and relaxed ahead of his birthday on 25 April.

The veteran actor, who earned a place in the Guinness World Record Books as the world's longest-serving TV soap star, said: "Will is really talented, he studied photography when he was younger so he has a lot of technical knowledge but for me it was about how relaxed we all felt.

"Will set everything up in the conservatory and we were all just chatting and laughing and he knew just when to capture the moment.

"I can honestly say those are the best photographs I’ve ever had taken."

Will, who recently starred in an ITV documentary marking his father’s milestone birthday, added: “We had a lot of fun taking these shots.

“I think just having the family there made my father feel more relaxed which enabled me to capture his true vivacious personality and vibrant essence, the part of him that we are lucky enough to see every day, but is rarely seen publicly."

The two previously unseen photographs were part of a set of new images for the re-release of an updated version of Bill’s book Life And Soul - his life lessons for leading a happy, healthy life.