May 01, 2013 - 4:30 AM
LONDON - British media say a longtime star of British soap opera "Coronation Street" has been arrested on suspicion of rape.
The Press Association named the man as William Roache, 81, has played Ken Barlow on the series since its first episode in 1960.
Lancashire Police said only that an 81-year-old man from Wilmslow, in northwestern England, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of raping a 15-year-old girl in 1967.
Police in Britain do not usually name suspects who have not been charged.
Police stood guard outside Roache's Wilmslow house on Wednesday.
The soap, set in a fictional working-class district in northwestern England, is among the most popular programs on British television.
The arrest is not part of Operation Yewtree, the sex abuse investigation established after revelations about the late entertainer Jimmy Saville.
News from © The Associated Press, 2013