Coronation Street’s Bill Roache believes the soap’s older stars will be filming on set by autumn 

Coronation Street‘s older stars are likely to return to the famous cobbles by autumn according to veteran star Bill Roache.

The soap resumed filming but only the younger and less vulnerable actors are involved in production at the moment.

But Bill, who plays Ken Barlow, hopes he will be back on screen for the show’s 60th anniversary later this year.

The 88-year-old told The Mirror: ‘I’m looking forward to it – I don’t want to slow down. I want to speed up!

‘They have started filming again, but not for us oldies. But probably by the autumn they have said we could be back. I had no idea until they contacted me and they asked me if I wanted to go back and I said yes.

‘Then I had to get a doctor’s report that he considers the protocols they have got are good, which he has done.’

Bill also revealed that he has spoken to fellow cast member Simon Gregson, who plays Steve McDonald, about the current filming conditions.

Simon told him the banter on the set is the same as ever and all the cast and crew are very happy to be back.

The ITV soap recently resumed filming after production was halted for nearly three months due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

The stars are seen socially distancing in the scenes but they are yet to make any reference to the virus, according to The Sun.

Scripts are expected to include face masks, takeaway pints and references to lockdown in episodes near the end of the month. 

An ITV source revealed: ‘The new storylines will tackle the pandemic and the way it is affecting ordinary people — with pubs and restaurants doing takeaways and shoppers having to queue to get their groceries.

‘But coronavirus will not dominate the drama.’

The new safety measures are in accordance with the recently issued TV production guidelines which will be observed whilst filming the top ITV soap.

Crew have also begun preparations to ensure filming will resume in full on Tuesday at the studios, with recording initially producing three episodes a week. 

The new episodes will be scheduled following the instalments recorded earlier this year before the coronavirus pandemic halted production in March.

Cast and crew over the age of 70, or with an underlying health condition, will be kept at home during the early stages.  

As the actors return to filming, the plan is to make enough shows to continue airing three episodes a week to ensure the soap remains on-screen in July. 

ITV bosses previously confirmed that older cast members will be kept at home during the first few weeks of filming. 

Andy Whyment (Kirk) also revealed that kissing scenes will be banned in accordance with new social distancing measures. 

The star also shared a picture of new soap scripts to his Instagram, he penned: ‘New scripts EXCITED’ with smiley faces and a thumbs up emoji.  

This may be sad news for soap fans, as cast members who fall into that age bracket include William Roache (who plays Ken Barlow), Barbara Knox (Rita Tanner), Sue Nicholls (Audrey Roberts) and Maureen Lipman (Evelyn Plummer). 

It has been reported that older stars may still appear via video calls, with a source telling Talk TV according to The Sun: ‘Bosses know just how important these characters are to their millions of fans.

‘And who wouldn’t love to see the likes of Ken, Evelyn and Roy taking part in a Zoom quiz night? 

‘Or Tracy calling her dad and telling him how much she misses him. There are good ways to do it and that’s what they’re looking into at the moment.’