Sherrie Hewson worries about William Roache's health following his trial for sex assault charges.
The former 'Coronation Street' actress and 'Loose Women' star was overcome with emotion last week when the 81-year-old actor - who has played Ken Barlow in the ITV soap since its first episode - was cleared of charges including indecent assault and rape, and she admits she worries about the effect the public ordeal must have had on him.
She exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "It must have hurt him, physically, health-wise. And apart from everything else, he's not been in a job for a year.
"I was angry it even went as far as it did. It's a waste of taxpayers' money. It's ludicrous what is happening now. We were all incensed it had got that far because it didn't need to go to court. Apparently they didn't have enough evidence - well, obviously not, because it was thrown out."
The 63-year-old star also believes it's wrong to name people in relation to crimes such as sexual assault before they are charged.
Sherrie explained: "People should be protected. Until they're charged, they shouldn't be named. And when they're charged, obviously, you go for it then.
"To spread him all over the newspapers ... he was charged, but he was named long before he was charged. It was all over the papers for ever. It's because he's well known, because he's iconic. It's got to stop."
'Nana's Kitchen' by Sherrie Hewson is out now in hardback by Macmillan, £18.99.

Jared Leto and Lupita Nyong'o have sparked rumours they are dating after being spotted flirting with one another.
The Hollywood stars - who have been nominated for the Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress awards at the upcoming Oscars - were seen getting cosy at the Crosby Street Hotel in New York City on Wednesday (12.02.14).
A source told the New York Post newspaper: "They were huddled at a corner table together looking very close."
The pair sparked they were getting close after they were seen spending a lot of time together at the Golden Globe awards in Los Angeles last month and various other events this month.
Lupita, 30, reportedly had an on-set romance with Chiwetel Ejiofor, 36, while filming Steve McQueen's '12 Years A Slave', but the relationship fizzled out after filming wrapped up last year.
Meanwhile, the 30 Seconds to Mars frontman had a high-profile relationship with Cameron Diaz in 1999, and the pair became engaged in 2000, before ending their romance in 2003.
However, Jared - who has also been linked to Taylor Swift and Alexa Chung recently - insists sometimes looks can be deceiving.
He told Marie Claire magazine earlier this year: "You know sometimes you get linked to someone you've never met and you're like, 'I wouldn't mind actually getting to know her.' "
Although, with a hectic working schedule and various other commitments, the 42-year-old actor admits he's not looking for love at the moment.

Justin Bieber wants to move to Atlanta. The 19-year-old pop superstar has been in the city since last week and has been out partying with P. Diddy, T.I. and Rick Ross and has enjoyed every minute of his time there. Atlanta was the first place Biebe...

Dame Helen Mirren says success comes with "struggle".
The 68-year-old actress - who is set to be honoured with the Fellowship Award at the BAFTAs this Sunday (16.02.14) for her contribution to the film industry - insists she has experienced both "glorious success" and "disastrous failure" in her career, but thinks her self-criticism has inspired her to keep trying.
Speaking on British talk show 'Lorraine', she explained: "You never know why the trajectory of your life has led you to any particular point, whether it was glorious success or disastrous failure - I've experienced both. But certainly I think, a hardened process has to be there ... although obviously with that comes a thought process because there is always self-doubt, self-criticism and struggle. Struggle is a part of the process."
Helen also insists a good work ethic, including being punctual and considerate, will help anyone make it in the industry.
She added: "Also, I think it's incredibly important to turn up on time and be a good team player."
Helen played Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in 'The Audience' - which won her a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress - and claims since then she has become attached for the monarch.
The actress - who also portrayed Elizabeth in 2006 film 'The Queen' - added: "Well, she's not attached to me but I am sort of attached to her. In some invisible way and certainly when I die, the fact that I played the Queen will be remembered."

Fall Out Boy were inspired to launch their own 'Flappy Bird' app after spending time in Japan.
The band decided to create their version of the game - called 'Fall Out Bird' - which will be available later this week - after the original app was downloaded more than 50 million times.
Bassist and singer Pete Wentz told Rolling Stone: "We were over in Japan, playing Flappy Bird when it went crazy."
Because of jet lag, the band - also made up of Patrick Stump, Joe Trohman and Andy Hurley - would all wake up about 4.45am and then discuss Flappy Bird and wonder if the makers were just pulling a stunt.
Pete, 34, said: "It seemed genuine that this was not the kind of attention that he wanted. There's a million Flappy Bird memes where it's 'I hate this fucking game.' It took me a while to realize that's how the Internet tells you it's thinking about you. You have to think about how in Internet culture, everyone that's loved is hated."
The musician can relate to the issue because he can only now play songs from Fall Out Boy's 2005 breakthrough record 'From Under the Cork Tree' and not worry about being accused of being a sell-out.
He admits: "I had so many neuroses in my twenties."
Asked what he thinks the band's legacy is after 13 years, Pete said: "At some point, Metallica stopped being called a thrash-metal band, or the 'Black Album' band -- you just think of them as Metallica. I know our band's not there yet, but it'd be cool to get to that point, where the best descriptor is the name," adding, "Just surviving is a big part of being an artist."

Sir Cliff Richard and Sir Tom Jones are to support Morrissey on his US tour.
The 54-year-old singer has announced he will perform two dates at two huge arenas in Los Angeles and Brooklyn this year, and will be supported by the veteran performers.
The former Smiths frontman will take to the stage with Sir Tom and Missouri singer Kristeen Young on 10 May at Los Angeles Sports Arena, before performing with Sir Cliff and Kristeen on 21 June at New York's Barclays Center.
The Welsh singer, 73, took to his official Facebook page earlier today to confirm the news.
He wrote: I will be Morrissey Official's special guest at his show at the LA Sports Arena on May 10th. We hope to see you there! (sic)".
These are the first confirmed shows for Morrissey after he abandoned a series of tours last year due to lack of funding and a bout of sickness.
Meanwhile, Morrissey, who has been without a label since 2009, recently signed a deal with Universal Music's American-based Harvest Records to release his tenth studio album.
The album is due to be released in the second half of 2014.

Karen O will perform 'The Moon Song' at this year's Academy Awards. The singer-songwriter will take on the Oscar-nominated song from Spike Jonze's romantic drama 'Her' at the ceremony which will take place on March 2 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angele...

Colin Farrell and Jessica Brown Findlay had a "real spark" on the set of their new film.
The 'Saving Mr. Banks' actor and former 'Downton Abbey' actress star alongside one another in supernatural drama 'A New York Winter's Tale' and director Akiva Goldsman was delighted with their chemistry.
Talking at the movie's London premiere at Kensington Odeon cinema, filmmaker Goldsman told BANG Showbiz: "I had a lot of help from Colin and Jessie, because they had a real spark. When you put the two of them together you see something lovely."
The tale follows the story of Farrell's alter-ego, thief Peter Lake, who falls in love with Findlay's character, dying Beverly Penn.
Goldman insists the intimate scenes were easy to film since they're both extremely professional.
Quizzed on the love scenes, the 51-year-old added: "They're very gown up. Love scenes are nowhere near as fun to make as they seem to be."
Other stars at the premiere included lead characters Farrell and Findlay, former 'The Only Way Is Essex' star Amy Childs and famed filmmaker J. J. Abrams.

Drake thought Macklemore's decision to share his consolation Grammys text to Kendrick Lamar was "wack as f**k".
'Thrift Shop' hitmakers Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were champions in almost every rap category at the ceremony last month but thought Kendrick should have won the prize for Best Rap Album for his record 'good kid, m.A.A.d city'.
Macklemore decided to share a text he sent to the star on his Instagram account, in which he wrote, "I wanted you to win ... It's weird and it sucks that I robbed you."
Kendrick then responded to Macklemore's win, saying: "It's well deserved, he did what he did, man."
But Drake said the rapper's decision to share his text to Kendrick with the world was "cheap".
He told Rolling Stone: "I was like, 'You won. Why are you posting your text message?' Just chill ... if you feel you didn't deserve it, go get better -- make better music. It felt cheap. It didn't feel genuine. Why do that? Why feel guilt? You think those guys would pay homage to you if they won?
"To name just Kendrick? That shit made me feel funny. No, in that case, you robbed everybody. We all need text messages!" he added, after he was also nominated in a number of the same categories as Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.
Along with the award for Best Rap Album for their record 'The Heist', the rap duo also picked up gongs for Best New Artist, Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song Title for their hit 'Thrift Shop'.

Jared Leto doesn't find it difficult switching from his role as a frontman to being an actor.
The Thirty Seconds to Mars singer, whose recent performance in 'Dallas Buyers Club' as transgender AIDS victim Rayon has seen him win a string of awards, insists moving between the two professions comes naturally to him.
He told Faster Louder: "You could stick me in front of a pile of rubbish, and I'll make something out of it.
"It all comes from the same place, I'm a creative person, I find creative solutions to problems, and the difference is process.
"The process of making music is very intimate, because at least for me, and Thirty Seconds to Mars, I write the songs, my brother [Shannon] plays the drums, and we have so much responsibility from the music to the production to the videos to the design to the marketing to the tours and the production of the tours ... everything."
The star feels he has less to worry about in terms of production when it comes to acting and tries to focus purely on his role and work with other cast members.
Jared, 42, said: "When you're an actor you're responsible for the vertical within that collaborative effort.
"I think in some ways that can be a really good thing, because you can hyper-focus on your one task.
"But normally as a musician if you write your own songs, it'd be more akin to a director who also stars in his own movies and also writes and produces them as well."
The singer - who is currently performing gigs with his band mates Shannon and Tomo Millicevic - said the group are always "playing with new ideas."
He added: "It's something that you can't really shut down. 'Love Lust Faith and Dreams' still feels like a brand new album to us, it came out in May [2013], so it's not too long ago, and we're on tour.
"Right now we're in Los Angeles but we'll be heading out to Europe in a matter of days again. We just played Mexico. And we'll be playing shows all over the world for the rest of this year."

Britain's Prince Harry and girlfriend Cressida Bonas are "very much in love".
The young couple, who have been dating on and off for 20 months, have been seen on a number of low-key dates in recent weeks, including a night at the Royal Albert Hall watching Cirque du Soleil's hit show Quidam on Wednesday (12.02.14).
The flame-haired prince treated his blonde girlfriend to a night out to take her mind off the death of her former stepfather, Christopher Shaw, whose funeral was also on Wednesday.
A royal source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "The fact she wanted to be with Harry after such a tough day shows how strong their bond has grown."
Speaking about recent split rumours, they said: "When they didn't see each other much over Christmas there was speculation their relationship had gone downhill but that was just rubbish.
"They spend a lot of time together and are very much in love."
The pair are no doubt planning more date nights now 29 year old Harry has given up flying for a military desk job and Cressida has decided a career in the dance world would be difficult to handle with a royal relationship.
Last night, William Hill halved the odds of Harry proposing to his girlfriend before the end of the year from 2-1 to evens.
Cressida arrived for her stepfather's funeral in Hampshire with half-brother, Jacobi Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe, 30.
Mr Shaw, who was 76, was the fourth husband of Cressida's mother, Lady Mary Gaye Curzon, 66. The couple were married for four years before they split up in 2000.

Matt Damon argues with his wife over 'Downton Abbey'.
'The Monuments Men' actor admits he's a big fan of the ITV period drama and fell out with his wife Luciana Barrosa after she watched a run of episodes without him.
Speaking on 'The Graham Norton Show', which airs tonight (14.02.14), Matt said: "My wife is an addict. It's a problem.
"We were supposed to watch it together and I came to bed one night and she said, 'I've just watched six of them - I'll tell you what happened!'
"She wanted to watch the seventh and didn't want to go back to the beginning. So she's done the whole thing and I am on my own."
The 43-year-old star, who has three daughters with wife Luciana, along with her daughter from a previous marriage, has been married since 2005 and is currently missing his family while promoting his new film 'The Monuments Men', co-starring George Clooney, who has also said he's a fan of 'Downton Abbey'.
But he appeared to be enjoying himself on Graham's sofa, declaring: "This is the best time I have ever had on a chat show."
Meanwhile, Matt has said he would love to appear in 'Downtown Abbey' with co-star Hugh Bonneville, who plays Robert, Earl of Grantham.
Asked if Hugh had convinced him to guest-star on the show yet, he said: "He could, he could. Everybody loves that show. My wife loves the show more than anybody. I don't know [if she loves it more than Michelle Obama]. They would have a lot to talk about."