Sherrie Hewson is "thrilled" William Roache has been acquitted of historic sex charges.
The ex-‘Coronation Street’ actress fought back tears when she discovered her friend and former co-star was found not guilty of four counts of indecent assault and two rapes against girls under 16 between 1965 and 1971.
The news broke this morning (06.02.14) while Sherrie was on ITV’s ‘This Morning’ to discuss ‘Benidorm’, and hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willougby interrupted the programme to show a clip of William outside court.
Sherrie exclaimed: "It’s made me really well up… I’m sorry. It’s just that we’ve all backed him for so long and I just thank God for this day. We all know Bill. We’ve worked with him, we know of his innocence and we knew right from the beginning – this should never ever have gone this far… and it’s made me so cross.
"I’m so grateful, and his such a fantastic man. I’m so thrilled… but there are no winners, absolutely not, it should never never have happened."
The ‘Loose Women’ panellist hopes the press will leave William alone after the 81-year-old actor vowed to return to his role as Ken Barlow on the long-running soap as soon as possible, having originally left the show in May 2013 when the charges were first brought against him.
Sherrie added: "I can’t tell you the emotional release now for me – let alone him and his family for God’s sake – so it’s absolutely fantastic, but everybody has been terrified and scared… this climate we live in is so dreadful. It’s got to stop and today says it all. Stop it, for God sake, and let him get back to his work and his family."
Sherrie Hewson ‘thrilled’ by William Roache acquittal
