The Road to Coronation Street a Londoner most famous for her role as Kat Moon in "EastEnders", "religiously" watched YouTube footage of early episodes to master the "old-fashioned Mancunian" accent as she described it. Wallace also briefly had sessions with a dialect coach before filming commenced. James Roache plays his father William Roache in the drama. The elder Roache has played Ken Barlow in "Coronation Street" since its inception. As well as acting in "The Road to Coronation Street", James was filming scenes for "Coronation Street" in a non-regular role as Ken Barlow's grandson at the same time. Celia Imrie played Doris Speed, who played
Betty Williams (Coronation Street) with the show, because I still enjoy it so much and am always looking forward rather than back. Really, it has been a wonderful experience and I feel very glad I was able to stick around for so long." In 2007, "Coronation Street" bosses told "The Sun" newspaper that there were no plans to retire the character of Betty, despite actress Betty Driver being 87 at the time, the oldest cast member in the soap. The character was described as "highly valued", with executive producer Kieran Roberts saying, "She is still going strong and enjoying the role. Betty is one