William Roache denies sex offences at trial CORONATION Street star William Roache has told a jury he did not commit any sex offences, and has no memory of meeting any of his accusers. The 81-year-old actor swore on the Bible as he was called to give evidence from the witness box at Preston Crown Court. Louise Blackwell QC, defending, asked Roache: "Have you committed any of the offences with which you have been charged?" "No I have not," Roache replied. Miss Blackwell continued: "Do you have any memory of being in the company of any of the people that have made the allegations against you?" "No, not one of them," Roache replied. Do you know any of them in any way? Miss Blackwell said. "No," the defendant replied. Or of them in any way? Miss Blackwell continued. "No," he said. Roache has pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape and four counts of indecent assault involving five complainants aged 16 and under on dates between 1965 and 1971. Personal life Roache began giving evidence at 10.13am, giving his date of birth and full name as William Patrick Roache. Miss Blackwell, dealing with "preliminary matters" before questions began, asked Roache about his hearing difficulties. "It's not an age thing," he told the jury. It happened when I was in the Army, when I was 21 - a mortar bomb exploded. Later questions moved to Roache's personal life at the beginning of his acting career on Coronation Street. Roache said he had met Anna Cropper while acting in Nottingham and they got married. We had a little flat in Primrose Hill in London. She was an actress too, a very good actress. Roache said after Coronation Street launched "it went into the stratosphere, we were very highly feted." The cast were offered three-year contracts so he decided he also needed a home in the North and bought a cottage in Rawtenstall, Lancashire. Later he bought two cottages and a plot of land to build a house on elsewhere in Lancashire, the court heard. But Roache and his wife still lived between London and the North, he said. "We did not think Coronation Street was going to run for very long and London was the best place to be," he added. Working life Miss Blackwell went on to explore more about his working life at the studio in the mid to late-60s - when the offences are alleged to have been committed. He confirmed that fans would be outside the studio when the actors arrived because they knew what time they were due in. As a junior member of the cast at the time he would always share a dressing room, he said. The dressing rooms and studios were all on the same floor and in those days he said he looked forward to seeing famous actors such as Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood. "Call girls" would shout to him when he was needed to go on set, he said. He said no-one apart from those working at Granada would be allowed inside the studio while filming. Miss Blackwell asked: "Did you ever take anybody into the studio?" Roache replied: "It was an extremely difficult and dangerous thing to do. Any noise or cough and a recording could be gone. Occasionally very close family, my children. You had to get permission. You had to have a reason. He said the same applied to his dressing room. "I didn't want anybody in the dressing room," he said. I needed to concentrate totally on lines and focus on what I needed to do. He added the surrounding corridors were "busy." "There was always activity going on," he said. Denials After a 15 minute, mid-morning break, the questioning continued. At one point Miss Blackwell asked: "Do you ever remember having somebody who was not a member of your family in the dressing room with you?" "No," Roache replied. Miss Blackwell continued: "Do you ever remember having two young women, or girls, aged 13, 14, 15, that sort of age, who were there in relation to a talent competition?" "No," Roache said, "I think it highly unlikely, security was very strong." I'm taking about your memory Mr Roache? "If it would have happened it would be so unusual I would have remembered it," the defendant said. Miss Blackwell said: "Did you ever take a girl into the toilets as described and commit an indecent assault on her?" Roache replied: "No, definitely not. Those toilets were in constant use, constant use. Miss Blackwell: "When you were leaving the studio, do you remember specifically giving autographs yourself and inviting one of those people into your car?" Roache replied: "I remember giving autographs, that was a regular feature. But no, I never gave anyone a lift in my car other than people I knew. Miss Blackwell: "Did you ever take the first complainant in your car?" "No I did not," Roache said. Miss Blackwell: "Do you ever remember having a stranger in your car?