Bill Ward: a Geordie who loves shepherd's pie

In today's Independent newspaper, the subject of their 5 minute interview is Bill Ward, who was baddy Charlie Stubbs in Coronation Street.

He says that, because he's been in Coronation Street, a lot of people assume he's from Manchester, but he's actually from Newcastle. He worked in advertising for ten years, but says, "I always wanted to be an actor. At the age of 30, I thought it was now or never. I'd acted before at school and university and performed at the Fringe, but it was a question of whether I could make a living from it. You never know if you're good enough, so you have to try and see if you are."

While Samia Smith has her famous lemon puffs, Bill Ward's culinary speciality is mince: "In moments of weakness I cook mince and listen to country and western. It makes me feel better. My dad was a butcher, so we grew up eating a lot of meat, especially shepherd's pie. I like country and western but it gets a bad press. I'm into Uncle Tupelo and Ryan Adams." He's also good at boiling eggs: "I always know when they're ready," he says.

Bill Ward is appearing in Spamalot at the Palace Theatre, London. Click here for details and to book.

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