Bill Roache has been temporarily written out of 'Coronation Street'.

The 81-year-old actor - who was arrested yesterday over sexual assault claims - won't be returning to the ITV soap until the conclusion of his trial, leaving TV bosses to rewrite the "explosive" storylines which had been planned for his character Ken Barlow.

Bill was arrested on suspicion of the rape of a 15-year-old girl which took place between April and July 1967 in Lancashire, North West England. He was released on bail after 12 hours of questioning and will have to appear in Preston magistrates court on May 14.

Producers have been forced to scrap his scenes from Friday's (03.05.13) double episode, which was due to show Ken nagging step-daughter Tracy (Kate Ford) over her lack of attention for her daughter Amy.

The storyline was set to develop over the next month, with Ken and his son Peter (Chris Gascoyne) plotting to keep Tracy's new man Rob away from their family because they didn't trust him.

A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "William played a major part in this developing story about Tracy and Rob.

"Ken was set to do everything in his power to prevent the relationship from working.

"Now it looks as though that storyline will have to be ditched, so bosses are trying to decide whether to use another character to conspire with Peter or go in a totally different direction. It's a lot of work."

The shocking arrest comes after Bill's fellow 'Corrie' star Michael Le Vell - who played mechanic Kevin Webster - was also written out of the show after being accused of 19 child sex charges.