Coronation Street star Bill Roache was arrested today over claims he raped a 15-year-old girl in 1967.
The 81-year-old actor, who has played Ken Barlow in the soap for five decades, was held during a breakfast time swoop at his home in Wilmslow, Cheshire.
His arrest comes just weeks after he was forced to issue a public apology after claiming child sex abuse victims were being punished for past sins.
He had faced a backlash following his claim that people should not be judgmental but 'totally forgiving' of paedophiles.
Roache also called for anonymity for those accused of child sex offences until they had been convicted of any charges.
Lancashire Police said: "An 81-year-old man from Wilmslow in Cheshire has this morning, Wednesday, 1st May 2013, been arrested by Lancashire Constabulary on suspicion of rape.
"The man will be interviewed at a police station in Lancashire during the course of the day.
"The offences are alleged to have been committed in Haslingden between April and July 1967 and to involve a girl aged 15 years.
"We take all allegations of sexual abuse extremely seriously and would encourage people with any information about sexual abuse, or anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse, to come forward and report their concerns confident in the knowledge they will be investigated appropriately and with sensitivity."
