ITV Coronation Street's Bill Ward on 'interesting' thing he notices every time he comes to Liverpool

Bill Ward has explained why Liverpool is "unlike anywhere else" as he heaped praise on the city.

The 56-year-old is renowned for his roles as Charlie Stubbs in Coronation Street and James Barton in Emmerdale. The acclaimed actor is currently starring as Gerald in the UK production of The Full Monty, which had its first performance at the Liverpool Empire last night.

The stage adaptation of the 1997 hit film is being performed at the Lime Street theatre until Saturday and follows the story of six lads who regain their pride after being laid off from work. Bill told the ECHO he was drew to the project as the issues it tackles remain just as relevant almost 30 years after the film was released.

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He said: "The guys in this show are absolutely brassic, they're all in debt, they've got no money. But they're still trying to stay afloat and they're working tooth and nail to stay afloat

"At the present time, you've got the cost of living crisis and I'm sure there's a lot of things that people will recognise because it's tough out there at the moment. This is set in 1997 but there's a lot that hasn't changed."

This story set in Sheffield after the steel industry in the city was scaled down and Bill said he feels personally connected to the story as he witnessed a similar issue while growing up in Newcastle.

"The shipbuilding and coal mines got shut so unemployment when I was growing up in the 80s and 90s was very high. A similar thing happened in Liverpool with the Docks.

"There's a story here that's very relatable as something like this has happened in pretty much every big Northern city over the past 30