Coronation Street actor William Roache has been charged with five indecent assaults on four girls between 1965 and 1968.
Roache, 81, who plays Ken Barlow in the ITV1 soap, is accused of sexually assaulting the girls aged between 11 or 12 and 16, the Crown Prosecution Service said on Thursday night.
Nazir Afzal, the chief crown prosecutor for the north-west, said in a statement: "We have carefully considered all the evidence gathered by Lancashire police in relation to recent allegations from four complainants that William Roache indecently assaulted them in the 1960s.
"Having completed our review, we have concluded that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest for Mr Roache to be charged with five offences of indecent assault relating to four girls who were aged between 11 or 12 and 16 at the time that the alleged offences happened.
"We have been reviewing evidence and providing early investigative advice to Lancashire Police regarding these allegations, which were made to police after Mr Roache was charged with two offences of rape on 1 May 2013.
"This decision was taken in accordance with the code for crown prosecutors and our guidance for prosecutors on sexual offences.
"Mr Roache has a right to a fair trial and it is therefore very important that nothing is said, or reported, which could prejudice that trial. For these reasons, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further."
Roache has been bailed and will appear at Preston magistrates court on 7 June, the CPS said. The fresh charges are in addition to the two counts of rape Roache faced last month.
In May, Roache said he was "astounded and deeply horrified" after being charged with two counts of rape involving a 15-year-old girl in 1967. He said he intended to fight the claims in court.
Roache is the longest-serving cast member on Coronation Street but was dropped from show last month. He appeared in the soap's first episode on 9 December, 1960, and has a Guinness World Records award for being the world's longest-serving soap actor.
