William "Bill" Ashworth was the father of Noel and Neville Ashworth. He was a retired bus driver and army veteran but despite his leaning towards military precision in all things, he never lost his sense of fun. With an eye for the ladies, he was not ready to settle into old age..
Bill was a gambler and ran a book on any subject. He lived at a nursing home and often visited his family during Christmas holidays. However, when his best friend at the home died, Bill felt lonely and wanted to move in with his family. It was left up to his grandson Josh Ashworth and his cousin Fletch to help Bill out of the nursing home and moved him into the Ashworths' house. With much dispute between Neville's wife Suzanne Ashworth and Neville, they decided to let Bill stay after the children received a pay off from Bill in convincing their parents to let him stay. Often Bill made a mess around the house, which left Suzanne frustrated but Bill decided to give something back to the family in exchange for letting him stay. When Neville was sacked from his job, Bill gave him his inheritance which helped Neville to buy Drive and Buy. Also, the children received their inheritance as well, which was tied up into the family business.
Bill attended granddaughter Hannah Ashworth's 18th birthday in January 2007 and Josh visited him in March. However, for unexplained reasons, Bill did not attend his grandson Rhys Ashworth's funeral in December 2012.