I’m A Celebrity’s Beverley Callard reveals why she won’t return to Coronation Street

We won’t be seeing Liz any time soon… (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)

Beverley Callard is a Coronation Street legend, and there’s absolutely no denying it.

As McDonald matriarch, Liz, with her iconic mini skirts, stilettos, voluminous blonde ‘do and patented blend of grit and glam, the former Rover’s landlady won hearts across the nation as the tough but vulnerable pint-puller.

Beverley called it a day on her third stint as Liz back in 2019, and producers planned a suitable exit for her, though Covid ruined plans. Beverley, at the time, promised she’d return to film a proper exit, but she eventually decided against it.

‘I loved Coronation Street. I still do and I always will,’ she said. ‘But sometimes it’s just not your turn on the merry-go-round. It was a massive decision for me to make, but I believe I did it for the right reasons. I felt Liz had run her course.

‘I’d hate to cheat any fans out there who were waiting and hoping for something amazing to happen to her. I felt like she’d lost her way. I was actually toying with the idea of going back to film an exit, but I felt that they wouldn’t be able to do Liz justice under the current Covid restrictions. I want to preserve her.

Liz’s exit was ruined by Covid (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

‘Considering the current climate for actors, it’s unsurprising that everyone told me to go back and take the money, but that’s just not me. I have to earn my pay. The pandemic has given me time to assess how I feel about everything and I’m sure that my time on the cobbles is up.’

Fans have been wondering if they’ll see Liz totter back into the Rover’s on her trademark high heels, especially now, as the last remaining on-screen McDonald, Steve (Simon Gregson) deals with the bombshell revelation that Ben Driscoll (Aaron McCusker) is his half brother, after Maggie Driscoll (Pauline McLynn) disclosed that she’d shared a tryst with Steve’s dad, Jim McDonald (Charles Lawson), leading to a pregnancy.

With it established that this tryst happened while Jim was married to Liz, would this be enough to draw her back to the cobbles, to support her blindsided son and tear a fistful of hair from Maggie’s head?

‘Never say never’, said Beverley (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Apparently not. When asked about the potential of a Liz comeback, Beverley said:

‘Coronation Street is the longest-running television programme in the world. I was so proud to be a part of it. I can’t [return] now because I’m filming something else but I think you should never say never.

‘I loved my time there, you don’t stay in something for 32 years if you didn’t love it, but I think the workload and the way it’s filmed, certainly when you’re in a big storyline, you’re there all day, every day so I don’t think I’d want that again to that extent.

‘I think they have great writers on the show and great actors but I just felt the stories were not there for Liz anymore but I’d never say never.’

Beverley Callard will play Lily in Fair City (Picture: RTE)

The ‘something else’ she’s filming is, of course, Fair City. Though she initially thought she’d turn the role down when they contacted her, their suggestion that she watch the show completely turned things around.

‘I watched loads of earlier episodes, then caught up to present day.’ she began. ‘And John watched it with me because it’s just about us two now, our kids are all grown up, and his opinion matters to me. And I just said to him: I don’t think I can say no to this.’

The show reminded her of why she fell in love with Coronation Street: ‘It reminds me of how filming used to be, a long time ago.

‘Kitchen-sink drama. It’s about people’s lives and the interactions. The scripts are really good. The acting is amazing. And the scenes are quite long — not too rushed.’

Beverley has made a return to ‘I’m A Celeb’ (Picture: Ian West/PA Wire)

Beverley is currently starring on I’m A Celebrity… South Africa, which she filmed prior to her recent breast cancer diagnosis.

Beverley has been keeping fans up to date with a number of courageous and empowering videos shared to Instagram, as she’s faced an operation and currently awaits the results.

She recently shared an update, revealing that she intends to return to Ireland and commence filming on Fair City.

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