Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Entertainment
Ryan Paton

ITV Coronation Street Beverley Callard's Emmerdale past, famous daughter and depression battle

Beverley Callard is regarded as a Coronation Street legend.

The soap star played Liz McDonald on the Cobbles from 1989 - 2020. The character moved to Weatherfield alongside her husband, Jim, and twin sons, Steve and Andy.

Liz earned a job as a barmaid at the Rovers Return and endured a stormy time on the Cobbles. She was involved in some of the long-running soap's most dramatic storylines, which included being abused, a kidnap victim, a harassed mother and an unfaithful wife.

READ MORE: Paul O'Grady told to 'move house' after 'cursed' find while gardening

Beverley played Liz across three stints on the show and first quit the show in 1998 to focus on her career as an aerobics instructor. The actor forged a successful career in the fitness industry by teaching classes and also released a selection of exercise DVDs.

The 65-year-old appeared on the Cobbles from 2000 - 2011 and 2013 - 2020 before she quit the Cobbles for good when Liz travelled to Spain.

Beverley told OK: "I won't go back. There's no doubt about that. It's just not me any more. Liz has run her course. Now, I can please myself if a script comes in and I want to do it, I can. It’s quite liberating.”

Before she arrived on the soap, Beverley appeared on 13 episodes of Emmerdale as Angie Richards in 1983 and she has also enjoyed roles in rival soaps including The Bill and Casualty.

Away from the screen, Beverley married her first husband, Paul Atkinson, when she was 16 in 1974. She was pregnant at the time they were married, but suffered a heart-breaking miscarriage.

The couple had a daughter a year later, who has since gone on to enjoy a successful career in showbiz. Rebecca Callard appeared as Ruth Walsh in Coronation Street in 2011 and also played a recurring role as Toni in BBC show, The Detectorists.

Beverley's first marriage ended in 1978 and she has since been married three times. She tied the know with current husband, Jn McEwan, in 2010 and the two revealed they had moved to Norfolk earlier this year.

Beverley has been open with her mental health struggles and was forced to take breaks in 2009 and 2016 when she was hospitalised with depression.

She told OK! Magazine in 2019: "I’ve always said that depression is the curse of the strong, I tried to hide it for so long and it ended up in a breakdown. During that time I would agree to go to an event then on the day I’d get myself into such a state that I couldn’t go. I was terrified about what people would think of me and I lost all confidence in myself."

The actor told OK! she was overcome with "a feeling of contendedness" after turning 60. She added: "I’m the most confident I’ve been in years. For the first time in a long time, I don’t care what people think. I’m living my life for me and I’m having a great time."

Receive newsletters with the biggest and breaking TV and showbiz news by signing up here

Coronation Street viewers may have unravelled murder mystery

Michael Owen hits back at vile tweets about Love Island's Gemma

Top chef says people have been using tin foil the wrong way

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.