A NEW CHAPTER BEGINS: CORONATION STREET ICON BEVERLEY CALLARD LANDS MAJOR NEW SOAP ROLE!
Coronation Street icon Beverley Callard has announced a brand new role in a rival soap. Beverley starred in the ITV soap as Liz McDonald, the no-nonsense landlady of the Rovers Return for a period who is also Steve’s mother.
Her final on-screen appearance came in 2020, when Liz moved to Spain to live with Andy.
Now, the actor is set to return to soapland with a role in Irish soap Fair City, making her debut next month.
Sharing the news on Instagram alongside a promotional picture of her in character, RTE One wrote: “Beverley Callard has landed in Carrigstown 
“The beloved actor is joining the cast of #FairCity, stepping into the role of Gwen’s long-lost mother 
“Don’t miss her Fair City debut on February 19th 
.”
Her character has been described by show bosses as “quirky, unpredictable and sharp as a tack”, who “carries just enough edge to keep Carrigstown on its toes” – so much like Liz McDonald.
Beverley’s original exit storyline was changed in Coronation Street due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Liz leaving off-screen.
Speaking about her exit from the show in 2023, the actor said she left due to “scripts not being what they used to be”.
She told the podcast How to Be 60: “I just felt that the scripts weren’t what they used to be. I’m trying to be diplomatic.”
The hosts asked if she managed to leave before she became miserable and unmotivated by the job.
She said: “I wasn’t miserable – it’s difficult to put into words. But years ago, we used to get the scripts, and you’d open them and think, ‘Oh my goodness, this is amazing. I cannot believe I’m going to be filming this!’, and then for me, well, first of all, they didn’t write for me as much because I was older, and that really got to me.”