Beverley Callard snubs Corrie as she exposes real reason for leaving ITV soap

I'm A Celeb star Beverley Callard might be returning to ITV for a special All Stars edition of the reality show, set in South Africa, but she once admitted she left her longest running role for a damning reason. After more than 30 years playing Liz McDonald on the cobbles of Coronation Street, she decided to quit the role in 2020.

Beverley, who has now signed up for Irish soap Fair City, admitted in 2023 during an appearance on the How to Be 60 podcast with Kaye Adams and Karen MacKenzie: "I just felt that the scripts weren't what they used to be. I'm trying to be diplomatic.

"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.

"There's nothing worse than being bored. And I would open the script and think, 'Well, we filmed that three years ago,' and this isn't very exciting."

Beverley said: "The Street was originally very character-driven and story-driven, and I often think with a lot of television and film now it's very issue-led. And I hate that.

"I don't want to make a point to the audience, I personally felt the Street was so much better when it was proper kitchen sink drama and about people."

The soap star concluded: "I felt it was time for me to go because it didn't give me the buzz it always had."

Beverley doubled down on her confession while speaking to Express.co.uk and other press. She said: "I left Coronation Street in 2020, having done 32 years, and I loved it. I will always be totally loyal to it. But I just felt that Liz, the character I played, had sort of come to an end.

"So it was, do you keep taking a regular cheque, because actors don't get that very often, or do you jump? There was lots of theatre I wanted to do, which I've been doing, and I wanted to do more comedy as well."