Beverley Jane McEwan (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

'' Moxon; previously Atkinson, Sowden and Callard; born 28 March 1957) is an English actress, known for her role as Liz McDonald in the long-running ITV

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Ori ...

'' and Flo Henshaw in ''

Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps ''Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps'' is a British sitcom that ran from 26 February 2001 to 24 May 2011. First broadcast on BBC Two, it starred Sheridan Smith, Will Mellor, Natalie Casey, Ralf Little, Kathryn Drysdale and Luke Gel ...

''.

Career

At the age of seven, Callard made her acting debut as Darius the page boy. After leaving school in 1973, she took a job as a shorthand typist. She later turned to acting and appeared on stage as Jackie Coryton in

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combina ...

's ''

Hay Fever Allergic rhinitis, of which the seasonal type is called hay fever, is a type of inflammation in the nose that occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens in the air. Signs and symptoms include a runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, red, i ...

'', Liz and Rita in '' Billy Liar'' and The Wicked Queen in ''

Snow White "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...

''. Callard made her television debut (as Beverley Sowden) in the

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network. Until 1974, this was prima ...

soap '' Emmerdale Farm'' as Angie Richards in 1983. Other roles followed, including parts in ''Hinge & Bracket: Dear Ladies'', ''Hells Bells'', ''Will You Love Me Tomorrow'' and ''The Practice''. She has released books and exercise videos called ''Real Results'', ''Rapid Results'', ''Ultimate Results'' and ''Lasting Results''. She also appeared on ''

GMTV GMTV (an acronym for Good Morning Television), now legally known as ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited, was the name of the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 ...

'' and '' This Morning'' and has had a fitness page in the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

''. In 2000, she played the part of Barbara in the BBC sitcom ''

The Peter Principle The Peter principle is a concept in management developed by Laurence J. Peter, which observes that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to "a level of respective incompetence": employees are promoted based on their success in previous jobs until ...

''. In 2001, Callard was cast as Flo Henshaw in the

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...

sitcom ''

'' and continued in the role for two years. During this time, she also guested on

Sky1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Sky Television (1984–1990), Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite television, satell ...

's ''

Mile High ''Mile High'' is a British television drama based on the lives of the cabin crew members of Fresh!, a budget airline based in London. The name of the show is a reference to the Mile High Club. The show was broadcast on Sky1 from 2003 to 20 ...

''. Between June and December 2010, Callard was a recurring panellist on ITV's talk show ''

Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (previously known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV1 weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk abou ...

''. She was due to appear as the Wicked Queen in the Christmas pantomime ''

Sleeping Beauty ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess c ...

'' at the Lyceum Theatre,

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

, from December 2011, but had to withdraw from the production for undisclosed health reasons. She was subsequently replaced by her former ''Coronation Street'' co-star

Margi Clarke Margi Clarke (born 25 May 1954) is an English actress and radio and television presenter. She had a leading role in the film '' Letter to Brezhnev'' (1985), a low-budget film which had an international release. Later, Clarke played Jackie Dob ...

. She made her return to the stage in 2012 playing Mari Hoff in a British touring production of ''

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice ''The Rise and Fall of Little Voice'' is a 1992 play written by English dramatist Jim Cartwright. Production history Sam Mendes directed the first production at the Royal National Theatre that transferred to the Aldwych Theatre in London's W ...

''. In 2019, she performed in a touring production of ''

The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 musical comedy horror film by 20th Century Fox, produced by Lou Adler and Michael White and directed by Jim Sharman. The screenplay was written by Sharman and actor Richard O'Brien, who is also a ...

'' at the

Liverpool Empire The Liverpool Empire Theatre is a theatre on the corner of Lime Street in Liverpool, England. The playhouse, which opened in 1925, is the second one to be built on the site. It has the largest two-tier auditorium in the United Kingdom and ca ...

. In November 2020, it was announced that Callard would take part in the twentieth series of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here''. Callard became the third celebrity to be voted off alongside

Victoria Derbyshire Victoria Antoinette Derbyshire is a British journalist, newsreader and broadcaster. Her eponymous current affairs and debate programme was broadcast on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel from 2015 until March 2020. She has also presented ''News ...

on 30 November. Since March 2022, Callard has appeared in

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a Brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, s ...

comedy '' Newark, Newark'' as Pauline.

''Coronation Street''

In 1984, Callard played

Gail Gail may refer to: People *Gail (given name), list of notable people with the given name Surname * Jean-Baptiste Gail (1755–1829), French Hellenist scholar * Max Gail (born 1943), American actor * Sophie Gail (1775–1819), French singer and ...

(

Helen Worth Helen Worth (born Cathryn Helen Wigglesworth; 7 January 1951) is an English actress. She is best known for portraying the role of Gail Platt in the ITV soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', a role that she has played since 1974. In 2014, she ...

) and Brian Tilsley's (

Christopher Quinten Christopher Quinten (born Christopher Bell; 12 July 1957) is a British actor, best known for his role as Brian Tilsley on ''Coronation Street'', which he played from 1978 to 1989. Career Quinten started his career as a dancer in West End prod ...

) friend June Dewhurst in ''

''. In 1989, she returned to the series in the more significant role of Liz McDonald. Callard's first appearance as Liz aired on 27 October 1989. Callard's character of Liz McDonald has since been

abused Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

, a kidnap victim, a harassed mother and an unfaithful wife. Callard left ''Coronation Street'' in November 1998 to concentrate on her other career as an aerobics instructor and to spend more time with her family. In 2003, she returned to ''Coronation Street''. In March 2011, Callard returned to ''Coronation Street'' having left for a short break in November 2010. Her last scenes before another exit were shown in April 2011 as she left ''Coronation Street'', seemingly for good. On 30 May 2013, it was announced that she would return, again in the role of Liz McDonald; she returned on screen on 14 October 2013. In March 2016, Callard announced a two-month break from the series, as a result of her ongoing battle with

clinical depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introdu ...

. She returned to filming in May 2016. In November 2019, Callard announced her departure from ''Coronation Street''. Her final scenes aired in 2020.

Personal life

Aged 16, Callard, then pregnant, married Paul Atkinson in 1974. She later miscarried. Two years later, the couple had their first child, a daughter named

Rebecca Callard Rebecca Jayne Callard (born 3 June 1975) is an English actress and writer. Early life Callard was born Rebecca Jayne Atkinson, the only surviving child from her mother Beverley Callard's first marriage to Paul Atkinson. Her parents divorced i ...

, who later became an actress. A year later, the couple divorced, with Callard later recalling: "we were too young. He had an alcohol-induced violent side." In 1980, Callard married David Sowden, an economics teacher. During the marriage, Callard had an

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of preg ...

. In 1988, the couple separated amicably. Callard became pregnant in 1989 to Steve Callard, and the couple married. Their son, Joshua was born in 1990. The pair separated due to Steve's infidelity, once occurring whilst Callard was recovering from

cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms may include abnormal ...

treatment. In 2008, it was announced that Callard's pay, along with other ''Coronation Street'' cast members, would be cut due to the

credit crunch A credit crunch (also known as a credit squeeze, credit tightening or credit crisis) is a sudden reduction in the general availability of loans (or credit) or a sudden tightening of the conditions required to obtain a loan from banks. A credit cr ...

. She lost 40% of her earnings. In 2016, Callard spoke about her nervous breakdown in 2009 and her depression. Callard lived with her fourth husband, Jon McEwan, in Eccles, Salford, Greater Manchester. They married on 30 October 2010, at the Hazelwood Castle Hotel, near

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

. In 2022 they moved to Norfolk. She is a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. D ...

Awards and nominations

References

External links