Beverley Jane McEwan (''
née
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
'' 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 (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
'' (1989–1998, 2000–2001, 2003–2011, 2013–2020) and
Flo Henshaw in ''
Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps''.
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'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...
's ''
Hay Fever
Allergic rhinitis, of which the seasonal type is called hay fever, is a type of rhinitis, inflammation in the nose that occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens in the air. It is classified as a Allergy, type I hypersensitivity re ...
'', Liz and Rita in ''
Billy Liar
''Billy Liar'' is a 1959 novel by Keith Waterhouse that was later adapted into a play, a Billy Liar (film), film, a Billy (musical), musical and a Billy Liar (TV series), TV series. The work has inspired and been featured in a number of popul ...
'' and The
Wicked Queen in ''
Snow White
"Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...
''. 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 (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
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 initialism for Good Morning Television), now legally known as ''ITV Breakfast, ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited'', was the name of the national ITV (TV network), ITV breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the Uni ...
'' and ''
This Morning'' and has had a fitness page in the ''
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
''.
In 2000, she played the part of Barbara in the BBC sitcom ''
The Peter Principle''. In 2001, Callard was cast as
Flo Henshaw in the
BBC Three
BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...
sitcom ''
Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps'' and continued in the role for two years. During this time, she also guested on
Sky1's ''
Mile High''. Between June and December 2010, Callard was a recurring panellist on ITV's talk show ''
Loose Women''.
She was due to appear as the
Wicked Queen in the Christmas pantomime ''
Sleeping Beauty
"Sleeping Beauty" (, or ''The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood''; , or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess curse, cursed by an evil fairy to suspended animation in fi ...
'' at the
Lyceum Theatre,
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
, 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. 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''. In 2019, she performed in a touring production of ''
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 independent musical comedy horror film produced by Lou Adler and Michael White, directed by Jim Sharman, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The screenplay was written by Sharman and Richard O ...
'' at the
Liverpool Empire.
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 on 30 November.
Since March 2022, Callard has appeared in
Gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
comedy ''
Newark, Newark'', as Pauline.
In 2023, Callard was announced as one of the participants on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
series ''Don't Look Down'', in aid of
Stand Up to Cancer
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) is a charitable organization that was established as a division of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF). In 2022, SU2C was separately incorporated and was recognized by the IRS as a Section 501(c)(3) public charit ...
.
''Coronation Street''
In 1984, Callard played
Gail (
Helen Worth) and
Brian Tilsley's (
Christopher Quinten) friend June Dewhurst in ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
''. 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, 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. Intro ...
.
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, 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 early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
.
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 or in any layer of the wall of the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that can invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later sympt ...
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 (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 crunch generally ...
. 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 in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
.
In 2022 they moved to Norfolk. In 2024 it was reported that Callard was being investigated by
HMRC
His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (commonly HM Revenue and Customs, or HMRC, and formerly Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) is a Departments of the United Kingdom Government, department of the UK government responsible for the tax collectio ...
having failed to pay more than £200,000 owing after her acting firm went into liquidation.
Filmography
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Callard, Beverley
1957 births
Living people
English television actresses
English soap opera actresses
English stage actresses
English exercise instructors
People with mood disorders
English people with disabilities
Actresses from West Yorkshire
People from Morley, West Yorkshire
20th-century English actresses
21st-century English actresses
Actors from the City of Leeds