She is known to millions of us as brash, brassy Corrie barmaid Liz McDonald, famous for her leopard print and stilettos. But since leaving the ITV soap in 2019, Beverly Callard has completely changed her life and she and husband Jon McEwan now live in rural Norfolk.
And though Beverley exclusively reveals to OK! that the move has brought a great deal of happiness into her life, she reveals that she is still dealing with the fallout from a nervous breakdown that she had in 2009 when she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. In fact, Beverley, 65, bravely tells us that she's still taking medication.
“I still have to take medication, but I’m in a really good place now, and I’m very lucky because I’ve got great doctors," she says.
Beverley says that she believes mental health struggles are a "curse of the strong" and that they affect those who are perfectionists and demand too much of themselves.
“It usually hits people pleasers and workaholics, so I do have to monitor myself. The sad thing is that it didn’t just affect me – Jon virtually became my carer. It really hurts everyone around you," she explains.
Another thing that has helped Beverley overcome her demons is rediscovering exercise. After suffering a hip injury in 2019 she was forced to stop working out completely. This was tough for the actress who was an aerobics instructor before finding fame first on Emmerdale as Angie Richards and then as Liz in Corrie. She went on to have her own exercise slot on GMTV and also released four successful fitness videos.
But Beverley has now rediscovered the joy of working out and is even running her own class at a hotel close to her home called 'Beverley's Results'!
She explains: “It was really hard to stop exercising while I was doing physio and recovering, because I’ve always taught fitness classes – even at the height of some of my biggest storylines in Coronation Street, I taught three classes a week."
She continues: “So about six weeks into our move to Norfolk, I said to Jon, ‘Right, I’m going to start teaching again’, so I posted an ad on the local village Facebook group, saying I was looking for 25 feisty women to take part in my class. It didn’t matter what age they were, what shape they were or their fitness level. I’m not into teaching a class full of stick insects. I just wanted real women.
Beverley excitedly adds that the classes were instantly popular but adds that it's not just her mental health that benefits because she donates all of the money raised to charity.
“Within two days, 700 people wanted to do it, which is amazing. I charge £5 and all the money goes to the East Anglia Air Ambulance."
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