Beverley Callard has revealed she kept her hip surgery a secret from her Coronation Street co-stars as she ‘didn’t want anyone to think I was feeling sorry for myself.’
The actress, 63, spoke candidly about her recovery during Monday’s Loose Women and gave her fans an update on her slow recovery process.
She also discussed making a return to Corrie as Liz McDonald, who she played for 31 years, after there was ‘uproar’ when her character wasn’t given a dramatic exit.
Strong: Beverley Callard has said she kept her hip surgery a secret from her Coronation Street co-stars as she didn’t want them to think she was ‘feeling sorry for herself’ (pictured during an appearance on Loose Women on Monday)
Speaking via video link during the show, Beverley said: ‘It’s been a pretty difficult time. I’m trying to walk now. I’m on crutches as opposed to being hoisted around and pushed around, but I’m getting there slowly but surely.’
When asked if she was told she’d never walk again, Beverley said: ‘I was told, you’ll love this, I may have one leg longer than the other! Which was a bit scary as you can imagine. I literally was, I had nerve damage, I still have.
‘It’s been one of the worst times I’ve gone through. But I’m battling, I’m fighting. I’ve got physio every day, hydrotherapy twice a week – I’m trying my best.’
The soap star also candidly discussed her recovery with OK!, revealing in an interview that she didn’t tell her Corrie co-stars about her health issues.
Slow process: The actress explained how she’s still ‘fighting’ and slowly recovering with physio every day and hydrotherapy sessions twice a week
Beverley said: ‘I am quite a private person and I didn’t tell anybody. I didn’t want anyone to think I was feeling sorry for myself.’
However Beverley said her on-screen son Simon Gregson and daughter-in-law Kate Ford have both been ‘fantastic’ since finding out about her procedure.
As well as not opening up to her castmates, Beverley told the publication that she tried to keep just how bad her injury was from her family.
She explained how although chatting regularly to her two children and three step-children on FaceTime they were ‘shocked’ when they saw her in person.
Role: The 63-year-old actress played Liz McDonald in ITV soap Coronation Street for 31 years
Beverley is mum to Rebecca, 45, and Joshua, 31, while her husband of 10 years Jon McEwan has Ben, 34, Jon, 31, and Danielle, 29.
During her time on Loose Women, the actress said she believes she hurt her hip while doing Thunder Girls on stage last year.
She explained how she went into hospital for a minor operation in March but she ended up having to have another in July after not being able to walk.
Speaking of whether Liz will return to Coronation Street for a full exit scene, Beverley said: ‘I will go back maybe the beginning of next year. So they will see a bit more of Liz and it’s going to be very dramatic I believe!
Return? Beverley said she’s planning on returning to the soap next year to film Liz’s exit after there was an ‘uproar’ when her character was given an off screen exit
‘I wasn’t going to talk about the operation at all, but I know there was a bit of an uproar, because after 35 years they’re just sending her off to Spain and we’re not going to see her.
‘So it wasn’t Coronation Street’s fault, it was no one’s fault, it was just one of those things. What I’m hoping for the exit is Liz and Jim get back together and just go off into the sunset, but I have a feeling that might not happen.’
Beverley also revealed that she was asked to do this year’s Strictly, but was unable to commit to the show because of her surgery.
She said: ‘I was asked to do it. It’s one of my dreams to do it. But I’ve got no chance of doing that I’m afraid. Maybe next year. I will fight, and maybe next year!’
Real talk: Beverley appeared via video link to update the Loose Women panel and her fans about her hip on Monday
Shock: The star recently revealed she is suing the hospital which carried out the operation after a second opinion from a doctor led to her minor keyhole surgery being changed to a full hip replacement (pictured in character in 2015)
Beverley’s nightmare began when she visited her GP in March to seek advice on a ‘niggle in my hip, in my groin on the right side’.
Her doctor said it could easily be fixed with a small operation, however, what followed was a world of pain for the star.
Beverley told The Mirror that following what she thought was a ‘minor operation’ at the hospital, which she is not naming for legal reasons, she was told that the surgery didn’t go as planned.
Pain: Beverley has previously said that the pain in the aftermath was ‘absolute hell’ (pictured with onscreen son Steve in 2010)
She explained that she was told afterwards that during the procedure, her hip had ‘crumbled’ and that she needed ‘further operations’ while there.
Days after being released from hospital, Beverley began to experience excruciating pain which only grew worse.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the thespian was left in agony for months while she waited for a new operation.
It wasn’t until a trauma surgeon pal stepped in that Beverley, who was in constant ‘tears’ over the pain, got a new appointment the next day, with the surgery following afterwards.
On screen family: Beverley’s character Liz was given a quiet exit last month despite being on the soap for 31 years (pictured with her onscreen family Steve, Andy and Jim in 1989)