Beverley Callard has been diagnosed with breast cancer. The Coronation Street legend, best known for playing Liz McDonald, shared news of her diagnosis just weeks after announcing she would be returning to screens with a role in the Dublin-based soap opera Fair City.
The actress, 68, received the news from doctors just 20 minutes before she was set to film her first scenes on the long-running drama.
Beverley will undergo an operation and radiotherapy and will return to the UK this weekend to find out whether the cancer has spread.
Speaking to Patrick Kielty on RTÉ's The Late Late Show, she explained medics appeared to have caught the cancer early.
Beverley said: "I'd had some tests just before I left the UK and literally 15 to 20 minutes before [her first scene] I was in my dressing room at Fair City, getting ready to go on, and I was quite nervous and thinking, 'I hope everybody thinks I'm all right, whatever.'
"And my consultant rang me and said, 'you've got to come back to the UK.' I said, 'well I can't possibly, you know, I've just taken a new job I'm away for a month.'"
The soap star continued: 'I was diagnosed with breast cancer. But I'm fine. I'm absolutely fine. My head was a bit mashed for the first few days. It's very early stages, and I'm along with, you know, thousands of other women as well.
"It's early stages. I travel back to the UK tomorrow, just for a couple of weeks. They're going to test lymph nodes and lymph glands and all that.
"I need an operation and some radiotherapy, and then I'm coming back to Fair City, so I will be back in just a few weeks."
The news comes just weeks after Beverley announced she will play the long-lost mother of Gwen (Emily Lamey) in Fair City. Her character is described as being "quirky, unpredictable and sharp as a tack", with Fair City Executive Producer Brigie de Courcy admitting she was "absolutely delighted" to welcome Beverley to Carrigstown.
Her first appearance on screen is scheduled for 19 February. Beverley became a household name when she landed the role of barmaid Liz McDonald in 1989. She portrayed the character on and off for more than 30 years, with her final appearance coming in 2020.
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