Beverley Callard still can’t walk unaided after her botched hip operation.
The ‘Coronation Street’ actress was forced to take time away from the ITV soap after the routine procedure went disastrously wrong, and she has revealed that she still cannot walk without crutches.
Beverley told OK! magazine: "I’m taking things day by day. I had a physiotherapy session at the hospital the day before this photoshoot.
"I’ve got physio every day and I soon start hydrotherapy. I’m trying to get mobile as fast as I can. But I have to do as I’m told."
The 63-year-old star – who plays Liz McDonald on the cobbles – added: "All my stitches are out now so it’s about building up the muscles. It’s my right hip and I’ve not been able to walk since March.
"I can stand up – and I stand with most of my weight on my left leg. If I stand up and pose for photos, I look normal. But I can’t walk without crutches. I have Jon (McEwan, her husband) on one side and a crutch on the other side. I’m learning and I’m battling."
Beverley has no idea when she will be able to walk unaided again and is braced for a "long recovery" process.
She said: "I can’t say that [I’ll walk by Christmas], to be honest. Because everything depends on my doctors.
"They’ve told me this will be a long recovery. I can’t make any plans. Each day is about making the tiniest amount of progress."
The soap star also revealed her sadness at relying on her husband and her lack of independence following the injury.
She explained: "Sometimes, when (Jon has) had to wash my hair and look after me, I’d think to myself, ‘Oh, my God, this is terrible for him.’"
Beverly had been due to leave ‘Coronation Street’ this year but she will return next year to film a proper farewell for Liz.