Beverley Callard believes the late Anne Kirkbride gave her the "kick up the bum" she needed to return to ‘Coronation Street’.
The 59-year-old actress – who is known for playing pub landlady Liz McDonald in the long-running soap – was forced to take six weeks off work in March after she plunged into severe depression but she’s convinced her former co-star, who played Deidre Barlow in the programme until her death last year, gave her the confidence to get stuck in to her flouncy role.
She explained: "I’ve got the most beautiful picture of Annie on my dressing room wall. I looked at her and said, ‘Come on, you need to kick me up the a**e now, I need a push.’ I was really scared but everybody was so welcoming."
The blonde beauty – who has battled with the mental health condition on and off for years – was anxious about returning to filming in case her suicidal thoughts came back to bite her.
But Beverley has been put at ease knowing her job is safe for the foreseeable future after having a discussion with ‘Coronation Street’s producer Kieran Roberts at the leaving party of former producer Stuart Blackburn earlier this month.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror newspaper, she said: "I saw Kieran Roberts, my big boss, at Stuart Blackburn’s leaving party. And he told me, ‘You’re here for ever, you know that, don’t you?’ I want to be – I’m really fulfilled, I’m loving it. I think they’ll carry Liz out when she’s 90 in a mini-skirt and high heels. My first day back at ‘Corrie’ was nerve-wracking."
Beverley Callard: Anne Kirkbride gave me ‘kick’ to return to Coronation Street
