Corrie’s Beverley Callard confirms decision to quit the soap

Another one bites the dust.

Coronation Street's Beverley Collard has confirmed her decision to quit the show. The actor, who has played Liz McDonald in the ITV soap since 1989, said that although she agonised over the decision, she knows that her exit will be done with "one hell of a bang." Collard told OK! Magazine that she experienced "so many sleepless nights" before she informed producers of her decision to leave. "I was in shock, I felt totally numb," she said.  "[But] I’ve been told Liz is going to go with one hell of a bang. I cant wait!" Collard, who is 62-years-old, said that she has experienced a lot of ageism in the entertainment industry over the years. In 2020, she will embark on a tour with The Thunder Girls, a comedy play starring four women over the age of 50 - a role that Collard said she hopes will change audiences perceptions of older women. "I’m sick of ageism in the industry," she said. "Although I’ve had to leave the safety net of being in Coronation Street to do this, I’m hoping that ageist bosses, of which there are many, take note of how successful this show is and it starts the ball rolling on helping other women my age, get the roles they still deserve." "There’s very little work in our industry for women over 50, but I’m 62 and recently I was doing three jobs at once. It made me realise how I was privileged to have the opportunity to do so when so many women my age no longer get the chance." Joining the soap in 1989, Collard's character has been involved in a lot of drama with son Steve, a lot of pain with husband Jim, and a lot of stress with patrons of the Rovers. She will exit Coronation Street in late summer 2020.