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Coronation Street's Beverley Callard reveals operation blunder which has delayed cobbles return

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Beverley Callard as Coronation Street barmaid Liz McDonald. Photo by Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images

Coronation Street icon Beverley Callard has revealed her future on the ITV soap is in doubt after minor hip surgery went badly wrong.

The 63-year-old visited her GP with a niggling hip compaint in March of this year, and subsequently needed “routine” key-hole surgery to fix the issue.

Despite being told the operation was a success, the Liz McDonald legend found herself in unbearable pain, and a later scan revealed her hip had crumbled during the procedure meaning she needed it replacing.

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Following the replacement last month, Callard has had to relearn how to walk on two legs and left her considering a future where she cannot walk or earn a living.

Speaking to The Mirror, she opened up about “the worst six months of my life”.

She said: “I have been in the most excruciating pain you can imagine – like teeth grinding inside my hip.

“But worse than that was the mental torture of thinking ‘is this the end for me?

DUBLIN, IRELAND - MAY 22:  Beverley Callard attends the TV Now Awards on May 22, 2010 in Dublin, Ireland.  (Photo by Phillip Massey/FilmMagic)
Beverley Callard attends the TV Now Awards on May 22, 2010 in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by Phillip Massey/FilmMagic)

“A huge part of me thought I’d never be able to return to Coronation Street – that I wouldn’t even walk again.

“Liz is famous for mini skirts, stockings and high heels shoes. Not crutches and a mobility scooter. I thought I wouldn’t be able to do my job any more.”

She went on to describe the ordeal as “absolute hell”.

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The last Corrie scenes featuring Liz, filmed before the coronavirus lockdown, aired in June. Last month her character’s son Steve McDonald, played by Simon Gregson, explained his mother’s disappearance on the soap by mentioning she was on holiday in Spain.

Callard also revealed in the interview she had planned to work one more year on the soap before leaving the role for good.

However, with her future prospects now in doubt, she hinted she may have to re-think her decision, as “you don’t leave a job like Corrie without plans”.