Beverley Callard: Soap scripts aren't as good as they used to be

Beverley Callard doesn't think soap scripts are "as good" as they used to be.

The 64-year-old star became a household name while portraying Coronation Street's Liz McDonald on and off from 1989 to 2020, but the actress thinks the small screen is "overloaded with soap operas" nowadays, and she has questioned the quality of the writing for long-running dramas.

She said: "I personally don’t think the scripts are as good now. I think we’re overloaded with soap operas, which is a shame.

"And also people can be quite snooty about scripts. Certainly casting directors can be and think, well, that person can do anything.

"I said no to a few scripts that came and then you think, you know, the next day you wake up and think I shouldn't have said no to that yesterday."

Beverley also admits she had "no life" during her time on the cobbles, because the job was so "full-on".

Speaking to The Sun’s TV Mag, she added: "As an actor, you’re scared to say no to a job, but the scripts came and I thought I’ve just got to trust my instincts really.

"It’s not nine to five, it’s like seven until 10 at night and it’s six days a week.

"It’s really full-on and you have no life, like it used to be a lot harder years ago when the cast was smaller."

Beverley's latest role will see her star in Gold comedy series ‘Newark, Newark’, which begins next week.

She will star alongside Gavin and Stacey’s Mat Horne and The Windsors’ Morgana Robinson, and the former 'Corrie' star will play the mum of Morgana’s character, feisty chip shop owner Maxine.