| Beverley McEwan | |
|---|---|
Callard at Manchester Pride, 2010. |
|
| Born | Beverley Jane Moxon 28 March 1957 Morley, Leeds, England |
| Occupation | Actress Pub landlady |
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Spouse | Paul Atkinson (1974–77) (divorced) David Sowden (1980–88) (divorced) Steve Callard (1989–2001) (divorced) Jon McEwan (2010–present)[1] |
| Children | 2 |
Beverley Jane McEwan (née Moxon; previously Atkinson, Sowden and Callard; born 28 March 1957) is an English actress, best known for her role as Liz McDonald in ITV's Coronation Street, and Flo Henshaw in BBC Three's Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.
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Beverley Jane Moxon was born in Leeds on 28 March 1957 to Clive and Mavis Moxon. Clive was a baker and Mavis was a concert pianist. She has a younger sister called Stephanie.
She attended Elmfield and Peel Street schools in Morley, Leeds and also Bruntcliffe High School in Morley Leeds 27.
At the age of seven, Bev made her acting debut as Darius the page boy. After leaving school in 1973, she took a job as a shorthand typist. She later turned to acting and appeared on stage as Jaqui Coryton in Noel Coward's Hay Fever, Liz and Rita in Billy Liar and The Wicked Queen in Snow White'.
Bev made her television debut (as Beverley Sowden) in the Yorkshire Television soap Emmerdale Farm as Angie Richards in 1983. The following year, Bev played Gail and Brian Tilsley's friend June Dewhurst in Coronation Street. Other roles followed, including parts in Hinge & Bracket: Dear Ladies, Hells Bells, Will You Love Me Tomorrow and The Practice.
In 1989, Bev agreed to return to Coronation Street in the new and more significant role of Liz McDonald. She joined Charles Lawson, Nicholas Cochrane and Simon Gregson, who played the other members of the McDonald family. Callard's first appearance in the role was aired on 27 October 1989.
Bev's character of Liz McDonald has since had to endure being a battered wife, a kidnap victim, harassed mother and unfaithful wife.
Bev left Coronation Street in November 1998 to concentrate on her other career as an aerobics instructor and to spend more time with her family. She has released books and exercise videos called "Real Results", "Rapid Results", "Ultimate Results" and "Lasting Results". She also appeared on GMTV and This Morning and has had a fitness page in the Daily Mirror.
In 2001, Beverley was cast as Flo Henshaw in the BBC Three sitcom Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps and continued in the role for 4 years. During this time, she also guested on Sky One's Mile High. In 2003, she returned to Coronation Street as the long suffering mother of Steve McDonald, much-disapproving mother-in-law to Becky Granger and friend to Deirdre Barlow.
She starred in an episode of 60 Minute Makeover where she helped the team decorate a school, which aired on 24 October 2008.
Beverley appeared as a contestant on the 2010 series All Star Mr and Mrs.
Between June and December 2010, Callard was a recurring panellist on ITV's flagship show Loose Women.
In March 2011, Liz returned to Coronation Street having left for a short break in November 2010. Beverly's last scenes for another exit were aired in April 2011 as she left Coronation Street seemingly for good.
She was due to appear as the Wicked Queen in the Christmas pantomime Sleeping Beauty at the Lyceum Theatre from December, 2011, but had to withdraw from the production for undisclosed health reasons. She was subsequently replaced by her former Coronation Street co-star Margi Clarke[2]
Aged 16, Beverley, then pregnant, married Paul Atkinson in 1974. She later miscarried.[3] Two years later, the couple had their first child, a daughter named Rebecca Callard, who later became an actress. A year later, the couple divorced, with Callard later recalling: "we were too young. He had an alcohol-induced violent side."[3]
In 1980, Beverley married David Sowden, an economics teacher. During the marriage, Beverley had an abortion.[3] In 1988, the couple separated amicably.[3] Beverley fell pregnant in 1989 to Steve Callard, and the couple married. Their son, Joshua was born in 1990. The pair separated due to Steve's infidelity, once occurring whilst Beverley was recovering from cervical cancer treatment.[3]
In an article revealed by Digital Spy in August 2008, it was announced that Callard's pay, along with other Street stars, would be cut due to the credit crunch. She personally suffered the most, losing 40% of her wage.[4][5]
Beverley now lives with her husband, Jon McEwan,[6] in Eccles, Salford, with Jon's son Ben. They used to own a roadside pub just behind Salford Royal Infirmary, The White Horse, and adjacent carvery-style restaurant M30 for which Callard had what Salford Online called "grandiose ideas", but sold it to Maria Ball and her partner in 2010. [7]
They married on 30 October 2010, at the Hazelwood Castle Hotel, near Leeds.[1]