Lisa George has confirmed she is leaving Coronation Street after 13 years.
While being interviewed on This Morning, the actress who has played Beth Sutherland since 2011 – spoke about how she felt leaving the cobbles behind after filming her last appearance eight weeks ago.
‘It’s just strange. I don’t think it’s sunken in yet,’ she admitted.
‘I don’t think it will until I’m not on screen anymore. Friday will be my last scenes, and then I think it will start to sink in.’
Sharing how she planned to mark the occasion, Lisa, 53, told hosts Craig Doyle and Sian Welby: ‘I’ve got a friend from drama school who’s coming over, and we’re going to watch it.’
She described preparing for life beyond Weatherfield as ‘scary’ but added she was excited to embrace new challenges, including starring in a pantomime production of Cinderella at Wyvern Theatre in Swindon later this year.
With such a huge chapter of her life coming to a close, Lisa was feeling reflective and gave an insight into her first day as Beth.
‘I wasn’t that nervous because it was my fourth time on Corrie,’ she recalled.
‘I’d met all the different characters at different stages. I’d had guest roles since 1997 so I was so excited to go back and I was so happy it was with Simon [Gregson] and Katherine Kelly. It was only two episodes, so I just wanted to get in there and get on with it.’
Of course, she was quickly offered a role with more longevity, and the rest is history.
As Corrie fans know, Beth has recently been covertly manufacturing counterfeit goods at the factory after hours in a bid to raise cash to surprise partner Kirk Sutherland (Andy Whyment) with a wedding.
However, the scheme soon got out of hand when Underworld boss Carla Connor (Alison King) became suspicious and accused Beth, Betsy Swain (Sydney Matin) and Izzy Armstrong (Cherylee Houston) of using her machines to make counterfeit goods.
Beth walked out of her job before she was pushed, but she faced further complications when she delivered the counterfeit goods to the shady Sid, as they pair were caught red-handed by her policeman son Craig Tinker (Colson Smith) and fellow officer Kit Green (Jacob Roberts). She has since been looking for alternative jobs.
