Coronation Street star Beverley Callard has opened up about her struggle with clinical depression in a heartbreaking interview.
The much-loved actress, who plays iconic barmaid Liz McDonald, revealed how she managed to overcome the illness – which caused her to be written out of the soap in 2016 due to an emotional breakdown.
Beverley was first diagnosed with depression eight years ago and now the 60-year-old has found ways to cope and continue living her life.
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Speaking with Yours magazine Beverley admitted: “Overcoming clinical depression is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.
“I never thought it would happen to me – I am a strong female, and very feisty. But I think depression has a tendency to affect strong people, as we keep going no matter what.”
“We take everything on, and I’m a perfectionist – I learn my lines way too early. And I’m also something of a people pleaser.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself. It helps that I still teach fitness classes twice a week – and an added benefit is that the weight I’ve put on due to medication is slowly shifting,” she added.
The soap star went on to reveal that she’s starting to feel “back to normal” and is slowly overcoming the illness.
She said: “I’m really well, and feel like I’m back to normal. I have to be sensible – I’m a workaholic and have to try to relax more, which I don’t find easy.”
Beverley opened up about her battle with mental health on This Morning back in April.
The star admitted she had been well for five years until one of her medications was stopped because the company wasn’t making a profit.
Speaking on the lunchtime show Beverley revealed: “I was without it for two weeks thinking, ‘Maybe I don’t need it because I’m fine’. I was filming most scenes most days and doing fine then after about five or six weeks I started to slide.
“Then of course, there is trial and error with other medications and the problem is, once you go down that black hole it’s very hard to get yourself out of it.
“I knew I was going there. I was losing confidence totally and, to be honest, to play Liz you have to be very brave to put those clothes on!”
She then explained that after breaking down on the set of Corrie one of the crew members sent her home.
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The star then spent some time away from the Cobbles as she recovered from the illness.
When she returned she wasn’t given any major storylines and was allowed to take regular breaks from filming.
Speaking about seeking support for depression Beverley told Loose Women earlier this year:
“I think it’s really important to be open because then people support you and you get so much support from unexpected people as well. From all over the country people write to me all the time.”