Coronation Street’s Lisa George explains Beth’s exit amid blindness fears
"What happens if I do go blind?"
Coronation Street star Lisa George has opened up about her exit from the ITV soap ahead of her final scenes airing tonight (Friday 30).
The upcoming scenes will see George’s character Beth Tinker leave the cobbles after she discovers corrupt police detective Kit Green’s involvement in an illegal operation, leading him to give her an ultimatum: Get out of town or he’ll ruin her son Craig’s career in the police force.
George has now explained the reason for her exit after 13 years in the role, saying she wants to explore other opportunities, as she fears her rare eye condition – NAION (non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy) – could leave her blind in the future.
“What happens if I do go blind? I still want to explore as an actress and do lots of other things,” she told ITV.
“It was the impetus for me to see what else is out there, as I don’t want to stop any of those opportunities coming to me.”
George is partially blind in one eye and has peripheral vision in the other, having first developed NAION after being hit in the eye with a rope.
Expressing her sadness over leaving Corrie and what she’ll miss most about the job, she continued: “Thirteen years is a long time. The thing I’m going to miss the most is the people and my friends.
“Everyone says it’s like a family, but it is. You have such a laugh with the crew, and everyone supports you.”
“We’re all on WhatsApp groups, and if someone’s done something good on ONE of the shows everyone’s texting saying ‘well done, I really loved that’. I don’t know any other job where people have done that.”
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
