Corrie legend Beverley Callard joins cast of Irish soap

Actress Beverley Callard has swapped one iconic soap opera for another as it has been announced she is joining the cast of Fair City.

Callard, best known for her role as Liz McDonald on Coronation Street, will play a new character called Lily.

She joined the cast of the cobbles with her on screen husband Jim – played by Charlie Lawson from Northern Ireland – and sons Steve and Andy in 1989 before leaving the ITV show in 2020.

Callard will make her Fair City debut on 19 February 2026.

Irish broadcaster RTÉ has described Callard’s character as “quirky, unpredictable and sharp as a tack, she carries just enough edge to keep Carrigstown on its toes”.

Adding: “You won’t want to miss what she brings to the community.”

Callard will be well known to TV show viewers as pub landlady Liz McDonnell on ITV’s Coronation Street.

She joined the show in 1989 leaving on three occasions over the years with her most recent exit in 2020.

That year saw Callard join ITV’s ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’ where she finished 10th in a series that was filmed in Wales rather than Australia due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

She also had roles in Emmerdale and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.

She has previously spoken about having depression and has described it as the “curse of the strong” after revealing she underwent electroconvulsive therapy to treat her own symptoms.

Callard, who spoke to the BBC in 2016 as part of the In The Mind mental health season, described collapsing on the soap’s set in 2009 after feeling unwell for 18 months.

Fair City is an Irish soap opera that follows the day-to-day dramas of the community who live and work in the fictional north Dublin suburb of Carrigstown.

It was first aired on RTÉ in 1989.