FIGHTING BACK - ‘MY WHOLE LIFE HAS JUST STOPPED I DON'T FEEL LIKE ME'

AFTER A BOTCHED HIP OP LEFT HER BARELY ABLE TO WALK CORONATION STREET STAR BEVERLEY CALLARD AND HUSBAND JON McEWAN TALK EXCLUSIVELY TO OK! ABOUT THE BATTLE THEY NOW FACE

- KAT ROMERO

While many of us have found the coronavirus crisis and recent lockdown tough, actress Beverley Callard has had a particularly challenging time of it after a hip operation in March went so wrong it left her unable to walk.

The 63-year-old endured weeks of agony after the initial surgery left her without any soft tissue in her right hip and her bones painfully rubbing together. She waited three months for corrective surgery, only to be told by her hospital that they couldn’t operate again. Forced to turn to a doctor friend for help, she found a new medical team and went under the knife again in July. Now she faces a long recovery and is uncertain when or if she’ll ever be able to walk properly again.

Opening up the Manchester home she shares with her husband of 10 years Jon McEwan, Bev reveals to OK! that she kept her horrific ordeal secret from her Coronation Street castmates. The star even tried to shield her children – Rebecca, 45, and Joshua, 31 – and stepchildren – Ben, 34, Jon, 31, and Danielle, 29 – from the true extent of the damage.

“My children were quite upset to see me,” she says. “Even though we’d FaceTimed, they were quite shocked when they saw me in person.”

Renowned for her strength of spirit, Beverley – who plays Liz McDonald in Corrie – is now undergoing daily physiotherapy and will soon start hydrotherapy. She admits losing her independence has been one of the hardest things to adjust to as she now relies on husband Jon for daily assistance.