At the age of seven, Callard made her acting debut as Darius the
page boy. After leaving school in 1973, she took a job as a shorthand typist. She later turned to acting and appeared on stage as Jackie Coryton in
Noël Coward's
Hay Fever, Liz and Rita in
Billy Liar and The
Wicked Queen in
Snow White. Callard made her television debut (as Beverley Sowden) in the
Yorkshire Television soap
Emmerdale Farm as Angie Richards in 1983. Other roles followed, including parts in
Hinge & Bracket: Dear Ladies,
Hells Bells,
Will You Love Me Tomorrow and
The Practice. She has released books and exercise videos called
Real Results,
Rapid Results,
Ultimate Results and
Lasting Results. She also appeared on
GMTV and
This Morning and has had a fitness page in the
Daily Mirror. In 2000, she played the part of Barbara in the BBC sitcom
The Peter Principle. In 2001, Callard was cast as
Flo Henshaw in the
BBC Three sitcom
Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps and continued in the role for two years. During this time, she also guested on
Sky1's
Mile High. Between June and December 2010, Callard was a recurring panellist on ITV's talk show
Loose Women. She was due to appear as the
Wicked Queen in the Christmas pantomime
Sleeping Beauty at the
Lyceum Theatre,
Sheffield, from December 2011, but had to withdraw from the production for undisclosed health reasons. She was subsequently replaced by her former
Coronation Street co-star
Margi Clarke. She made her return to the stage in 2012 playing Mari Hoff in a British touring production of
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice. In 2019, she performed in a touring production of
The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the
Liverpool Empire. In November 2020, it was announced that Callard would take part in the
twentieth series of ''
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here''. Callard became the fourth celebrity to be voted off, alongside
Victoria Derbyshire on 30 November. Since March 2022, Callard has appeared in
Gold comedy
Newark, Newark, as Pauline. In 2023, Callard was announced as one of the participants on
Channel 4 series ''Don't Look Down'', in aid of
Stand Up to Cancer. She left the show on medical grounds after 12 days in camp, which she later revealed to be the start of her cancer diagnosis.
Coronation Street In 1984, Callard played
Gail (
Helen Worth) and
Brian Tilsley's (
Christopher Quinten) friend June Dewhurst in
Coronation Street. In 1989, she returned to the series in the more significant role of
Liz McDonald. Callard's first appearance as Liz aired on 27 October 1989. Callard's character of Liz McDonald has since been
abused, a kidnap victim, a harassed mother and an unfaithful wife. Callard left
Coronation Street in November 1998 to concentrate on her other career as an aerobics instructor and to spend more time with her family. In 2003, she returned to
Coronation Street. In March 2011, Callard returned to
Coronation Street having left for a short break in November 2010. Her last scenes before another exit were shown in April 2011 as she left
Coronation Street, seemingly for good. On 30 May 2013, it was announced that she would return, again in the role of Liz McDonald; she returned on screen on 14 October 2013. In March 2016, Callard announced a two-month break from the series, as a result of her ongoing battle with
clinical depression. She returned to filming in May 2016. In November 2019, Callard announced her departure from
Coronation Street. Her final scenes aired in 2020. ==Personal life==