Lisa George, who spent 13 years portraying the feisty and outspoken Beth Sutherland (née Tinker) on Coronation Street, is proving there’s life after soap a year after her emotional departure from the cobbles.
The Grimsby-born actress has undergone a significant health transformation over the past year and is finally content with her reflection. In addition to pursuing two history diplomas, Lisa, who appeared on Dancing On Ice in 2020, has been managing a medical condition that has left her partially sightless in one eye and lacking peripheral vision in the other.
After years of seeking answers following initial vision loss in 2016, with a recurrence in 2022, she was diagnosed with NAION (non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy). In a new chat with the Mirror, she shares how she’s coping and why she refuses to let it hinder her…
She spent 13 years as Beth Sutherland (nee Tinker) on the ITV soap (Image: ITV)
“At present, my eyes seem to have stabilised. I can see distances perfectly well, but written text is a challenge”, Lisa explained.
“All writing and numbers appear blurry, so I need glasses for reading, and for driving I use varifocals, which help me see the SatNav. Night driving isn’t my favourite because I have blind spots, but I reckon that’s partly down to age!”
She went on to open up about an episode of sight loss she experienced while out with friends.
“Yes, in 2022 I was out for dinner for [former Corrie co-star] Katie McGlynn’s birthday and the restaurant was dark. I looked at the menu and it was all blurry,” Lisa recalled.
She continued: “I remember thinking, ‘Something is really wrong.’ I phoned the ophthalmologist the next day and was sent to A&E and was back in hospital for a week. They told me it must’ve been my diabetes; I hadn’t been fully diagnosed with it yet.”
Lisa has opened up about her health
The actress went on to speak about how her vision has impacted her work, saying she is now classed as ‘visually impaired’ on her professional CV.
Lisa revealed that while she initially worried about not being selected for jobs, she now feels there is “better access for people with all sorts of disabilities”.
She added: “You know, I really don’t want my eyesight to get any worse. When it first happened, one of my biggest worries was, ‘How am I going to work in a theatre if the stage is dark?’ But I did panto last year and the crew and cast were fantastic and made things easy for me.”
Lisa is performing in Cinderella at the Grand Opera House in York this December.
