Beverley Callard Says I'm A Celebrity Collapse Was 'Beginning Of Everything' Ahead Of Cancer Diagnosis

The Corrie legend shared in February that she had been diagnosed with cancer, months after completing her stint in I'm A Celebrity: South Africa.

I’m A Celebrity star Beverley Callard has said that her collapse in camp was the beginning of a journey that resulted in her being diagnosed with cancer.

The soap legend is best known for her portrayal of Rovers Return landlady Liz McDonald in Coronation Street, and first took part in I’m A Celebrity during the pandemic back in 2020.

She was later invited back for the second all-stars run, which was filmed last year and is now airing on ITV.

However, as viewers learned in Tuesday night’s instalment, Beverley suffered a bout of ill health halfway through the series, resulting in her having to bow out early.

After her exit aired, Beverley – who has been updating her followers on her cancer journey since first disclosing her diagnosis earlier this year – shared a new video on Instagram.

She tearfully shared: “I’ve just watched my exit on I’m A Celeb and it made me cry all over again. Of course, I didn’t know then that I had cancer. But the last couple of days there, I’d not felt very well.

“What happened was, I was called into the Bush Telegraph [where contestants speak to producers] and apparently, I lost consciousness for a little while – I went yonderly, as they say! And I just wasn’t feeling myself. And they took me to the medical hut – they were amazing, they really looked after me – and then they said, ‘you can’t go back’.

“I said, ‘don’t send me home, I’m sure I’ll be fine – I jumped out of a plane, I hung off a cliff’ and I did want to succeed and make it through to the end. But that was the start of everything, really. So, it’s made me really emotional but I will beat this. I will beat it.”

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“That was such an emotional watch,” Beverley added in her post’s caption. “Especially knowing what I know now.

“I wanted to prove that age is just a number and I feel so proud of what I achieved. Just got to get through this real life trial now.”

Following her exit, Beverley told ITV: “I had the experience of a lifetime. The people were amazing. They were the best bunch of people ever. Yes, we were hungry and we were dirty but it was wonderful.”

She continued: “This time completely overshadowed 2020.

“I’m so glad I said yes – because I did have to think about it. I’ve been covered in bugs before, did I really want to do it again? Also, last time I’d just had a new hip, so there were a lot of challenges I wasn’t allowed to do. I hated that, because I’m not like that. I wanted to be up for everything and this time I could be.

“The sunshine and the climate changed everything. It completely knocked 2020 out of the park.”

Elsewhere in the episode, viewers also saw Jimmy Bullard withdrawing from the series, following a dispute with campmate Adam Thomas.

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