By Mitya Underwood

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Lisa George spent 13 years as Coronation Street ’s iconic and outspoken Beth Sutherland (née Tinker), loved for her dodgy dealings and being a protective mum towards her son, Craig. As we catch up with her a year after her final (tearful) farewell to the cobbles, she’s determined to prove there is indeed life after soap. Grimsby-born Lisa has also undergone a major health transformation over the last year, with the help of a surgical tweak, and is finally loving who she sees in the mirror. As well as getting stuck into two history diplomas, Lisa – who competed on Dancing On Ice in 2020 – has also been managing a medical condition which has left her partially blind in one eye and without peripheral vision in her other. She received a diagnosis of NAION (non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy) after years of searching for answers since first experiencing sight loss in 2016, with a recurrence in 2022. In our exclusive sit-down, she fills us in on how she’s coping, and why she’s determined not to let it hold her back… Lisa, how’s life been away from Coronation Street ? Busy! I’ve been doing a lot of different things, which I enjoy. I presented an award at the National Diversity Awards recently, and met some amazing people. I’ve also become a Board Member of Acting Lincs in Lincolnshire, which helps connect people in the Lincolnshire area to the industry. Just because we live in Lincolnshire doesn’t mean you can’t do it. It must be nice having the time to say “Yes” to things nowadays… It is, and there’s a lot I want to do. Like, I’d love to do a period drama. I’ve always been obsessed with the Second World War; I used to talk about it all the time with my grandad. I also love the 50s and 60s, so something based in that period would be amazing, too. I’m basically fascinated by anything historical. During lockdown, I did a diploma in Tudor history and another on the six wives of Henry VIII. Oh, and another one on Native American studies! Is it hard moving on after so long on a soap? I guess a lot of people do think of me as Beth, but I’m not a one-trick pony. I did a lot of TV before Beth, and I’d love to do something else now. I want to get back to singing and maybe get into the recording studio again. I stopped singing when I started Corrie , but before that, I was teaching and performing with a big band. You’ve been raising awareness about your vision issues, too. How are things now? I feel like my eyes have stabilised at the moment. I can see distances absolutely fine, but I can’t see writing. All writing and numbers are really blurred, so I need glasses for reading, and for driving I have varifocals, so I can see the SatNav. I don’t like doing night driving because I have blind spots, but I think that’s also an age thing! If we were filming Corrie scenes on the pavement in the dark, I’d ask to be on the inside of the pavement because I couldn’t see the edge of the kerb. You’ve just appeared on the cover of Vista magazine for a charity campaign. Tell us more… I was so chuffed to be asked. It’s to mark National Eye Health Week, so it was wonderful to be part of it. The Royal National Institute of Blind People also asked me to be part of their 90th celebrations and have asked me to record a section of literature for an audio book, which I’m excited about. You had a second episode of sight loss recently… 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. That must have been really scary… It was. I remember thinking, “Something is really wrong.” I phoned the opthamologist 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. How do you feel about being categorised as “visually impaired”? To be honest, I don’t mention it that often. When I was on Coronation Street , the only reason many people knew was because my script was in font size 16 so they could probably see it from the other side of the set! I’m classed as “visually impaired” now on my Spotlight CV, and that did make me wonder if people maybe wouldn’t want to cast me. But there is better access now for people with all sorts of disabilities so I don’t let it worry me. Does it worry you when it comes to future work? You know, I really don’t want my eyes to deteriorate any more. When it first happened, one of my fears 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 amazing and made things easy for me. In what way? At one point, I had to walk off stage, and there was smoke everywhere as part of the show, so I couldn’t see where I was going but two dancers led me off. It was a small thing but it made it possible. They were brilliant, so supportive. Could more be done to make the entertainment industry more inclusive? Absolutely. There’s one thing in acting I’d like to bring to people’s attention. When you get asked to do a self-tape you get sent documents which are usually in a PDF with a small font size which means I can’t see the script properly, and I can’t copy, paste and edit it to make the letters bigger. Considering things like that would make a big difference to a lot of people. You’re looking incredible at the moment – very different from Beth of Weatherfield! Thank you. I’m feeling really good. I struggled with really bad stomach issues for about 10 years or more, and when I was on Coronation Street . Food would make me feel really ill and I’d look pregnant because my tummy was so swollen. I eventually went to The IBS & Gut Health Clinic in Wilmslow; they put me on a low-FODMAP diet and the weight just dropped off. I’ve stayed really strict with my diet – I only have two meals a day now. Do you work out, too? Last year I was really good and I got into going to the gym three times a week and running. Now, not so much! I’m going to get back into it again soon, though. You also had an eyelift back in January… I did. My saggy eyes were the one thing I looked at when I had my photo taken. It really bothered me and was really ageing me. I talked about getting it done forever and now I’m so happy with the results. Lisa (@lisageorgeactor) is performing in Cinderella at the Grand Opera House in York this December * Follow Mirror Celebs on Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .