Beverley Callard: New campmate and Corrie star ‘gutted’ I’m A Celebrity 2020 is in Wales

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I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! is swerving the snakes and creepy crawlies of the Australian jungle for a more timid affair in the North of Wales this year. But not everyone is pleased about the filming location, as 2020 contestant Beverley Callard has revealed she would prefer the tropical climate down under. 

The Coronation Street star, who is loved by many as the soap’s Liz McDonald, confessed she is dreading the plunging temperatures in the Welsh wilderness, as she prepares to take part in the new series of I’m A Celebrity. 

Beverley, 63, is one of 10 names confirmed as this year’s line-up, with the campmates heading to the grounds of Gwrych Castle – which is rumoured to be haunted – near the town of Abergele. 

Assuring the citizens of Wales it was nothing personal, Beverley explained: “I have got nothing against Wales, please please, everybody in Wales, don’t think that I have. 

“But I am gutted it’s not in Australia… only me! And I hate the cold, I’m rubbish in the cold.”

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The mother-of-two also hinted she wasn’t prepared to face the revolting eating tasks on I’m A Celebrity, which has seen contestants swallow everything from kangaroo penis to cockroach smoothies. 

“When you watch the eating trials, you know spiders, all sorts of other things. Then I think, ‘Do you know what, not a chance’,” Beverley said. 

“The camp would starve. I’ll just say, ‘I’m really sorry, I’m not doing it.’ 

“Or I might just run off, and Ant and Dec will be searching, you know singing in the valleys of Wales looking for me.”

Beverley is joining a host of famous faces on the show, with stars like former Family Fortunes presenter Vernon Kay and EastEnders actress Jessica Plummer also confirmed to be taking part. 

Teasing her role in the campsite, which year after year sees close friendships form between the celebrity contestants, Beverley joked: “I don’t know whether I’ll be good for the camp at all!”

The I’m A Celebrity stint comes after Beverley confirmed she was leaving Coronation Street for good, 31 years after she first appeared on the cobbles. 

While her final scenes on the soap have yet to air, viewers will bid farewell to fan favourite Liz McDonald in early 2021. 

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Thankfully, Beverley confirmed ITV bosses have decided against killing off her character on the soap, but her exit storyline has yet to be revealed. 

Opening up about her decision to leave the soap, the Yorkshire-born actress revealed she is looking forward to taking on some new roles, after three decades at the heart of Weatherfield.

“There’s very little work in our industry for women over 50, but I’m 62 and recently I was doing three jobs at once,” Beverley told OK! magazine last year. 

“It made me realise how I was privileged to have the opportunity to do so when so many women my age no longer get the chance.”

The Corrie star also spoke out against ageism in the acting industry, urging directors and producers to create a greater variety of roles for older female leads. 

“I’m sick of ageism in the industry,” Beverley continued. 

“Although I’ve had to leave the safety net of being in Coronation Street to do this, I’m hoping that ageist bosses, of which there are many, take note of how successful this show is and it starts the ball rolling on helping other women my age, get the roles they still deserve.”

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! debuts Sunday on ITV.

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