An actor’s life for me!

Since leaving the famous TV cobbles of Weatherfield, former Coronation Street star Lisa George is sharing her experience and supporting upcoming talent at Acting Lincs. Interview by Kate Chapman.

She’s best known for playing feisty Beth Tinker on ITV’s long running series Coronation Street, but actress Lisa George has waved goodbye to the cobbles to focus on other projects – including championing up-and-coming talent in her hometown.

Grimsby-born actress Lisa was a regular on the Weatherfield-set soap for 13 years having landed the role of machinist Beth in 2011. After initially signing up for two episodes, the character’s run was extended, and she soon became a fan favourite.

But after facing serious vision problems that left her fearing she could lose her sight, Lisa decided it was time to take stock.

Diagnosed with non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), she chose to step away from Coronation Street in 2024 to focus on her health, explore new creative opportunities, and give back to the Lincolnshire arts community through her patronage of Acting Lincs.

“I’d had two previous occurrences of vision loss. I remember going to watch Romeo and Juliet at the theatre, the stage was in blackout and during the break I had a panic attack, as I didn’t think I was going to be able to work in the theatre again,” explains Lisa.

“I wasn’t sure if I was going to go blind. I wanted to do other things and wanted to make sure that I could do other things – like singing. I hadn’t really sung since starting on Coronation Street.

“Working there had become very comfortable, and I just wanted to try some different things.

“I had a great time in ‘Corrie’, we had such a laugh with the crew. It was long hours and could be really stressful if you were working on concurrent episodes, but Beth was such a fun character – a bit gobby, but always fun!”

Sharing experience
Lisa’s vision has thankfully stabilised and to her delight she’s been able to return to the stage, performing in pantomime in Swindon in 2024, and again in York this Christmas 2025, playing the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella.

She’s now focussing on a range of projects including scriptwriting, working on a book as well as auditioning for roles and hopes to get back into the recording studio too.

Lisa’s also taken up the role of patron, and more recently board member, for Acting Lincs – the organisation created by Lee Waddingham to offer practical workshops, career support, advice and opportunities to professional and hobbyist actors in Lincolnshire.

She’s thrilled to be passing on her experience and flying the flag for Grimsby, which she says has an abundance of great acting talent not to mention skilled workers behind the scenes too, including make-up artists and camera people.

“I like to support local businesses and ventures and have done over the years. When I was asked to be a patron of Acting Lincs, I wanted to be involved and see what’s going on,” says Lisa.

“This year I ran a three-hour TV workshop. I contacted Corrie and asked if I could use some scripts for educational purposes. We made some mock sets, the actors learnt their lines, and they worked as if they were on a real TV set.

“They had to be quiet, understand camera angles and where they should be, they also got to see the speed at which things work. It was interesting, maybe a bit of a shock to the system for some but I wanted to show them the reality of working in TV.”

Love of performing
Lisa says acting is the only thing she has ever wanted to do. She loved performing from an early age and fondly remembers getting her first role at Queen Mary Avenue Infant and Nursery School, in Cleethorpes, playing Mother in Big Turnip.

“I kept getting little bits in school plays and when I moved up to junior school I was given speaking parts. I was in the church choir and took part in concerts – I was always involved in acting and singing,” she says.

Her secondary school – Whitgift School, Grimsby (now John Whitgift Academy) – had a fantastic drama department and Lisa had parts in musicals including Babes in the Wood and Calamity Jane.

“Some of the students in older years went to drama school – as a 12-year-old, I didn’t know you could do that, I didn’t know drama school existed! I was obsessed with anything to do with singing and acting and I wanted to go too.

“I didn’t tell anyone that was what I wanted to do until I was 15. My dad wanted me to go into computers and go to university – but that wasn’t happening! It took him a while, but he came round to it and is really proud of me,” she adds.

Lisa’s family moved to Holland for two years, and when they returned to England, she completed her drama O level at night school, before joining Grimsby and Cleethorpes Operatic Group.

She took acting and singing lessons locally and completed her LAMDA exams. She also worked as a Blue Coat, singing for Warner Holidays for two seasons.

When she was 19, Lisa moved to London to join the National Youth Theatre, an experience which she says changed her life.

She then joined the BTEC drama course at Grimsby College, after which she gained a place at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff.After graduation Lisa got an agent and moved to London, where she was keen to land roles in musical theatre and TV.

She toured with a production of Prisoner Cell Block H, appeared in a production of Dusty on Bournemouth Pier, and sang with The Rumble Band for five years.

She then joined The Cat Pack – a 19-piece big band, performing rhythm and blues – and supported acts including Little Richard and Chuck Berry, recording her own Rockabilly album and EP in 2008 while acting between singing jobs.

Lisa moved wherever the work took her and twice featured in Coronation Street before landing the role of Beth.

In 2020 she took part in ITV show Dancing on Ice, finishing fifth.
“This year is going to be really exciting – I’ve got lots of projects bubbling away and I’ll just see what comes up.

“But I love it – I just love acting, it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do and the only thing I’m really passionate about,” she says. “The theatre is in my heart. I love literature, I love words, I love history and biographical stuff. If you do a job you love, it doesn’t really feel like work.”

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