It might have been one of the worst-kept secrets in Soapland, but Beth Sutherland (Lisa George) has finally left Coronation Street after 13 years.
The actress has long been rumoured to have quit the ITV soap, but the character exited during Friday’s episode as she set off for Norfolk.
‘I’ve been on Corrie a long time but you know what? It’s flown. It’s really difficult to comprehend how many years I’ve been here, because it hasn’t computed at all’ Lisa told us.
‘You get so engrossed in this world and it is timeless. It feels like you’ve only been here a year or two years or something. When you think about people doing 25 years or over 50 years you can easily see how that can happen.’
Recently, Beth has been involved in a counterfeit goods storyline, which, when exposed, saw her lose her job at the factory.
When she later found evidence that corrupt copper Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) was involved with the shady market boss Sid and attempted to blackmail him for cash to keep quiet.
However, Kit then uncovered her other son Craig Tinker’s (Colson Smith) role in covering up Faye Windass’ (Ellie Leach) hit-and-run in 2021 and used this against Beth, threatening to ruin Craig’s career unless she left Weatherfield.
Beth subsequently ended her relationship with Kirk Sutherland (Andy Whyment) as she made arrangements to move her life down south.
In scenes that aired tonight, Beth ignored pleas from Craig not to leave as she ignored calls from Kirk.
As Craig, Daniel Osbourne (Rob Mallard), Sean Tully (Antony Cotton) and Izzy Armstrong (Cherylee Houston) turned up to see her off, Kirk made a mad dash with their dog Peanut to try and stop Beth from leaving.
His words did little to change her mind though, as she told Kirk he deserved better, before getting back in her taxi and driving off – seemingly for good.
‘Unusually Beth’s departure was my final scene of filming, often we film out of order but as I filmed it I knew Beth was leaving and it was my final scene on the cobbles’ Lisa explained.
‘Halfway through when he called the cab to stop, and they got out I actually got really, quite tearful. I cried afterwards because it’s been this huge part of my life for such a long time.’
While it is unknown if fans will get to see Beth again, Craig was still suspicious about her reasons for leaving and tracked down Sid, who insisted he had nothing to do with it.
Meanwhile, Kit was keen to cover their tracks, and after learning of Beth’s bigamy and her kiss with ex Marco Sweeney (Paul Albertson), he manipulated Kirk into believing she’d left as she found her life with him boring.
But will Craig buy the same excuse, or will he keep digging to uncover the truth?
