AFTER 30 years as ‘Queen of the Street’, Beverley Callard is leaving Corrie to tour with The Thunder Girls, a popular theatre show which visits Poole for a five night run next year.

The soap star who played Liz McDonald in Coronation Street, will star alongside ex-EastEnders’s actress Carol Harrison and TV presenter Coleen Nolan in the show which follows a fictional 80s girl group who haven’t seen or spoken to each other in 30 years after “greed, envy and ego tore the band and their friendship apart”.

Featuring original music and songs, the play focuses on their “reunion dinner from hell”.

Beverley who starred in the stage show in London, said she couldn’t resist joining the new tour. She said: “Leaving Coronation Street is the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make but I just couldn’t miss out on playing Roxanne in The Thunder Girls again.

“I knew it was something special when I first read the script, but none of us were prepared for the audiences giving it three standing ovations a night. After that we knew we just had to get this show on the road and let more people have the chance to eavesdrop on what is quite literally the girls night in from hell!

“I’m so proud to be in such a rare show with a four strong ensemble of real women with real life experience, especially as so many men in power said for years that this show wouldn’t be a hit because ‘no one was interested in women over 50!’ – we certainly showed them.

“The Thunder Girls is rich in drama, comedy and tragedy, it’s a bit like the Christmas day episode of your favourite soap that you wait all year for. Most important of all, this play is fiercely entertaining and our audiences love it. And I can’t wait to do it all again.”

* The Thunder Girls is at Lighthouse Poole from Tuesday, September 29 – Saturday, October 3 in 2020. To book, see lighthousepoole.co.uk