Coronation Street star Simon Gregson recently entered I’m a Celebrity… Get me Out of Here!, but to viewers, he will always be associated with his character Steve McDonald.
First appearing on the soap in 1989, the McDonald family have had their fair share of drama during their time on the cobbles, with Steve’s multiple marriages and relationship problems, father Jim McDonald’s prison stint and brother Andy McDonald leaving the street.
The McDonald clan has also grown, with the addition of new members of the family including Karen McDonald and Becky McDonald, and Daily Star has taken a look at where the family are now.
Liz McDonald – Beverley Callard
(Image: ITV)
Liz McDonald is the curly haired matriarch of the McDonald family, who has made a return to Coronation Street many times throughout the years.
However in 2020, Beverley Callard left the soap once again while she recovered from a hip operation, with her character Liz moving to Spain.
Talking to Digital Spy, Beverley said she had loved playing Liz McDonald for over 31 years, but that lockdown had made her decide that she will not be returning to the cobbles.
(Image: beverleycallard/Instagram)
She said: “I always said, when asked if I was coming back, ‘Never say never’. But this time it is ‘never’ – no I won’t go back again.
“I just feel lockdown helped me make the massive decision because it is a life-changing one. I’ve really begun to enjoy my life and I don’t want to be working 12 hours a day, 48 weeks a year. I want more time to be me.”
It hasn’t been her only soap role though, having appeared in rival ITV soap Emmerdale as Angie Richards in 1983, as well as programmes including The Practice and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.
She also took part in I’m a Celebrity…Get me Out of Here in 2020, and in an interview with OK! Magazine, co-star Charlie Lawson who played husband Jim McDonald cheered on his close friend, saying that she was a “tough cookie”.
Jim McDonald – Charlie Lawson
(Image: Granada Television)
Charlie Lawson first played Coronation Street fan favourite Jim McDonald from 1989 to 2000, and like Beverley Callard, Charlie sent fans wild when his character returned to the soap.
In 2018, Charlie made a brief return to the soap after his character Jim McDonald’s stint in prison, with fans taking to Twitter to celebrate his return.
One fan said: “JIM YESSSSSSS WELCOME BACK!,” while another said: “Well Jim McDonald always knows how to make an entrance.”
He also revealed in an interview with Daily Star that he has close off-screen bonds with his fellow McDonald family stars, saying: “My friendships with Bev, Simon, Sarah Lancashire, Eva Pope and Peter Armitage – they are my fondest memories.”
(Image: ITV)
He also recently told The Belfast Telegraph that he wishes Coronation Street co-star Simon Gregson, who is currently in the 2021 series of I’m a Celeb, “all the very best”.
He added: “He’s a darling boy and let’s hope he goes on and wins it.”
Charlie has had a hugely successfully acting career outside of the cobbles too, appearing in The Firm and Titanic: Birth of a Legend, as well as playing gangster Yizzel in the popular BBC sitcom Bread.
He currently lives with his partner Debbie Stanley in Cheshire and also has one daughter called Laura.
Charlie also revealed that in 2018, he suffered a mini stroke while performing in a play, but has since recovered.
Karen McDonald – Suranne Jones
(Image: mirrorpix)
Suranne Jones is one of TV’s most beloved actresses, but she landed her break-out role in Coronation Street as Karen Phillips, who worked at Underworld and later married Steve McDonald.
She played Karen from 1997 to 2004, and from there she hasn’t left our screens, appearing in huge series including Doctor Who, A Touch of Cloth, Scott and Bailey, Doctor Foster and Gentleman Jack.
(Image: Anthony Devlin/Getty Images)
Suranne recently delighted critics and fans with her performance as Amy Silva in the hit BBC series Vigil in 2001.
In real life, she has been married to her husband, the screenwriter and former magazine editor Laurence Akers since 2015, and they have a five year old son.
The couple got together thanks to one of Suranne’s close Coronation Street friends, after they met at the wedding of actress Sally Lindsay in 2013.
Andy McDonald – Nicholas Cochrane
(Image: Granada Television)
Steve isn’t Liz and Jim McDonald’s only son, with Nicholas Cochrane playing Steve’s brother Andy from 1989 to 1997 on the soap.
He has since made two returns to the cobbles, firstly as Steve’s best man at one of his many weddings, and at the remarriage of his parents.
Although he may have stepped away from Coronation Street, he continues to act and has starred in programmes including Heartbeat, Doctors and also in a number of pantomimes across the country.
(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Speaking to The Mirror, Nicholas also hopes that Andy will one day return to the cobbles, saying: “It would be good if the boys got back in touch and Andy ends up back in Weatherfield.”
Outside of acting, he lives with his wife Denise and their two children in Manchester.
Performing seems to run in the family genes too, as his daughter Lucia appeared on The Voice Kids in 2018, singing Alicia Key’s hit song Fallin’.
Becky McDonald – Katherine Kelly
(Image: ITV)
Steve McDonald has been in a number of relationships throughout the years on Coronation Street, including marrying barmaid Becky McDonald.
Katherine Kelly starred as Becky from 2006 to 2012, having previously landed one of her first TV roles in Last of the Summer Wine.
Leaving the soap she released a statement saying: “It’s been one of the hardest decisions of my life. I love Coronation Street and everyone here.
“I have had the most blissful five years. I wouldn’t change one moment of it – but it feels like the time is right to say goodbye to Becky.”
Like her fellow Coronation Street co-stars, Katherine has achieved new levels of fame, starring in programmes including Mr Selfridge and Happy Valley.
(Image: PA)
Outside of acting, Katherine was married to Ryan Clarke from 2013 and they had two children together, but it is reported that they have since separated.
The actress also has royal connections, as she is friends with Mike Tindall, the husband of Zara Tindall after going to the same school as him.
She told You magazine: “He was amazing at rugby and I was good at drama and we were both really dedicated, so there would be nights where we would be out at a club ’til two in the morning with everybody, but we’d be on soft drinks because he’d got a match and I’d got rehearsals the next morning.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
