Having played one of Coronation Street’s most beloved characters for more than 30 years, Beverley Callard said she adored being a “hideous, vicious” matriarch in her new comedy series.
The former Liz McDonald stars in three-part Newark, Newark alongside Morgana Robinson and Mathew Horne, playing Pauline, the meddling mother of Maxine, a small-town chip-shop manager going through a divorce even though her ex-husband is trying to win her back.
Callard says she knew she had to be involved the moment she read the scripts.
“When I’m sent a script, more often than not, I think, ‘It’s good, but maybe something better will come along’. When this arrived, I read it and loved it. I sent it to my daughter, Rebecca, and my husband Jon read it. We all said I had to do it.
“The scripts are so good, and it is genuinely funny, which not many supposed comedies are. There are really poignant moments with some real sadness, but more often than not it just makes you laugh out loud. My favourite screen comedy is Schitt’s Creek and I honestly think this is even better.”
Getting the chance to play such an unlikeable character was a dream come true for Callard. “She’s absolutely hideous, and she’s quite vicious,” she continued. “Unfortunately, she’s got no dress sense – I seem to play women who don’t know what nice clothes look like.
“She’s coarse, she’s vulgar, she’s quite cruel at times, but she’s so funny. She does not have a pause button. She doesn’t care who she upsets. She has two grandsons, Rudy and Leslie, one she is besotted with, the other she despises and makes no bones about it.
“I completely fell for her, because it’s a dream to play someone so horrible.
“She believes she’s a moral person and there isn’t a doubt in her mind she never makes a mistake, including her own divorce. She truly believes they are a family of tradition and honour, even though they are so not. Pauline is convinced she’s in charge of everything.”
Despite enjoying a 40-year career, Callard says she has never played anyone quite like Pauline before – and had to make sure she didn’t go too over-the-top.
“That’s why I wanted to play her, because she has hideous make-up and hideous hair. We also decided she would have a Matrix-style leather coat that she never takes off. No matter how many series we make, she’ll always have that coat on as she thinks she is The Matrix.
“I had to be careful because I didn’t want her to be a panto character, but the scripts were so authentic I could do what I wanted with her.”
Newark, Newark, Gold, Mon-Wed, 9pm
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