Coronation Street star called meeting over new job over health fears as she says 'I won't be able to see'

Coronation Street star Lisa George has told how she called a meeting with those in charge of her next role over health fears. The actress was seen leaving the ITV soap over the summer after 13 years of playing Beth Tinker.

Prior to her exit scenes as the beloved character, it had already been revealed that the actress was set to join panto this festive season and she'll soon be seen playing Fairy Godmother in Cinderella at the Wyvern Theatre & Swindon Arts Centre.

But Lisa, who was told she had NAION (Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy), which led to sudden and painless vision loss in one eye and impaired peripheral vision in the other, has described her fears around making a comeback to the pantomime stage with her deteriorating eye condition.

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As she prepares to enchant audiences as the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, Lisa recounted how she called a meeting to discuss her specific needs, particularly assistance with coming off stage in the dark. "I just thought, 'I'm never going to be able to do this, I won't be able to see a thing'," she told the Echo.

"I have spoken to the director about it, and he was like, 'You won't be in the dark alone, there will be someone to help you'. That, deep down, was my big fear. It's still a subconscious fear, let's just say that."

Praising her colleagues who have supported her needs, she added, "They're [the team] brilliant, they were like, 'Don't worry at all, there will always be someone there for you'."

Lisa also opened up about the distressing period when her eyesight started to fail. "When my first eye went, I was really depressed, I had my license taken off me," she said. "And, I was really depressed thinking, 'Oh my god I'm not going to be able to drive'."

After dealing with the initial shock and an eye patch that followed three months later, the pain didn't ease. "My right eye was my worst, where I've got more vision damage," she explained. "I was really like, 'Oh my god what's going to happen?' but they were like, 'You can drive with one good eye you'll be fine'."

Now, Lisa has managed to adapt to her new circumstances and is keen to take on as many acting opportunities while she still can.It's not the best, and like I say, hopefully I won't go blind with a bit of luck," she shared optimistically.

"I just wanted to be able to get back to my roots working in the theatre and doing other things and trying to have those opportunities before I may not be able to work as an actress."