Liz McDonald
Liz McDonald
Children:
Played by: Beverley
Callard
Appeared: 27 October 1989 - 13 November 1998; 6 October
2000 - 12 January 2001
Liz worked as a barmaid at the Rovers for some
time, and was delighted to be offered her own pub, the Queens, by Newton and
Ridley. She did really well there, and was in her element. At this time, she was
going through a bad patch with Jim and eventually left him, moving into the flat
above the pub. She took up with Des brother Colin, who was also working at the
pub. It always seemed that the relationship meant more to him than her.
Jim found out and came round and hit Colin, getting barred by the
brewery. But Liz went back to him in the end, and they started to make a go of
things, wanting to buy the Rovers. This seemed as if it would really get their
lives together, as till then, they'd always been trying to keep things going.
Unfortunately, they didn't get the Rovers and Jim lost his job at MVB
Motors as well.
Liz got a job at the bookies, because the owner, Sean
Skinner, fancied her. He thought it was a pity the punters couldn't see her legs
when she was working behind the counter. She left there after she and Des were
becoming attracted to each other. It didn't go further than a few kisses, but
they both recognised the danger, and Liz wanted to stay with Jim.
However, Jim didn't believe her story of being sacked because they were
over-staffed, especially when someone else was hired a few weeks later. She
eventually admitted the real reason and Jim flew into one of his rages. They
were still trying to put this together when she revealed another incident on the
way back from Jim's army reunion. This time, she'd slept with one of Jim's
friends, way back in the days when he was in the army and she was left alone for
long periods with just the twins for company. She'd found it too much and had
finally given in to this guy who had been assiduously trying to seduce her for
months.
Jim beat her and abandoned her at the service station. She was
left with nothing, and had to hitch a lift back home. The family were in uproar
with Jim, and Liz went to stay with Deirdre for a few days. Liz went back to the
house and changed the locks. Jim tried to get in to see her and had to be
physically restrained by Curly Watts and Kevin Webster when he started smashing
the back windows of the house. Liz took out a restraining order on Jim, and
called the police when he insisted on speaking to her another time and followed
her into the Rovers.
Everyone else thought she'd been too harsh, as this
time Jim was very rational. From then on, the rest of the family started to feel
a bit more for Jim, having been unanimously against him at the beginning.
No sooner was Jim out of prison than Steve was in. Liz now spends her
time seeing him, and trying to persuade Fiona to see him too.
Liz, now single and on her own, and was working for Sean Skinner in the bookie's shop. She had a flirtation with Sean but it was thwarted by a criminal called Fraser Henderson. He had noticed her when she was visiting Jim in the nick and contacted her when he was released. He had Sean beaten but Liz got involve with him anyway and he gave her a job in a wine bar he owned. Fiona's fiancé, police detective Alan McKenna persuaded Liz to get some inside info on Fraser who skipped town when he found out. But his henchman captured Liz and held her and her sons captive in Number 11. Liz managed to use her stiletto on the thug and the police arrested him.
After Jim had a bad accident on a building site, he became temporarily paralysed and Liz, taking pity on him, moved back in to help take care of him. They grew closer but Liz soon became distracted by Jim's physiotherapist, Michael Wall and started an affair with him. Jim was going to propose and found out, breaking his heart. Liz and Michael left Weatherfield.
Liz returned some years later when Jim was in prison, having confessed to beating Jez Quigley which resulted later in Jez's death. She was no longer with Michael. During this time she and Jim got back together and remarried in the prison chapel. Liz left the street again, following Jim around as he was transferred from one to another prison, getting jobs nearby so she could visit.
We saw nothing of Liz until 2003 when she was living in Blackpool and regretting a fling with her latest boss, the owner of a pub. Jim got wind of her affair and broke out of prison to find her. They nearly escaped to Ireland on a boat but stopped to help Ashley and Claire who were in a boat and having trouble. Back on the dock, Jim was apprehended and sent back to prison. Liz went to Brighton with Bet Lynch.
Liz reappeared again for Steve and Karen's wedding in February 2004. She stayed for awhile, causing trouble because she was spending time with Tracy and her baby granddaughter. She went back to Brighton but returned when Fred hired her to work in the Rovers. Still wearing short skirts, high heels and plunging necklines, she incurred unwanted attention from builder Charlie Stubbs who was seeing pub manager Shelley at the time. Charlie made sure it looked like it was Liz doing the chasing and forced liz out of the pub, both home and job. Liz later got a job at the Weatherfield Arms and flat shared with Maria in the flat over the cab office. She continued to encourage Tracy's attentions to Steve even though Steve wants nothing to do with Tracy.
When Jim's temper got the better of him and had his time in prison extended again, Liz said enough was enough and she's divorcing him.
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