Callard: 'I smoke when filming Corrie'

Beverley Callard has claimed that she smokes because of her role in Coronation Street.

The actress, who will exit her role as Rovers Return landlady Liz McDonald this year - admitted that she gives up her habit when she is not filming on the ITV soap.

Asked if she still smokes, Callard told New! magazine: "Sometimes I do. I've not been filming much recently and it's great because I don't really smoke, but then I go back to playing Liz and start again."

The 53-year-old, famed for her exercise DVDs, also confessed that she doesn't stick to a healthy diet.

"I'm not a saint," she said. "I eat chocolate and have a Chinese takeaway every now and again. I also adore Cadbury’s Milk Chocolate Buttons. If I eat one, I have to eat 20. My other big thing is bacon butties."

> Callard "agonised" over Corrie exit