After 13 years treading the cobbles as Beth Tinker actress Lisa George decided it was time to leave ITV’s soap Coronation Street.

But her reason for quitting the high profile role was more than a desire to further her career – she feared going blind.

Lisa, who is playing the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella at York Grand Opera House this Christmas, says: “I left Corrie to do theatre because of the fear that I may go blind and I wanted to have the experience of going back on stage and back to my roots.

“I feared I would never work in the theatre again because of my vision. I thought it was now or never.

“Having been to the theatre I thought, ‘I might never be able to do that again but really want to see if I can. It was a challenge. It was a big decision but I felt it was the right one because you just don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Since leaving the Street, Lisa has been back on stage and overcome her health problem. She has also been advised that her poor vision is stable and won’t get any worse.

“The condition is a horrible thing to have. You just have to get on with it. You don’t realise I have it until I trip over something,” she says.

Grimsby-born Lisa was speaking at the launch of this year’s pantomime Cinderella at York Grand Opera House from December 6 to January 4.

Leaving Corrie was a wrench after 13 years as Beth Tinker but she doesn’t miss the gruelling schedule of TV soaps. “It was a brilliant job and working with brilliant people. The cast and crew were incredible. I don’t think I will ever get that again,” says Lisa.

“But it’s the volume of work you have to learn in such a short time. Some people are brilliant at it but I had to sit and study it. For 13 years on a Friday night I had to learn my lines for the week ahead. Then, if I needed to, take up the whole weekend learning.”

Back in the real world post-Corrie she learnt that the acting business had changed, not least in regard to auditions. Now actors are auditioned on video rather than in person. Everything is ‘self tape’ she says, a skill that she didn’t learn when starting out in the business.

She’s been offered scripts but “let’s just say they didn’t excite me”. Singing and musical theatre has always been a favourite and she taught singing for eight years. “I’ve always sung but I had more auditions for jobs in TV but my natural gift is for singing,” she says.

“My voice is a bit rusty now because I haven’t been using it. I need to start exercising my voice because it’s not where it should be at the moment as I haven’t been using it. But I know what I need to do.”

What she’d like to do on stage is a good ‘old’ play, explaining: “I like really old kitchen sink dramas by writers like John Osborne, Edward Bond, Jim Cartwright. Where are those plays these days? You don’t see them coming out any more.”

Cinderella: York Grand Opera House, 6 December to 4 January.
Box office atgtickets.com/york