Former Coronation Street actress Lisa George, known for playing Beth Tinker on the ITV soap, has revealed she had to push doctors to treat her after being taken to hospital. She is now receiving iron infusions after showing anaemia and low iron and haemoglobin levels.
Lisa George's iron infusion update
Taking to Instagram, George shared a candid photo of herself on a drip, telling fans: "Finally having the first of my iron infusions. I have pushed and pushed for this after showing anaemia and low iron and haemoglobin levels. You have to shout the loudest to get anywhere."
The actress had been suffering from low iron reserves, which typically causes tiredness, weakness, breathlessness, pale skin and heart palpitations. She said she had to hassle medics to be taken seriously.
Ongoing health challenges
The news comes after George revealed she was diagnosed with NAION (non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy), a condition that has left her partially blind in one eye and without peripheral vision in her other. She first experienced sight loss in 2016, with a recurrence in 2022.
Explaining her current vision last year, she said: "I feel like my eyes have stabilised at the moment. I can see distances absolutely fine, but I can’t see writing. All writing and numbers are really blurred, so I need glasses for reading, and for driving I have varifocals, so I can see the SatNav."
She added: "I don’t like doing night driving because I have blind spots, but I think that’s also an age thing! If we were filming Corrie scenes on the pavement in the dark, I’d ask to be on the inside of the pavement because I couldn’t see the edge of the kerb."
Career and upcoming projects
George starred as Beth Tinker on Coronation Street from 2011 until 2024. During her time on the cobbles, Beth was a doting mother to PC Craig Tinker (Colson Smith) and eventually married Kirk Sutherland (Andy Whyment), but it all ended in heartbreak when she tried and failed to outsmart corrupt detective Kit Green, and she had to leave her marriage and her son behind. Shortly after she departed the cobbles for good, Craig was killed in the line of duty.
Before landing her signature role, George appeared in small roles on Coronation Street and Emmerdale. She was also seen in Casualty, Holby City and appeared opposite EastEnders star Michelle Collins in an adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson's The Illustrated Mum. In 2020, she took part in Dancing on Ice and finished in fifth place.
This year, she will star in a pantomime version of Jack and the Beanstalk in Blackpool, and also features in the upcoming festive film The Santa Express opposite fellow former Corrie star Victoria Ekanoye and Strictly Come Dancing's Toyah Willcox.
