Coronation Street actress Lisa George has revealed that she is at risk of going blind after being diagnosed with a genetic eye condition. The soap star, who plays Beth Sutherland, fears she may never act on stage again.
George has been diagnosed with NAION (non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy), a disorder where blood supply to the optic nerves becomes blocked, causing sudden vision loss. ITV bosses have helped by organising transport, printing scripts in large fonts, and altering scenes to accommodate her sight loss.
In 2016, George suffered an eye injury while gardening when a rope knot struck her right eye. Sight in that eye completely disappeared days later, and she was told the bottom part of her vision would not return. She struggled with reading and received support from Coronation Street with larger script fonts.
A second incident occurred in 2022 with her left eye while driving on the M3. She described it as “very frightening” and spent a week in hospital undergoing tests. Doctors eventually diagnosed NAION and told her that peripheral vision in her left eye was gone, while central vision remained intact.
George realised the severity of her condition while watching a theatre production of Romeo and Juliet. When the stage went dark, she panicked, thinking she could never work on stage again due to her inability to navigate in low light. She said, “The panic and fear set in and I got really upset.”
