Beverley Callard has reportedly signed up for ITV's I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! All Stars and travelled to South Africa to take part in filming, according to media reports, as documents show a company linked to the actress has gone into voluntary liquidation owing more than £100,000 to HM Revenue & Customs.
The 68-year-old, best known for playing Liz McDonald on Coronation Street from 1985 until 2020, is said by The Sun to be appearing in the All Stars spin-off alongside former co-stars Craig Charles and Helen Flanagan. Other names rumoured to be in the camp include Gemma Collins, Harry Redknapp, Scarlett Moffatt and Sir Mo Farah. A source quoted by The Sun said Callard "is out there now filming and will be trying her best to make it through to the final" and recalled her original appearance in a cold, wet castle in Wales during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Callard previously took part in the main I'm A Celebrity in 2020, when the series was relocated to Wales, and was reported at the time to have been paid about £125,000 for her appearance. Reports that she has returned to the franchise this year come after public filings showed the company she and her husband set up after she left Coronation Street entered voluntary liquidation last year with unpaid tax and VAT liabilities.
According to documents reported by the Daily Mail, JMBJ Limited carried an outstanding HMRC balance of £101,554 when it went into voluntary liquidation. The filings also show director’s loans of about £114,000 that Callard and her husband Jon McEwan had yet to repay, and liquidation costs estimated at £54,369. Liquidators said they carried out an initial review of the company's affairs, made enquiries of the company's accountants and examined bank statements and other records, and found matters meriting further investigation relating to the director's loans.
"As a result, the liquidators have undertaken further reviews. They are making enquiries with the directors in relation to the outstanding balance owed," the liquidators' account of their work states in the documents reported. Media outlets said Daily Mail had contacted Callard's representatives and ITV for comment.
This is not the first time Callard has faced financial difficulties. In 2012 she was declared bankrupt after accruing a tax bill of about £60,000. Commenting then on the toll of her personal circumstances, Callard has previously said her decision to step back from Coronation Street was linked to caring responsibilities and ill health in her family. Earlier in her career she also spoke publicly about a severe breakdown around 2009, a period when she struggled with depression and financial strain that included the failure of a pub she co-owned.
Representatives for Callard and ITV had not publicly confirmed her involvement in the All Stars series at the time media reports emerged. The Sun and the Daily Mail provided the original reporting on the casting and the company liquidation respectively. The format of I'm A Celebrity has previously brought together past contestants and celebrities for special series runs and all-star editions, and ITV has used international locations for some spin-offs.
Callard's reported participation in the All Stars series would mark her return to the franchise five years after her main-series appearance and come amid renewed public scrutiny of her financial affairs due to the liquidation paperwork and the liquidators' enquiries.