Elizabeth "Liz" McDonald (also Greenwood and Tomlin) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street.

Liz's storylines have seen her embark on a series of failed romances, including twice marriages to Jim McDonald (Charles Lawson), which became abusive, and Vernon Tomlin (Ian Reddington).

She has also had many feuds, notably with son Steve's (Simon Gregson) wives Karen Philips (Suranne Jones), Becky Granger (Katherine Kelly) and Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford).

Her other feuds include Teresa Bryant (Karen Henthorn), Jenny Bradley (Sally Ann Matthews), Pat Phelan (Connor McIntyre) and Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne).

In 1989, Beverley Callard was cast in the show as matriarch of the new McDonald family, after having previously played the part of June Dewhurst in 1984.

[2] Liz first appeared in October 1989 with her husband, ex-army sergeant[3] Jim McDonald (Charles Lawson), and their twin sons Steve (Simon Gregson) and Andy (Nicholas Cochrane).

Lloyd immediately regrets spending the night with Liz, but he is backed into a corner when she explains to a horrified Steve that they have a future together.

Discussing her departure, Callard said "I've loved every minute of my second stint on the street - it's always a difficult decision to make the leap but I returned for the 40th, so leaving for the 50th feels like perfect timing.

According to The Sun, poignant scenes on the ITV1 soap would see the landlady complete one final shift at her beloved pub before putting on her coat, walking to the door and taking in her surroundings for the last time as she turns off the lights.

Liz instead left after ex-husband Jim (Charles Lawson) staged an armed robbery at Weatherfield's building society;[clarification needed] he does so as part of a desperate attempt to raise funds in order to buy The Rovers.

She agrees to wait for him, but with little keeping her in Weatherfield, and after reminiscing on good and bad times, she decides to leaves the country without telling him or her family.

Recalling the moment, she said: "I was in shock, I felt totally numb," adding: "I’ve been told Liz is going to go with one hell of a bang.

Whether it’s sharing a wicked joke with Eileen, raising an arch eyebrow behind the bar of the Rovers or giving some feckless man the full force of her tongue, Liz is a true Coronation Street icon, and while we wish Bev well when she leaves to take on new challenges mid next year, hopefully Weatherfield hasn't seen the last of Liz!”[18] It was reported that Callard filmed her final scenes in July 2020,[19] but it was later announced that due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television, Callard was unable to film her exit storyline, and her character was instead written out as having gone to Spain.

[20][21] Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Callard commented "I'm due to film my final Corrie scenes in July and I have no idea what will happen.

"[22] On 30 August 2020, Callard announced that she would remain with the soap for another year, and would return sometime in 2021 to film Liz's exit storyline, after she underwent a routine hip operation which led to complications.

I was actually toying with the idea of going back to film an exit, but I felt that they wouldn't be able to do Liz justice under the current Covid restrictions.

"[24] Liz first appears on Coronation Street in October 1989 with her husband, former army sergeant Jim (Charles Lawson), and their two teenage sons, Steve (Simon Gregson) and Andy (Nicholas Cochrane).

Liz makes friends with Deirdre Barlow (Anne Kirkbride), whose daughter Tracy (Dawn Acton) is slightly younger than Steve and Andy.

Fiona Middleton's (Angela Griffin) fiancé, police detective Alan McKenna (Glen Hugill), persuades Liz to get some inside information on Fraser, who leaves town when he discovers this.

They grow closer but Liz soon becomes distracted by Jim's physiotherapist, Michael Wall (Dominic Rickhards) and starts an affair with him.

Jim, who gradually learns to walk again, is planning to propose but throws Liz out after catching her in bed with Michael, and the two agree to a divorce.

Liz finds herself attracted to builder Owen Armstrong (Ian Puleston-Davies), who is new to the area and openly flirts with him across the bar.

She is further stunned when she learns that Becky looted from the corner shop, on the night of the tram crash three months previously, in order to give Kylie more cash.

Jim then suggests that he could buy the pub for Liz, as Steve and Becky decide to leave Weatherfield with Max and Amy.

Liz is astonished when the police suddenly arrive at the pub to tell her that Jim has been caught robbing a bank and now has a number of hostages.

Over the phone, Liz and Jim (from inside the bank) speak, he explains that he never had the money but wanted to buy The Rovers to make her happy.

A frightened Liz convinces Jim to let the hostages go, discard his firearm and surrender to the police officers waiting outside the building.

It transpires that both Steve and Liz have bought back The Rovers from former landlady, Stella Price (Michelle Collins), owning 50% each.

Liz is stunned when she walks into The Rovers and finds Kylie and Tina McIntyre (Michelle Keegan) sharing a catfight in front of the bar.

After throwing both Kylie and Tina out of the pub, Liz discovers that Steve hasn't told his girlfriend Michelle Connor (Kym Marsh) that she was co-owner.