Lisa George has admitted having "a right lump in my throat" as she filmed Beth Tinker's exit from Coronation Street.
In tonight's episode, the character departed the cobbles after 13 years, leaving behind her beloved son Craig (Colson Smith), long-term partner Kirk (Andy Whyment) and grandson Bertie.
Beth's involvement in a dodgy clothing scam saw her cross paths with Craig's bent copper colleague Kit (Jacob Roberts), who eventually forced her out of Weatherfield by threatening to reveal information he had on her son.
"She didn't want to go, she didn't want to leave, but she'd been obviously caught up with the business with Kit, and she thought she had one over on him," said George, who was originally brought in for just two episodes in 2011 before returning as a full cast member.
"She didn't know about Craig telling Kit some of his secrets and she hadn't bargained with Kit realising that if he got something on Craig, it would cancel out what Beth had on him. She didn't have a clue about that. So she thought she'd got the Joker, and then obviously it backfired on her.
"As you know, Craig is her life and she wasn't prepared to see his life ruined. So she felt it was the best thing for her to go, but not tell anyone the truth."
Beth's departure came soon after she had been secretly planning a wedding to Kirk - and her relatively-sudden decision to leave left him confused and heartbroken.
"It was so hard and it was sad," George continued. "I was really sad filming it myself because it was gorgeous, and you see in that scene it was heartbreaking, because it was everything that she wanted. It was awful.
"She broke his heart, and even when she left he was saying 'I'll change, I'll change whatever you want', believing it was his fault.
"I got a right lump in my throat when we filmed it, because it actually felt really real when she said 'you know, you haven't done anything wrong. You don't need to change. You're always perfect to me'. That was really hard. It was really sad."
Coronation Street continues Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on ITV1 and ITVX.
Neil Wilkes
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