Beverley Callard — best known for her long-running portrayal of Liz McDonald on Coronation Street — has revealed that her daughter is currently too frightened to visit their family home following a series of unsettling paranormal events.

In a new episode of the paranormal-reality series Celebrity Help! My House Is Haunted, Beverley and her husband, Jon McEwan, enlisted the help of seasoned ghost-hunting experts to investigate what they believe to be an eerie supernatural presence in their 19th-century converted barn house in Norfolk. According to the couple, multiple mysterious occurrences have taken place: foul odours with no apparent source; unidentified glowing objects moving across rooms; flashes of red lights seen at night — all of which have convinced them something otherworldly may be at work. Their concerns are not limited to their own impressions — their daughter, having also sensed the spiritual activity, has refused to set foot on the property. (Source: Mirror via OK! Magazine)

Beverley was quoted as saying:

“She’s never coming ever again till she knows what it is! She said, ‘Mum that’s it – you come to me from now on.’” (OK! Magazine/Mirror)

She admitted that she herself is too fearful to enter the barn on her own, especially after witnessing objects floating in mid-air. While reviewing CCTV footage from the property, she stated:

“Since that moment I have not been back to the barn at all, and there’s no way I’m going in there now!”

She also expressed a specific dread of encountering a female ghost, stating:

“Please don’t be a grey lady who’s wearing perfume or something because I will faint with fear!”

Paranormal investigator and psychic medium Ian Lawman, however, sensed a strong masculine energy rather than the “perfumed grey lady” Beverley feared. Local historian Jayne Harris dug into the property’s past and found that nearby the barn, a historic village had lost some three-quarters of its population in the Black Death, according to local records and folklore — and villagers had reported “mysterious lights” over the centuries.

During the investigation, the team used a technique known as pendulum dowsing — a form of divination where a suspended pendulum is used to attempt communication with unseen forces. Beverley held the pendulum as questions were asked, and at one point her temperature reportedly spiked while the device responded. Alarmed by her physical reaction — shaking, rattled nerves — the team decided to halt the session early for her safety. (Source: Yahoo News)

Beverley Callard first joined Coronation Street in 1989 and her character Liz McDonald endured a number of high-drama storylines including abuse, kidnapping and affair plots. She left the show in 1998 to focus on family and a career in aerobics, returned in 2003, took a brief break in 2010, and then finally filmed her last appearances in 2020. (Source: Norwich Theatre interview)

Her daughter, Rebecca Callard (who is also an actress and played Ruth Walsh in Coronation Street in 2011) reportedly refuses to visit the barn altogether because of what she senses there. Beverley was previously married to actor Paul Atkinson (Rebecca’s father), then to teacher David Snowden, and has been married to Jon McEwan since 2010. The couple relocated to Norfolk in 2022.

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Additional context and commentary

• Haunted houses and paranormal TV shows have become a popular genre in recent years, with audiences fascinated both by the possibility of ghostly phenomena and the emotional reactions of participants. A recent article noted that even sceptics are drawn in by the “psychological strain” experienced during these investigations — the fear, the unknown, and the slow build of tension. (See article by Yahoo News)

• The technique of pendulum dowsing, while popular in paranormal circles, remains unverified by mainstream science. Skeptics argue it relies on unconscious muscle movements (ideomotor effect) rather than genuine spirit communication — though participants often report intense emotional or physical experiences.

• Historian Jayne Harris’ research into the local area’s past adds a traditional “haunting” hook: a village decimated by the Black Death, long-standing tales of lights in the distance, and a 19th-century barn with history tends to fit the “classic haunted house” design that thrill-seekers and TV producers gravitate towards.

• For Beverley and her family, the experience appears to have become more than a TV stunt — the fact that her daughter refuses to enter the home shows the emotional impact is real for them. The move from their previous property in Salford to a scenic but remote Norfolk location may have added to the isolation and heightened sense of vulnerability.