Street star Bev Callard got pal to invest £100k in pub.. then shut it.

CORONATION Street star Bev Callard wrecked her best friend's life by persuading her to sink £100,000 savings into a doomed pub just EIGHT WEEKS before calling time on the place.

Then actress Bev - who plays Queen of The Rovers Liz McDonald - told pal Ethna Carlin she could not repay her.

Shocked Ethna revealed: "That money was left me by my mum - it was all I had. And Bev rang me on the first anniversary of her death to tell me I'd lost the lot. She said she could not pay me back because she was BANKRUPT. When I heard the news I burst into tears."

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In fact Bev, 52, was NOT declared bankrupt. And now her one-time buddy is demanding Bev repay her out of her £140,000-a-year Corrie wages.

"Bev's ruined me," said angry Ethna, 45. "I trusted her with my inheritance. She's very persuasive and convinced me that she'd turn the pub around.

"Just weeks later she closed down leaving me with absolutely nothing. . . but she's still coining it in on the telly.

"She should have realised it would be virtually impossible to turn things round. I would never have believed she was capable of doing this to me. We were so close, like two sisters."

The women palled up in 2001 when they were both living in Marbella on Spain's Costa del Sol. Ethna recalled: "One day I saw Bev in the supermarket and asked about her aerobics classes. We clicked straight away and became good friends.

"We were inseparable, enjoying nights out and confiding in each other. We were so close."

When Ethna's marriage ended in January, 2004, she returned to Britain. And a few months later Bev flew back too, to star in a Street spin-off filmed in Blackpool.

It was such a hit ITV bosses offered Leeds-born Bev her old role back as landlady Liz McDonald.

In August 2007, Ethna's mum died leaving her the £100,000.

And in early 2008 Ethna visited Bev and her partner Jon McEwan at their pub The Gallery in Hale, Cheshire. Ethna told us: "One night Bev and Jon asked me if I wanted to invest my money into the pub. They said a contract would be drawn up and I'd receive shares in the business.

"I thought it was a perfect opportunity to start again - a new beginning.

"Bev told me that pub was in trouble but with my cash they could turn it around. I believed her, trusted her and thought she knew what she was doing."

In April Ethna agreed to hand over £20,000 as a first instalment. She said Bev told her that would clear the pub's debts.

Ethna moved into a flat nearby and began working at the pub. But just a few weeks later, while Bev and Jon were away in Spain, the first warning bells sounded.

"The brewery refused to send us any beer because the rent hadn't been paid," said Ethna. "I had to pay £5,000 before they'd budge. When I rang Bev she said she knew nothing about it. I should have realised then it wasn't going to work out."

But on June 16, 2008, trusting Ethna transferred a further £75,000 to the business. And on August 11, beaten by overheads, Bev shut up shop and delivered the bad news to Ethna.

"She told me I wouldn't get any money back as she was bankrupt," said Ethna. "I finally accepted I'd never see my cash again."Then she gives an interview to Woman magazine saying she DIDN'T go bankrupt, she just got landed with a big overdraft. She said, 'We're steadily climbing back up there, slowly but surely.' Well if that's the case where's my money? She's repaying the bank, so why not me?

"I'm told she earns as much as £140,000 a year in Corrie. She could afford to pay me back.

"I'm not expecting a lump sum tomorrow. All I want is a public commitment to pay me back over the long term. That way I can rebuild my life too."

In a statement Bev and partner Jon told the News of the World: "Ethna did invest money into our business, which unfortunately went under causing great losses to many people including ourselves.

"We are working very hard to get back on an even keel and did not declare bankruptcy because we felt that would have been an easy way out.

"We both appreciate the fantastic support we've been given by the people around us. It's times like this that you find out who your friends are."

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