Sally Dynevor has opened up about her battle with cancer, and admitted she couldn’t watch Sinead Tinker’s death scenes in Coronation Street.
The 56-year-old actress, who stars as Sally Metcalfe in the ITV soap, has revealed that she found the heartbreaking scenes “bought back all of those emotions”.
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Last month, Sinead lost her battle with cervical cancer in episodes that left fans in tears.
But one person who couldn’t bring herself to watch was star of the ITV soap Sally, who was diagnosed with breast cancer herself 10 years ago.
Speaking to OK! magazine, the actress admitted she hasn’t really dealt with her own cancer battle.
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Sally, who was diagnosed in 2009, has now agreed to climb Mount Everest to mark the 10th anniversary since her diagnosis.
She explained: “I still haven’t come to terms with having breast cancer. I just can’t believe it happened to me.
“It’s mainly the fear. I’ve locked it away and shoved it to the back of my mind, probably for self-preservation.
It brought back all those emotions. I could feel what she was feeling.
“But I’m going to walk up those mountains, getting rid of all those boxed up feelings as I go.”
When asked if she worried about her cancer returning, she replied: “You don’t ever stop thinking about it. That’s why I couldn’t watch Sinead Tinker’s final scenes on Corrie.
“It brought back all those emotions. I could feel what she was feeling.”
The actress, who joined the Weatherfield-based soap in 1986 as Sally Whittaker, went on to say that she still struggles to speak about her diagnosis.
She said: “Yes, 10 years on I still find it hard to talk about it. I try to forget I had breast cancer. After I’d initially spoken about it, I began pushing it away.
“You want to live as you and not be labelled as a cancer patient. But, more recently, I’ve realised I do need to talk about my experience because it helps raise awareness and lets others know they’re not alone.”
In November 2009, Sally was diagnosed with breast cancer the same year her character was, for which she has had chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
She returned to the ITV soap in July 2010 after a six-month break.
This Friday (November 8), Sally’s character antagonises Abi – and regrets it when she ends up with a plateful of spaghetti bolognese over her head.
Sally is seen berating Abi over her lack of commitment to her GCSE maths exam, and proceeds to claim that she’s only developed a romantic interest in Kevin since he came into money. Ouch!
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