Actress Sally Dynevor, known for playing Sally Webster on Coronation Street, learned she had breast cancer on the very same day her on-screen character received the same diagnosis. The revelation came in an interview this week, in which Dynevor described how she fainted upon hearing the news from her consultant.
When she came round, she told him: "You've got it all wrong, professor. It's not ME who's got breast cancer – it's my character, Sally, on Coronation Street. She was diagnosed with it this afternoon. I've just filmed the scene." The second half of her statement was true; the first was not.
A Pivotal Scene Filmed Hours Before the Diagnosis
Dynevor recorded her pivotal scene in the soap just hours before visiting her consultant at a Manchester hospital close to the studios. She had asked him not to reveal the results of her real-life blood tests until after filming, because she expected the all-clear and thought good news would affect her performance as the devastated Sally.
Both the actress and her character went on to win their fights against cancer. This week, Dynevor was celebrating the opening of a major new breast screening centre in Manchester.
Funding a New Training Facility
The centre, the National Breast Imaging Academy in Wythenshawe, was funded through a four-year campaign that included Dynevor climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. It will train 50 new specialists every year and carry out up to 13,000 additional breast screenings annually.
The facility is expected to transform prospects for women in the North-West diagnosed with the disease, with Dynevor's efforts playing a part both on and off screen.
