“It’s about time people got to know who I am. And I’m not Sally.” Coronation Street Actress, Sally Dynevor, spoke to The Big Issue

Today (Monday, 24^th January) Sally Dynevor, Coronation Street actress and Dancing on Ice star, spoke to The Big Issue.

Sally Dynevor, who is best known for playing Sally Webster in Coronation Street, opened up to The Big Issue about her life, family and surviving breast cancer.

The minute Sally started acting, she knew it was her calling: “I hated school and by the time I was 16 I was dying to get out. So, I sat in school thinking about all the things I’d do when I left. I started doing drama classes on Saturday mornings when I was 13. The moment I joined that class, I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”

She added: “I love my job. I’ve been on Coronation Street for 36 years, and I don’t regret a minute of it, I absolutely lucked out. I’ve grown up with everyone here.”

Despite growing up on screen, Sally really struggled with self-confidence: “I’m not a very confident person and that’s held me back a bit. I wish I’d had the inner strength I have now. I was just too frightened. I just wish that when I was younger, instead of fretting and worrying about what the future would hold, I’d just enjoyed it.”

Sally added: “That’s why I’m doing Dancing on Ice, because I decided I need to prove to myself that I’m OK, I’m doing OK. It’s about time people got to know who I am. And I’m not Sally.”

Despite being an awful time, Sally opened up about how her family’s support got her through her struggle with breast cancer: “I was very lucky during that time of having cancer, because my husband is really strong. And he would say, we’re going to make this into a positive time. After chemo, we’re going to go for walks, or we’re going to watch this box set. We’re going to enjoy the time that we have just relaxing and not worrying about anything.”

She added: “I suppose it was the first time that I really took my foot off the pedal and gave myself time to do nothing. Which is actually much more important than doing something. We do need time to find ourselves and come to terms with things in a slow way.”

Sally also spoke about how important her daughters are to her, and the support they gave her whilst she was ill: “There’s another memory. I’d just found out I’d got breast cancer and Harriet was only little, five or six. She was looking at me while my hair was being shaved and she was telling me how beautiful I was and how much she loved me. And I just remember thinking, my god, this is a very special moment.”

She concluded: “If I could go back in my life for one day I’d go back to when my kids were really little. Just to see my two-year-olds laughing their heads off and having them hold me and put their arms around me and just feeling so special because they loved me so much. There are moments I’ll never forget.”

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