Coronation Street's Sally Dynevor reveals she couldn't watch Sinead Tinker's death

Sally previously had cancer herself

Author: Emma DoddsPublished 29th Oct 2019

It's not just Coronation Street viewers who have been completely moved by Katie McGlynn's performance as Sinead Tinker on the soap. After Sinead was given a terminal cancer diagnosis, fans have been left absolutely devastated by the storyline - especially when she passed away in last Friday's episode (25th Oct).

Viewers and charities have praised Katie's portrayal, and now Katie's co-star Sally Dynevor, who pays Sally Metcalfe on the show, has revealed that it really struck a chord with her too.

Long-time fans of the show will remember that actress Sally faced cancer herself 10 years ago, being diagnosed in November 2009 with her on-screen character also having the illness at the same time.

Thankfully, Sally was given the all-clear and returned to the soap in July 2010, but she admitted to the Mirror that she couldn't bring herself to watch the devastating scenes as it reminded her too much of her own experience.

She told the publication, "I just can’t watch it. I think they’re doing a ­brilliant job, so brilliant it makes me not want to watch it. Only because it’s self-preservation. I don’t need to keep going there.

"Even now it’s all mixed up in my head. I don’t think I’ve dealt with it about who this has ­happened to. I still do have the fear. I don’t think it ever goes. It stays with you. It does get better but it’s always there at the back of your mind."

Scroll through to see all the Coronation Street spoilers you need to know for next week...

With her marriage to David approaching, Shona is horrified to learn that Gail has taken it upon herself to cancel the wedding, convinced David won't make it out of prison in time.

But with David still behind bars and Josh Tucker refusing to change his statement, a tearful Shona packs away her ring and has the admit the wedding is off.

Elsewhere, wanting to make things right with his brother Nick resolves to persuade Josh to tell the truth, but his plans are scuppered when he bumps into Billy at the hospital.

Back at home, Nick tells Leanne about his run in with Billy, but Leanne thinks that Billy might be just the person to sway things in their favour.

Later on, Shona is caught off guard when she receives a phone call informing her that new evidence means that David could be released.

An emotional Shona explains to Sarah and Gail the good news and says the wedding might soon be back on. Has Billy saved the day?

Elsewhere, Robert assures Vicky that he will soon tell Michelle about the baby - but when? Bumping into Tyler on the street, Robert learns that he and Amy have been growing close.

Back at the Bistro, word has got back to Steve about Amy an Tyler's relationship, and Carla passes on the information to Michelle that Robert grassed up Amy to Steve.

Confronting Robert that afternoon, Michelle is baffled as to why he would have got involved in the teenagers' relationship but Robert is dismissive.

Meanwhile, Michelle is having troubles of her own and, sick of Ray giving her the most menial tasks, eventually loses her temper and tells him to stick his job.

Surprised by Michelle's attitude, Ray considers his next move and arranges to meet Alya at the Rover's for a business meeting.

When Ray tells Alya that the arrangement between him and Michelle didn't work out and would she like to take over, Alya is thrilled.

At the hospital, Steve has reported Ali directly to Dr Gaddas. On the ward. Steve and Tracy invite Emma to stay with them while she recovers fully and she delightedly accepts.

Meanwhile, determined to get to the bottom of Ali's relationship with Maria, Gary secretly hires a private investigator to track his movements.

The PI reports back that Dr Ali has been behaving strangely and missing shifts at work, and on closer investigation, a doctor from his hospital was fired for supplying prescription drugs.

With the PI's help, Gary manages to track down the disgraced doctor, known as Big Farmer, and drags him bound and gagged to the furniture shop.

Gary demands he tell him everything he knows about Dr Ali. Elsewhere, Ryan tells Ali that he should take threats from Gary seriously.

Determined to cover his back, Ali breaks into the empty furniture shop and manages to find Gary's personal ledger, realising he can use it's contents against him.

Ali calls in at the salon flat and is caught off guard to find Gry there already. Ali pulls out the ledger and says Maria will be interested to know about Gary's illicit activities.

Elsewhere, Abi ignores Brian's advice and decides to go on a date with Kevin the night before she's due to sit her maths GCSE.

Walking in on their date at the pub, Sally is unimpressed to realise that Abi is getting drunk with Kevin instead of revising before her big exam.

The next day, and irked Sally corners Abi when she arrives home from the exam and accuses her of only being interested in Kevin since he's come into money.

Furious, Abi ends up dumping a nearby plate of spaghetti all over Sally's head! Sally orders Abi to leave and says she's not welcome to live there anymore.

Meanwhile, Carla has been growing increasingly concerned about Roy's online scrabble addiction and organises a game at the pub with his friends instead.

But when Roy gets wind that the tournament has been staged as a kind of intervention, he's furious with Carla for meddling and storms out.

At a nearby table, Geoff and Yasmeen aren't having a good evening as Geoff accuses her of losing her memory and not listening to anything he says.

Geoff tells Yasmeen that he had been planning on taking her on a surprise trip to Vegas - but since she clearly doesn't trust him, he won't bother now.

Actress Katie has revealed she has had therapy sessions to help her grieve for her character, telling the Sunday Mirror, "I told her I couldn’t understand what was up. The counsellor told me, 'Katie, you are grieving for Sinead'. I hadn’t realised what was happening at the time but it made sense when she said it.

"She said I’d got so good at differentiating myself from Sinead that she had become like a friend to me."

Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7.30pm and 8.30pm on ITV.

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