Coronation Street star Sally Dynevor on embracing life after cancer and upcoming challenges

Sally Dynevor, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, has embraced life more fully since recovery. Photo / Getty Images

Sally Dynevor’s cancer experience has made her embrace life all the more.

The Coronation Street actor was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, but made a full recovery after a lumpectomy and six months of chemotherapy. Her character Sally Webster learned at the same time that she had the disease, and she too has recovered.

Sally’s husband, actor Tim Dynevor, was diagnosed with cancer in 2023 and is now cancer-free. Now the pair are making sure to fill their lives with adventure.

In an interview with the Daily Mirror newspaper, Sally, 62, said: “Going through something like that makes you want to embrace life all the more.

“We’d love to do more travelling. We’re trying really hard to just do lots of lovely things while we can.

“You just don’t know what’s around the corner, do you? That’s why we’ve decided we should do a couple of our bucket list things.

“We all put stuff off and think, ‘It’s too expensive, I’m not going to do that.’

“But we’re in our 60s now and this is the time to be doing these things.”

Sally, who raised $100,000 for Prevent Breast Cancer after trekking to Mt Everest base camp in Nepal in 2019, is now setting her sights on climbing Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, in October with her 28-year-old son Sam, in aid of the charity.

“I am quite nervous about it,” she said. “We’re camping in the middle of nowhere, and it’s very cold when you get up to the top.

“But I’m determined and I’m definitely going to do my very best to get to the summit.

“I know people struggle with altitude sickness, but we’ve got a great guide, and I think it’s important to push yourself out of your comfort zone.

“Life is exciting when you challenge yourself. It’s a big, wide world out there.”

Sally said her cancer diagnosis in 2009 affected Tim, Sam and her daughters, Bridgerton actor Phoebe, 30, and Hattie, 21.

The 2022 Dancing on Ice contestant admitted: “That’s one of the worst things – the impact on families. It affects everyone in your circle.”

She hopes she and Tim will now have good health for the rest of their lives.

“You walk out and you just feel so grateful.

“While it’s been awful, we look at it in a positive way and think, ‘We’ve both been through it now, that’s our blip.’

“Hopefully, now we’ll live long and happy lives, with nothing more happening to us.”