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Privacy NoticeCoronation Street’s Vicky Myers has opened up about the concurrent cancer struggle and divorce that preceded her career-high role as DS Lisa Swain. Diagnosed in the same tumultuous year as her separation, Vicky was forced to put her acting aspirations on hold. Financial hardships hit hard, and she resorted to taking on ironing work to make ends meet. She stepped away from the audition circuit, opting instead for office work while caring for her teenage daughter Meghan. She plays DS Lisa Swain on the soap, who popped up on the show over the past three years, but more recently took on a bigger role.
DS Lisa Swain star Vicky Myers has opened up about being diagnosed with skin cancer in the same year as her marriage broke down
(Image: ITV)
She told The Mirror about her diagnosis, 14 years after the ordeal: “I don’t know if it’s my previous medical history, but I am so proud to be here and just to be living each day to the full. “When my husband and I split up, I was quite down, bitter and vengeful, and when I was told I had [cancer], I remember thinking, ‘If this is it for me, I’ve missed out on all this time with my daughter and I haven’t really been the best person that I wanted to be.’ “The diagnosis re-centred me and made me focus on what is really important and what makes me happy. Now, every time I go into work and see the Coronation Street sign, it’s quite overwhelming.”
Vicky Myers plays DS Lisa Swain on Coronation Street
The skin cancer diagnosis was miraculous to some extent, with a doctor chancing upon a suspicious mark on the 48-year-old soap star’s leg while she was accompanying her nephew for a heart condition check-up. “Within five days I was in hospital,” recalled Vicky. “I was wearing three-quarter length combat trousers that day. You can roll them up into shorts, which I did in the car just before the appointment, because it was a really hot June day. “It’s quite incredible to think that if it had been a miserable day the doctor would never have seen the little dark mark on my calf. I definitely had an angel watching over me that day.”
The actress overcame skin cancer and a “bitter” divorce back in 2010
Six months after her scare and reconstructive surgery, the actress could return to her passion of auditioning, but fast-forward to 2013 and the consistent rejection was weighing her down. According to Vicky, when the phone didn’t ring she was forced into making ends meet by doing people’s ironing before snagging a job full of potential at a casting house. Gradually, she built a respectable resume and was eventually taken on by Corrie full-time. Over the years, she made several return appearances on the famed soap, notably in 2007 as a paramedic and again in 2010 as a driver coming to Tyrone Dobbs’s aid following a vehicular mishap.
As for her character DS Swain, she now has a permanent place on Weatherfield
As for her character DS Swain now, she finally has a permanent place in Weatherfield but with a detailed backstory, which includes a daughter. Vicky previously said of her role: “I was contracted to do eight episodes, so this is really quite something. My job at the time was to make sure I got to the truth of this woman as authentically as I possibly could. “If you run away with yourself, then you lose sight of what’s right in front of you. So I was very focused on creating this powerhouse woman. And from there it progressed in such a wonderful way. But this was never expected at all.”
Lisa previously interrogated Daniel Osborne on Corrie
In more recent weeks on the soap, a body has been discovered and a murder probe has begun. Joel Deering has been MIA with the belief that he’s taken his own life after facing court. Earlier this year, it came to light that Joel, portrayed by Calum Lill, was Lauren Bolton’s ‘secret boyfriend’ and was responsible for her vanishing and suspected murder after he was spotted assaulting her with a chair leg. The young girl survived and made her way back to Weatherfield over the summer when Roy Cropper fell sick following his release from jail after being falsely accused of orchestrating Lauren’s disappearance and assumed murder. Upon Lauren’s return, Joel’s partner Dee-Dee Bailey uncovered her fiance’s actions and has since joined forces with DS Lisa Swain to take Joel down after it was unveiled that Lauren wasn’t his only victim
Lisa left Carla Barlow feeling confused after they shared a tender moment a few weeks back
In a shocking turn of events, Craig informs DS Lisa Swain and Kit that they’ve discovered Joel’s body. Kit prepares himself to deliver the news to Dee Dee and Lauren at the hospital, while Lisa shares the news with the punters at the Rovers. Kit returns to the hospital and reveals to Lauren that the post-mortem showed Joel was already dead before he entered the river, indicating a murder investigation is now underway. Later, Kit discloses to Lisa that Joel died from two blows to the head, likely inflicted by a heavy weapon such as a crowbar. Lisa is taken aback when Yasmeen Nazier reveals she kicked Mason Radcliffe out because he had a crowbar, and Betsy becomes curious when her mum warns her to steer clear of Mason. Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVXStory SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnCoronation Street
