Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, joined some of the cast from Coronation Street and was given a tour of the cobbles as she joined Sally Dynevor, who plays Sally Metcalfe, following a poignant visit
Fergie has revealed she is hoping for a guest spot on Coronation Street after impressing with her pint pour skills in the Rovers.
Sarah, Duchess of York, visited the set of the famous Manchester soap today, where she toured the famous cobbles and even was allowed to pull a pint in the Rovers Return pub. Her surprise visit came after she and Corrie star Sally Dynevor toured the Prevent Breast Cancer charity headquarters in nearby Wythenshawe, Manchester earlier today.
Arriving on the set, the duchess met executive producer of continuing drama Iain MacLeod, the soap’s assistant producer Verity MacLeod, and Matt Cleary, director of production, and said: “I’ve got to bamboozle you three to allow me to do a cameo.”
The 64-year-old, who made a cameo appearance on US sitcom Friends in 1998, showed off her acting skills as she took over the bar of the Rovers Return and pulled a pint of Newton and Ridley.
With advice from Julia Goulding, who plays Shona Platt, Paddy Beaver, who plays Max Turner, and Jacob Roberts, who appears as Kit Green, she poured the pint, but was advised by the actors not to drink it. She even tried out a northern accent, asking Dynevor, who plays Sally Metcalfe: “What will you have, lass?”
The two, who met while filming Loose Women and are now both patrons of the Prevent Breast Cancer charity, paid tribute to the late Queen, who marked the soap’s 60th anniversary with a visit to the set in 2021.
The duchess said: “We ought to drink a pint to my wonderful mother-in-law. She really loved her time here.” After chatting to Dynevor, Prince Andrew’s former wife rang the bell for last orders in the pub, where scenes which will air over Christmas are being filmed.
She also walked down the famous street, where she met Sam Aston, who was filming scenes as character Chesney Winter-Brown. The duchess said: “Coming on the cobbles is quite a huge moment.” Before leaving, Mr MacLeod promised to “get thinking” about a cameo part for her and told her: “The pint was excellent by the way, considering it was the first one.”
Earlier in the day, Sarah, Sally and fellow Coronation Street star Sue Cleaver, who plays Eileen Grimshaw, visited the Nightingale Centre, the base for Prevent Breast Cancer. The charity has launched a public appeal to raise £600,000 for a National Breast Imaging Academy in Manchester – which will train 50 new breast imaging specialists a year.
Fergie underwent a major operation last year after she discovered she had an early form of the breast cancer during a routine mammogram. Months later, she was diagnosed with malignant melanoma skin cancer and was later given the all-clear after treatment. The King and the Princess of Wales have also been undergoing cancer treatment this year.
It comes after Sarah revealed she feared she had been handed a “death sentence” when she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. The 64-year-old – who was married to Prince Andrew and has daughters Princess Beatrice, 36, and Princess Eugenie, 34 – underwent a single mastectomy after being diagnosed with the disease last June and explained that her mind went to the “darkest places” when she initially received the news.
Writing for The Sun newspaper, she said: “When you’re told you have cancer, you can’t help thinking it’s a death sentence. Your mind goes to the darkest places and you wonder what lies ahead and how you are going to share the news with your family.
“That was certainly the case for me last year when a routine mammogram detected breast cancer, something I had always dreaded. I had almost missed the appointment as I couldn’t face a journey into central London on a hot summer’s day and thought I would put it off.”
Last November, Sue announced she had become the patron for Prevent Breast Cancer, and has shared photos on her Instagram of herself undergoing a mammogram whilst encouraging others to check their breasts. Meanwhile Corrie star Sally was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, at the same time as her character was battling the illness on screen.
