Coronation Street DS Swain star’s life off-screen – bitter divorce and cancer diagnosis
Coronation Street star Vicky Myers has had a tough time in the past but after a cancer diagnosis and a bitter divorce, the DS Lisa Swain actress is now enjoying her dream life on the cobbles
Coronation Street star Vicky Myers has previously opened up about her harrowing ordeal with cancer following a gruelling divorce.
Diagnosed in the same tumultuous year as her separation, the actress was forced to put her acting ambitions on hold. Financial pressures mounted, leading her to take on ironing gigs to make ends meet.
She stepped away from the relentless audition circuit for two years, opting instead for office work while caring for her teenage daughter Meghan.
Yet, Vicky’s resilience shone through, and she not only boasts a steady gig on Corrie but also finds her character DS Lisa Swain at the centre of this week’s gripping Joel Deering storyline.
Coronation Street star Vicky Myers has had a tough time in the past ( Image: ITV)
However, the road to success wasn’t easy. DS Swain marks her fourth part on the iconic ITV serial drama, but it’s the first that’s seen her become a regular fixture. In an exclusive heart-to-heart with the Mirror, Vicky revealed how she triumphed over her health battles and rocky split, savouring every second of her newfound bliss.
“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,” she said at the time. Reflecting on her personal lows, she shared: “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 has been popping up as the hard-nosed DS Swain for the last three years, delving into the acid attack on Daisy Midgeley and Stephen Reid’s reign of terror. However, soap chiefs have now promoted her to a full-time role, and she’s under the spotlight after nicking Roy on suspicion of murder, following the vanishing of teen Lauren Bolton.
This is a stark contrast from 2010 when her world was flipped upside down, and she found herself a single mother. Just a few months on, medics spotted a dubious mark by chance while she was accompanying her nephew for a medical examination.
“My nephew has a heart condition,” she shared. “As we were about to leave, the doctor asked, ‘Can I have a look at that mark on your leg? ‘ Within five days I was in hospital. I had on 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.”
Medics discovered she had skin cancer and her former partner stepped in to look after their daughter Meghan while she recovered from reconstructive surgery. After half a year, she attempted to return to auditions, but by 2013, worn out by the relentless rejection, she chose to abandon her acting ambition.
Vicky has played DS Swain for three years
“I felt financially, mentally and physically I needed a break just to breathe,” she recalled. “Being an actress was tough. Sometimes the phone didn’t ring, or I wasn’t chosen for a role. It was incredibly stressful and I did whatever it took to pay the bills, even ironing for others. You tell yourself it’s not your time yet, but that doesn’t make things easier when you have children and bills I just couldn’t make it work.”
Vicky found employment in a casting house, observing as others auditioned for parts. “I knew I was going to return,” she said. “Of course, I kept thinking, ‘I need to secure a permanent full-time job’. But I didn’t. Some might label that as stupidity or arrogance, but I would never have been content full-time in an office job.”
In 2016, she landed her big break in the Harlan Coben series The Five, followed by Channel 4’s Ackley Bridge and The Long Shadow. However, her ultimate dream was always to be on Coronation Street. Vicky, hailing from Stockport, Greater Manchester, shares: “In the North, as soon as you mention you’re an actress, people ask, ‘Oh, have you been in Coronation Street? ‘ Now I can proudly say I have. On my first day, I walked down the cobbles and I thought, ‘I recognise you.’ I’ve grown up watching the show, so it feels like home.”
DS Swain marks Vicky’s fourth part on the iconic ITV serial drama ( Image: No credit)
Her ambition was sparked as the daughter of pub landlords in Stockport. After leaving school she worked in telesales and by the age of 20 she was married with a baby. She reminisced: “After that I did all sorts of jobs, I was a cleaner, I worked behind a bar, I was a waitress. But when I was holding my daughter, I thought, ‘Do I ever want to say to her when she’s older, I wish I’d done this…’ You lead by example, so I decided to make this dream become a reality. I picked up a copy of Yellow Pages and found the number of an acting and modelling agency.”
Incredibly, Vicky landed her first role in Corrie, as she disclosed: “I was in scenes with Denise Welch and Phil Middlemiss, who played Natalie and Des Barnes. I was playing a nurse and it was the episode where Des died. Watching Denise, learning the jargon and etiquette, was amazing; money can’t buy that kind of experience.”
DS Swain has become a fan favourite ( Image: ITV)
Her return to the soap was frequentshe popped up again in 2007 as a paramedic and later in 2010 as a driver who assists Tyrone Dobbs after a car crash. Although a steady role proved elusive at first, Vicky never gave up hope, often skipping holidays and nights out to chase her acting ambitions.
With her daughter Meghan now 28 and teaching, Vicky marvels at her path to success. She even chuckles over an incident where her character Swain copped flak: “When Swain arrested Kelly Neelan for the hate crime storyline, I got shouted at in the street for arresting the wrong person,” Vicky laughed.
“It made me realise the enormity of Coronation Street and how viewers are so heavily invested in this iconic show. It’s taken me a while to get here, but it’s literally a dream come ‘true’.”
Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX
