Page 21 - Woman's Weekly - New Zealand (January 2020)
P. 21
I was getting big, challenging cervical cancer in 2009 and the
storylines left, right and centre. publicity around that tragedy
I went to Coro, and pinched saw an upsurge in the number
myself that I was there, but of women attending routine
the character took a while smear tests. But the impact was
to develop to make her the short-lived and by last year the
quirky girl she became. number of screenings had
“I didn’t feel Sinead was reached an all-time low.
reaching her full potential, and While Sinead’s story played
unless something really bad out, GPs reported that those
happened to her I didn’t think figures started to climb again.
there was anywhere for her to “I was really shocked, touched
go. She was too sweet, her life and humbled by the reaction,”
was very normal and I wasn’t Katie says. “I’m so proud that
sure what to do.” we’ve raised awareness. We
It was during that meeting invested a lot of time in it
Katie was told producers were and the research team was
in the early stages of planning amazing. We wanted to
a cancer plot and asked her to make sure we got it right.”
consider staying on to do it. The intense plot also gave
“I was very open with her Katie’s confidence in her acting
[Kate] about feeling lost and not abilities a boost, after the
knowing if I should still be there. quieter years of playing Sinead
And that’s when she put this allowed self-doubt to creep in.
storyline to me and I thought, “I’ve been so out of practice
‘Well, I can’t leave now.’ for four years, I didn’t know if I
“I said, ‘Yes please, let me could still do the serious scenes.
do it!’ And I said that I wanted It’s given me my confidence
Sinead to die. back again.”
“Selfishly, I wanted a big In some welcome relief after
story but I also wanted it to get such a draining storyline, Katie
women going for their smears, spent the festive period playing
because it felt like the Jade Tinker Bell in panto Peter Pan.
Goody effect had gone.” But she is the latest in a long
Reality star Jade died of line of Coro stars to leave
‘I wanted to get
women going for
their smears
because it felt like
the Jade Goody
effect had gone’
Sinead’s refusal of treatment
for cervical cancer for the
sake of her unborn baby
devastated husband Daniel
(back left, Rob Mallard) and
father-in-law Ken (back right,
William Roache).
