OPINION: Sarah, Duchess of York travelled to Manchester to visit the Corrie cobbles as she became patron of a breast cancer charity – and I went along to meet her

Sarah Ferguson is one of those rarest of people. She is someone who has constantly overcome adversity, been dealt hands of bad luck and spent more than 35 years under the intense, gruelling media spotlight… but she is still standing tall and is readily determined to do good.

As I met the Duchess in Manchester on Wednesday, 9 October – to see her become became patron of the empowering charity Prevent Breast Cancer – her devotion to helping others was absolutely clear. And having interviewed her before and come away with equally warm memories, I can guarantee that what you see is what you get… 100 per cent authenticity.

Fergie was invited to the set by Sally Dynevor, who plays Sally Metcalfe ( 
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PA)

I watched in awe as she chatted, laughed and exchanged heart-wrenching details of her own battle with breast cancer with patients and nurses. The reality is she doesn’t have to continue to use her public profile for the benefit of others, but she does – and does so expertly.

Having been approached by Coronation Street star Sally Dynevor backstage at Loose Women, the Duchess’ reaction to providing the final push of help to secure the future of the National Breast Imaging Academy was guttural: “I have to help”, she recalled as she spoke to me, OK!’s royal reporter, on the day.

“I’m coming to Manchester,” she told Sally. “We’ll get to work and help you raise the last £600,000. Every little bit helps and that’s why everyone doing all this work here is so important. 57,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer every year and I am very proud, and excited, to be part of the National Breast Imaging Academy.”

Fergie chats to Lisa Thomas and Kate Schofield who work at the Nightingale Centre at Wythenshawe Hospital ( 
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The Duchess’ energy and enthusiasm are the first things you notice about her. She’s sharp, she’s witty and thoroughly impressive as she remembers every single person’s name, makes jokes at the drop of a hat and will happily turn her hand to anything… including transforming into a northern landlady pulling a pint of bitter at the Rovers Return, after she travelled to the Coronation Street set.

Having told her I bought along some Jelly Babies (a treat she confessed to having a taste for on her Tea Talks podcast with Sarah Thomson), she had everyone in stitches, myself included, as she jumped out of her car like a Jack in the Box in front of Coronation Street executives and asked for a sweet.

There’s no falseness or hiding behind statements because as she has said herself on so many occasions, kindness is the key to everything. And that’s absolutely how she lives her life, as well as a life standard that she has past on to her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

Sarah, Duchess of York, pours a pint while on a visit to the set of Coronation Street in Manchester ( 
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PA Wire/PA Images)

It’s not just me who witnessed this on the day as I spoke to other charity ambassadors and staff members who spoke about the Duchess’ relatability, her electric sense of humour and were left amazed when she started tidying up after everyone, taking used teacups to the kitchen, before heading off to the next stop.

The visits to Prevent Breast Cancer and Coronation Street came ahead of her landmark 65th birthday on 15 October. Reflecting on how she said that her brush with cancer prompted her to start “fighting for Sarah” and focus on “putting Sarah first”, the Duchess told me how her way of thinking has shifted.

“My mindset going forward is to not be self-full but to be self-love. If you don’t keep your boundaries for yourself, who is going to do it for you? If you don’t keep your authentic truth, who is going to do it for you? We need to have more self-love and have the boundaries to take a moment to ourselves.”