Sheridan Smith stars as real-life Cancer sufferer Lisa Lynch

Sheridan Smith is to star in a one-off 90-minute BBC One drama, The C Word, an adaptation of Lisa Lynch’s inspiring and candid book about her experience of cancer, based on her popular blog which was launched shortly after her diagnosis in 2008. She later died in 2013, aged 33.

Lisa worked closely with the BBC and writer Nicole Taylor on the script to capture the no-nonsense and witty style of Lisa’s writing and personality. Lisa was also involved in casting Sheridan

Sheridan plays Lisa in this modern love story that begins when she is first diagnosed with breast cancer. Twenty eight years old and newly married to Pete, a man she is crazy about.  She’s right at the start of things, her life going in the right direction and in the order she planned it. Then out of the blue, the life-altering event that changes everything. One minute her life was normal, the next, in an instant, that normality was gone.

From the start, Lisa is determined not to let cancer change her, she’s going to get through this and get her life back, exactly as it was. Through it all, Lisa is someone you want to be with. She’s the heart and definitely the lungs of a tight-knit family. She’s one half of an amazing marriage. She’s a best friend and big sister. She’s an English everywoman of sorts. She’s also a writer, because without ever imagining it or meaning for it to happen, her blog about her experiences has a profound effect on people. Somehow, one woman just being honest, being funny, being everything she was before, but talking about living with cancer, is a watershed. People from across the world, strangers going through the same things as she is, read and comment and tweet and realise they’re not alone.

Sheridan Smith says: “Lisa first contacted me via Twitter, and we quickly became friends.  She called me ‘SS’ and I called her ‘LL’.  Her zest for life was infectious and I was moved and inspired by her courage and bravery.  I couldn’t help but love her.  That’s why I want to tell her story.  For Pete, for her family and for everyone who’s lives are touched by cancer.  I’m so sad that Lisa won’t get to see the finished drama, having been so involved in the development of it.  I’m honoured and humbled that she wanted me to play her on screen, and I hope that I will make her proud.”

Susan Hogg, Executive Producer, BBC Drama Production, says: “One in three of us will receive a cancer diagnosis in our life time – everyone will be touched by it. Sometimes a voice makes itself heard which manages to encapsulate our universal experience. Lisa Lynch is one of those; accessible, irreverent, hilarious voices which can help us to find the energy to cope when it seems impossible. The C Word is a magical love story of a young couple, their families, and life itself.”

The drama is produced by Simon Lewis and executive produced by Susan Hogg from BBC Drama Production.

The C Word will begin filming in May.