A New Perspective

After treatment for ovarian and breast cancer Chippy, mad Jill is sad and Terri is definitely dangerous to know!

The road back after cancer treatment can be tricky and full of obstacles.

Two middle-aged women and their younger friend seek to regain their zest for life and love by learning to dance at Bad Salsa, the club where everyone knows your name but no-one knows your prognosis!

Depictions of people with cancer on TV and radio too often follow a standard format; there is the diagnosis, the depression the chemo, then the false recovery followed by the tragic death.

Written by Kay Stonham, Bad Salsa tries to paint a picture at once more hopeful and more in line with survival rates, which have improved immensely over the past 20 years.

For many, 'living with cancer' is now their day-to-day challenge. Our characters have finished their treatment and are in the process of finding their way back to normal life or at least finding a "new normal."

Everyday challenges must go on like boring marriages, distracting crushes, troublesome children, difficult workmates and infuriating parents. But their brush with mortality gives them a new perspective.

So do they preserve their pre-cancer status quo, or in Terri's words, to say, "sod it all" and "go for it!"?

Follow the women as they embrace the world of salsa whilst they adjust to life after cancer.

Terry ...... Camille Coduri
Chippy ...... Sharon Rooney
Jill ...... Natasha Little
Marco ...... Doc Brown
Gordon ...... Andrew Obeney
Colin ...... David Cann
Georgie ...... Emily Chase
Tim ...... Matt Houlihan
Sara ...... Antonia Reid
Chippy's Mum ...... Kay Stonham

Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2014.