Emmerdale’s Bob Hope, Tony Audenshaw, to fulfil wife’s d.y.i.n.g wish

Emmerdale actor Tony Audenshaw will fulfil his wife’s d.y.i.n.g wish by running the TCS London Marathon to raise money to develop a new diagnostic test for pancreatic cancer which could save thousands of lives. Audenshaw, who has played Bob Hope for 25 years, last ran the London Marathon in 2015, but said “it just felt right” to return to support the event’s charity of the year, Pancreatic Cancer UK, on what would have been the couple’s 24th wedding anniversary.

Ruth was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in late 2015 and when she d.i.e.d at the age of 43 in April 2017, she left a message asking him to run for the charity if he ever did the London Marathon again. “She left all her friends and family a card to read after she d.i.e.d, and in it she said ‘if you run London again will you do it for pancreatic cancer?’” he told the PA news agency.

“She also then added something like ‘no pressure, if you don’t fancy it don’t’ – which is very Ruth.”

The actor has run the London Marathon 15 times before – and achieved his personal best of two hours, 58 minutes and 49 seconds there in 2006 – but has not taken part since Ruth’s diagnosis. He said: “I could have got a place the next year but we didn’t know how she was going to be. It just didn’t feel right. I didn’t want to spend all that time training because it is a big commitment when you’re training and being out of the house all the time.

“And then I just never really felt like it again.”

Seven hundred runners have already signed up to fundraise towards Pancreatic Cancer UK’s £2 million target to develop a breath test which could catch the disease earlier and increase the chances of life-saving treatment. Around 10,500 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the UK each year, and more than half of them d.i.e within three months of their diagnosis. Less than 7% live for five years.

The charity said diagnosing the deadliest common cancer in its early stages is a huge challenge for doctors because the symptoms, such as back pain, tummy pain and indigestion, are common to many less serious health conditions. There are currently no early detection tests and four out of five people (80%) are not diagnosed until the cancer has spread, meaning lifesaving treatment is no longer possible.

Only one in 10 (10%) of people with pancreatic cancer have surgery which is the only potential curative treatment but although Ruth had a successful operation at Heidelberg University Hospital in Germany, a post-recovery scan later discovered the cancer had returned. “It was such a body blow. She had been through so much,” Audenshaw told PA.

“We thought she’d at least get a bit longer. It just seemed too cruel.”

The actor, who turned 60 in January, said Ruth “was a really kind, fun, capable person” who started running in her thirties and ran eight marathons – including a personal best of three hours, 53 minutes and 54 seconds at London in 2006 – as well as two ultras of 40 miles and 56 miles.

The couple had met at an aerobics class – where Ruth was at the front and “looked a little bit like Madonna” – and later started dating.

They were together more than 20 years and have two children. “She was brill,” Audenshaw told PA. “A really hard worker, really dedicated. A fabulous partner, great mum, great friend to her mates, a sister and daughter.”

Ruth, who worked as a psychiatric nurse before becoming a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) therapist for the NHS, had always been quite anxious about her health and worried about getting cancer.

The actor said he was not initially concerned when she felt a bit off: “She didn’t feel quite herself. She lost her appetite a little bit. She felt a bit bloated.

“This is the thing with pancreatic cancer, is that the symptoms are quite vague – things like that bloating, losing appetite, losing weight sometimes.”

Her GP referred her for tests but in October 2015 Ruth took herself to hospital with jaundice and an ultrasound scan found something on the head of her pancreas.

A biopsy found an adenocarcinoma – a type of cancer that starts in the glandular tissue of organs – and Ruth was told it was wrapped partially around an artery so surgery would be difficult.

“There was a very bleak prognosis. They said they didn’t even know if chemotherapy would work at the time and it was really grim,” Audenshaw told PA.

“It was just the worst day.”

Ruth was treated at The Christie in Manchester but Audenshaw said the treatment made little difference: “She processed it that she had limited life and she was going to do what she could in that time.

“Luckily she was pretty much pain-free, and pain is one of the symptoms of it for many people, she was lucky in that respect. She could still do stuff, still see friends.

“She went out cycling quite a bit and kept fit doing that.”

Pancreatic Cancer UK was “brilliant” and provided support groups and “tremendously helpful” factual information, he said.

“The whole way through it all she was in contact with the support nurses who were brilliant.”

He added: “We wanted practical information that was helpful, to keep her alive longer, other people who had been through experiences before, how did they cope with it?

“Those support groups were brilliant.”

Audenshaw’s covers band White Van Man and the Emmerdale band played at a fundraising night which raised £14,000 to be shared between Pancreatic Cancer UK and The Christie.

“We wanted to do something while she was still with us so she could enjoy it and her friends could see it and she could be part of it,” he said.

“It was a brilliant night. It was a laugh as well, it wasn’t all miserable.”

The Pancreatic Cancer UK arranged for the couple to visit Imperial College London and some of Ruth’s cancer cells were harvested to be used in research.

“She felt useful, it was a really nice thing to do,” Audenshaw said.

“And it was amazing to see where the money we had raised was going to.”

Although the risk of pancreatic cancer increases with age, younger people also get the disease and the charity said seven in 10 people receive no active treatment – not even chemotherapy – because the disease is found late and so they d.i.e very quickly.

“It’s so hard to spot early on, that’s the thing,” Audenshaw told PA.

“Imagine that, going in and breath test ‘oh you’ve got this but we can go in, we can just zap it with something’. It’s gone.”

Pancreatic Cancer UK said its team of marathon runners are taking the ultimate test to help it to deliver the ultimate test.

The breath test would check for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which would suggest someone should be rapidly referred for scans and could get life-saving treatment if cancer is diagnosed.

Audenshaw added: “It’s been bleak for a long time. This is real progress.

“We’re at the cusp of something here and it needs a bit of shove. It’s been left behind too much, it needs a push.”

He added: “Things haven’t changed really with pancreatic cancer over the last 50 years. There’s been no real difference. And with other charities and other cancers there has been a massive difference and it’s no coincidence that there’s a big difference because they have chucked more money at the research.

“And Ruth did get angry about the fact it was left behind as a condition and as a charity.

“Maybe 10 years down the line they might have been able to do something for her.”

He added: “The charity is trying to raise £2 million this year. There are 700 people running for the charity. It’s just brilliant. The majority of them are doing the actual race and of course there’s the MyWay London Marathon run as well where you can go and run wherever you like on the same day.

“I did the maths earlier and, divided by 700, it’s about £2,857 each we’ve got the raise which is achievable.”

Audenshaw said: “It’s extraordinary that so many of these runners have lost people over the last year.

“The fact that they are taking on the marathon and training with all the stuff that they’ve got going on emotionally and just the practical life stuff of going to work or doing this.

“There are some amazing stories in there and just hats off to everyone in the team who’s doing it. It’s a big commitment and a hell of a challenge.”

People who have a London Marathon place can still sign up to raise money for Pancreatic Cancer UK.

“If we got another 300 people raising £200 each it would make a hell of a difference to that £2 million,” Audenshaw said.

“Even if you are a regular runner or a club runner and you run every year, if you can just set a little target it would really help and might help you further down the line.”

He added: “In the average time that it takes someone to run the London Marathon, which is about four and a half hours, four people will d.i.e of pancreatic cancer in that time.”

Diana Jupp, chief executive of Pancreatic Cancer UK, said: “Tony has been one of our most passionate supporters for years and we are so proud to have him running for us, on what will be one of the most important days ever for pancreatic cancer.

“This devastating disease has been overlooked, underfunded, and left behind for 50 years. Families are often left with only hope to hold on to, but they deserve more than hope.

“Being the official charity partner for the 2025 TCS London Marathon is a unique opportunity to change the story around the deadliest common cancer.

“An early detection test is finally within reach, which could save thousands of lives, and our runners are determined to take us over the finish line.

“With their help, we can put a test into the hands of doctors and give everyone affected by pancreatic cancer more than hope.”

Pancreatic Cancer UK recommends that anyone experiencing one or more of the most common symptoms – back pain, indigestion, tummy pain and weight-loss – for more than four weeks should contact their GP.

Anyone with jaundice (yellowing of the eyes or skin) should immediately go to A&E.