Emmerdale star details late wife’s ‘gritty’ cancer battle and his vows to celebrate her legacy

Emmerdale star Tony Audenshaw, who played Bob Hope on Dales for more than 20 years, lost his wife Ruth to pancreatic cancer in April 2017

Emmerdale star Tony Audenshaw detailed his late wife Ruth’s battle with pancreatic cancer before the fundraising trip in her memory.

The soap star, who played Bob Hope on Dales for more than 20 years, lost his wife in April 2017.

The Lancashire-born actor appeared on This Morning on Thursday to raise awareness of the early signs of pancreatic cancer, telling Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield that his wife’s tumor was initially diagnosed. deemed “inoperable”.

While the couple tried to find a doctor who could surgically remove the tumor, unfortunately the cancer had spread to other parts of Ruth’s body.

Sitting on the set of ITV, Tony explains: “Part of the thing when you have surgery is that you can’t have chemotherapy for a short time because chemotherapy obviously kills the good cells as well as the bad cells, so so all stick together, some cells are loose.

“It was pretty devastating, because maybe two months after the operation did we find out it had spread.”

Sitting on the set of This Morning, he explained that he decided to “live life like you’re retired” after Ruth’s death, spurred on by her positive attitude amid her diagnosis. .

Tony said: “Ruth went through her last harsh chemotherapy and there were days when she was really tired and couldn’t do much, but on the days when she felt good, she did. work.

“She meets her friends, she rides because she loves to ride and it’s a case of not always being stuck in the hospital or going on dates, getting out on that bike and feeling wind in the hair. .

“It was amazing, we did a lot of things, we continued to rest and when she was well enough, we did everything.”

Holly replied, “I’m so sorry you lost her in your life. She’s like a wonderful lady, that’s for sure. ”

Tony now spends most of his free time raising money and philanthropic awareness.

He joined the Emmerdale marathon team shortly after starting the programme, supports Blood Cancer UK and has run over 50 marathons.

Holly continued: “You are riding your own bike and taking this London trip. How does the training go? ”

Tony explained that Emmerdale has a fundraising cycle group called ‘Wheelpackers’, instead of Woolpackers, and are training together.

This Morning airs at 10 a.m. weekdays on ITV and ITV Hub.