Emmerdale’s Tony Audenshaw has opened up about fulfiling his wife’s dying wish for him to run the TCS London Marathon.
The actor, who plays Bob Hope, lost wife Ruth in 2017 following her diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in 2015.
Ruth had left Tony a message that said if he was to run the London Marathon again, she’d like him to do it for the charity Pancreatic Cancer UK.
Tony has run the marathon 15 times, achieving a personal best time of 2 hours, 58 minutes and 49 seconds back in 2006. However, he stopped taking part after Ruth received her diagnosis.
‘I could have got a place the next year but we didn’t know how she was going to be’, he told PA.
‘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.’
He is now hoping to raise money to help develop new diagnostic tests for pancreatic cancer, which could save lives.
‘It just felt right’, he added, reflecting on his decision to return to the event.
‘She left all her friends and family a card to read after she died, and in it she said, “if you run London again, will you do it for pancreatic cancer?”. She also then added something like, “no pressure, if you don’t fancy it don’t” – which is very Ruth’.
Tony has played Bob Hope since 2000. Recently, the beloved character faced an emotional struggle when he learnt his son’s headstone was ready to be erected.
Heath died at the start of 2024 as a result of the injuries he sustained in a car crash.
Instead of addressing the important moment, Bob chose to bury his head in the sand leading Cathy (Gabrielle Dowling) to lose her temper at his procrastination efforts.
Eric (Chris Chittell) then caught Bob in a vulnerable moment. He shared his own experience of grief, and his words somehow helped bolster Bob.
He and Cathy bonded over the fact that Heath would have been pleased with their choice.
They pulled out a bag of Heath’s favourite treats and settled in to spend a moment together in their grief.
It was a little bit of light for Bob after a very dark year.
