February 12th 2025.
In 2017, Tony Audenshaw, known for his role as Bob Hope in Emmerdale, experienced a heartbreaking loss when his wife Ruth passed away. She had been battling pancreatic cancer since her diagnosis in 2015. Before her passing, Ruth had expressed a final wish to Tony - that he would run the TCS London Marathon for the charity Pancreatic Cancer UK.
Tony had already completed the marathon 15 times, with his best time being 2 hours, 58 minutes and 49 seconds in 2006. However, after Ruth's diagnosis, he had stopped participating. He explained, "I could have run the next year, but we didn't know what her condition would be like." Her health was the priority, and he didn't want to commit to the intense training while being away from home. After Ruth's passing, he never felt the urge to run again...until now.
The actor has decided to run the marathon once more, this time with the goal of raising money for new diagnostic tests for pancreatic cancer. He shared, "It just felt right. In her final message, Ruth asked if I would run for pancreatic cancer if I ever did the London Marathon again. She even added, 'No pressure, if you don't feel like it' - that was very much her style."
Tony has been portraying Bob Hope on Emmerdale since 2000. His character faced a different kind of grief last year when his on-screen son, Heath, passed away. Bob struggled to come to terms with his son's death and was avoiding the important task of erecting his headstone. This led to tension between him and Cathy, who scolded him for procrastinating.
But Eric, who had also lost a loved one, offered some words of wisdom that helped Bob face his emotions. When he finally arrived at the church, he found comfort in sharing memories of Heath with Cathy. They even found a way to honor his memory by bringing his favorite treats and spending a moment together in their grief.
It was a small ray of light for Bob after a dark and difficult year. As for Tony, he is ready to lace up his running shoes and honor Ruth's memory by running the marathon for a cause close to her heart.
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