Emmerdale's Tony Audenshaw on his wife Ruth's death from pancreatic cancer. "Grief is not linear. It goes up and down"

EMMERDALE'S TONY AUDENSHAW TALKS ABOUT HIS WIFE RUTH'S DEATH FROM PANCREATIC CANCER

Emmerdale actor Tony Audenshaw opened up about his late wife Ruth's death and raised awareness of the signs of pancreatic cancer.

Ruth died in April 2017, 16-months after being diagnosed with the devastating disease.

Talking about the signs of pancreatic cancer, Tony explained: "The thing is, if you can get in there early [you can beat it].... Symptoms include depression, sudden diabetes, you might get back pain and just not feel good."

"Jaundice can be the obvious symptom, but Ruth's symptoms were she didn't feel so good. It was the time our daughter was going travelling — she might have been anxious about that. She was very fit, healthy and a runner."

"I really miss Ruth — grief is not linear. It goes up and down. I grieve, go to work, keep busy. Let’s have more miserable storylines to cheer me up at work!" Tony, who plays Bob Hope, said.

Tony and Ruth have two children George, 23, and Em, 21, and he talked about how they discussed the disease with them. "We had a policy of being very open and honest. I thought with the diagnosis was so bad, we knew time was of the essence."

"We said things were bad and she hasn't got long to live. She’s young, she’s fit, with luck she might live a bit longer. We had some big conversations throughout the whole experience."

"It’s a very tough conversation. I felt it was the right way to deal with it. I think talking about things are really important. And talking about things after Ruth was gone, and having things written down to remember what her wishes were helps."

Watch the video for the full interview with Tony about Emmerdale and Ruth.