Russell T Davies has shared how he struggled with ‘monstrous anger’ after his husband Andrew Smith died of brain cancer, as he reflected on how the loss has ‘seeped’ into his writing.
The former Doctor Who showrunner shared how he channelled Andrew’s passing into his work on the acclaimed drama It’s A Sin, which focused on the impact of the AIDS pandemic on the LGBTQ+ community in the 1980s.
Russell revealed that Andrew’s death came ‘ridiculously’ young, when he was just 54 years old.
Andrew had battled with brain cancer for seven years before his death in 2018.
Late last year, it was revealed that Russell has begun his first serious relationship since his spouse’s death, and he’s now dating aspiring model Oliver Cole, 27.
Speaking about Andrew’s death, Russell said: ‘I was with my husband for 20 years. He died of brain cancer, and that has to kind of sink in.
Russell T Davies has shared how he struggled with ‘monstrous anger’ after his husband Andrew Smith died of brain cancer
Andrew died in 2018 after battling brain cancer for seven years, with Russell sharing how his grief at the loss ‘seeped’ into his writing on the Channel 4 drama It’s A Sin
‘I think it’s kind of interesting that I then went and wrote It’s A Sin, which is about death and loss and loved ones being taken, struck off this world very unfairly.’
He told Pete Wicks on his Man Made podcast: ‘He was only 54 when he died, so that’s monstrous, that’s just ridiculous.
‘So it must do, literally factually you use it.
‘I’ve written certain death scenes that literally have mimicked things that he’s gone through, but on a deeper level, the loss and the anger and the medicine and the boringness of illness, you know, that all seeps into it somewhere.’
Russell appeared on the podcast to promote his new Channel 4 series Tip Toe, and its release coincided with the news that he would be leaving his role as Who showrunner, after BBC announced plans to put the show out to tender.
Back in November, Oliver shared a hint into his romance with Russell as he was seen frolicking around the iconic Doctor Who set, sparking speculation among the show’s obsessive fans that he could be the next Time Lord.
Oliver captioned the video: ‘27- Another Year Passes. But it’s alright I have a TARDIS x’.
He then reassured fans: ‘Not the new Doctor Promise x’ while Russell also wished Oliver a happy birthday in the comments.
A close friend of the couple told The Daily Mail’s Richard Eden: ‘Oliver has brought a great deal of joy into Russell’s life and they make each other genuinely happy.
‘Despite the age gap, they’re very much on the same wavelength – this relationship feels like one for the long haul.’
Russell and his late husband Andrew had been together for more than 20 years and the screenwriter took two-and-a-half years away from work to care for him during his battle with the terminal illness.
Late last year, it was revealed that Russell has begun his first serious relationship since his spouse’s death, and he’s now dating aspiring model Oliver Cole, 27 (pictured)
‘I was surprised by how many people were surprised that I did that,’ he later reflected.
Russell has often said that, given a time machine, he would travel back to the night he met his late husband.
‘If I had a Tardis, I would go to Canal Street in Manchester and be a bystander in Cruz 101 on April 12, 1998, as I was standing by the railing, and he [Andrew] was standing at another railing with his friend, and we caught eyes,’ he said.
Andrew was diagnosed with a brain tumour back in 2011 when the couple were living in LA.
Given only a three per cent chance of recovery, the pair moved back to Manchester and Russell took two years off work.
Speaking in an interview with the Radio Times back in 2019, six months after his passing, Russell described caring for Andrew as the ‘the greatest work I’ll ever do on this Earth.’
He explained: ‘All the widows warned me that six months was hard, and it is hard. I expected to miss him but we knew he would die one day.
‘We had 13 years before he was ill but it’s hard to remember that at the moment. I’m stuck in the last four weeks of him dying.
‘Little by little, I know it will pass. I knew I would miss loving him, but what I didn’t know I would miss is being loved. That’s quite hard.
‘That’s hideous, actually. No one warns you about that. I didn’t expect that to vanish but it’s just gone.’
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