Rebekah Gibbs, the actress famed for her role as paramedic Nina Farr in the BBC drama Casualty, has died of cancer at the age of 41. Her death came years after she had been given the all-clear, following a battle with an aggressive form of breast cancer.
Career and Diagnosis
Gibbs played Nina Farr in the prime-time Saturday night show for three years, leaving in 2006 to focus on starting a family. Alongside Casualty, she appeared in Starlight Express, A Chorus Line, Grease, and The Bill.
In 2008, just weeks after giving birth to her daughter Gigi, Gibbs was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had first noticed a lump while pregnant, just weeks from her due date. Writing in her Mirror column, she described the fear: "I close my eyes, and I am right back there, in front of the TV, feeling petrified as I desperately run my finger above my baby bump and under my breast, willing the lump to disappear. That crushing fear has stayed with me. It's with me every day."
Cancer-Free and Relapse
Two years after her initial diagnosis, Gibbs celebrated being told she was cancer-free. She said: "I won't get cocky though and I take each day as it comes. I am always a little unsure about the future." In 2013, she and her family marked her five-year cancer-free anniversary.
Tragically, the following year, while on holiday in Devon with Gigi and her husband Ashley Pitman, Gibbs suffered a seizure. She was rushed to hospital and diagnosed with two brain tumours, one in her neck, and a lesion on her lung. She was transferred to The Hospice in the Weald in Kent, where she died surrounded by family.
Tributes
Her husband Ashley said: "Rebekah had wonderful care and felt loved and safe right up until the end, especially with the outstanding nursing staff at the Hospice in the Weald, who were exceptional. I'd like to thank them and her dear, loving friends, from the bottom of my heart for all the love and support we received over the last year. Without which Rebekah and I would not have been able to cope. I'd also like to thank everyone for their kind wishes and messages at this difficult time. My daughter and I take a great deal of comfort from this as we come to terms with life without our Rebekah."
Her Casualty co-star James Redmond, who played John 'Abs' Denham, said: "So sad to hear lovely Rebekah Gibbs has passed away. She lit up every room with her smile and positivity. R.I.P." Her close friend and former Coronation Street actress Hayley Tamaddon also paid tribute, writing: "Sad day. My dear friend passed away today. A true star, always smiling and so positive. Never to be forgotten. So many memories. We will never forget you Becky. Keep twinkling. Wherever you are."
