BBC actor Finnian Garbutt, best known for playing PC Ryan Power in the crime drama Hope Street, has died at the age of 28 after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. The star revealed last month that his cancer had progressed rapidly and he was entering the final stages of life, expressing his wish to spend his remaining time with his 18-month-old daughter.
Garbutt was originally diagnosed with stage 3 skin cancer four years ago after finding a lump behind his ear that his barber noticed had grown substantially. He underwent a 12-hour surgery to remove 75 lymph nodes from his face and neck. Despite treatment, the cancer later spread to his neck and, eventually, throughout his body.
In a heartfelt Instagram post, Garbutt shared the devastating update with fans. 'Unfortunately the scans have shown that the cancer has progressed rapidly in my body and I am now entering the last stages of life,' he wrote. He added that he had achieved many life goals since his diagnosis, including starring in 30 episodes of a TV show, buying a house, marrying his best friend, and becoming a father.
Garbutt had previously spoken about coming to terms with dying young. 'I was told I could die; my plastic surgeons had warned me about how ill I could be following surgery. It kept being communicated to me that I was really sick, that I was one step away from being a terminal patient,' he told Belfast Live.
