The widow of The Bill actor Ben Roberts says she has been 'overwhelmed' with support for an outdoor space created at the Nottingham hospital where he was a patient for 15 years. Mr Roberts, who was famous for playing Chief Inspector Derek Conway in the long-running ITV drama, died on June 7 aged 70 following years of ongoing complications with his kidneys.
Mr Roberts was therefore a regular patient in the renal unit at Nottingham City Hospital. Mr Roberts developed rheumatoid arthritis in the early 2000s but later experienced symptoms including weight loss and breathlessness, eventually being diagnosed with kidney failure and having a kidney transplant.
He was waiting for a second kidney transplant when he died, with his passing coming just after his first day out following two years of self-isolation during the pandemic. His wife Helen, who herself grew up in Nottingham and was a continuity announcer for Central Television in the city, said the trip out had been to attend an air show.
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She said: "Ben was terrified of catching Covid because he knew it would kill him. The air show was the first time Ben had been out anywhere except into the garden or into the Renal Unit for two years. We had a wonderful day."
It was on the way home from the air show that Mr Roberts began to feel ill and after being taken to City Hospital, he died the following day. Ben and Helen had moved close to Nottingham in 1979 and following his passing, Helen wanted to do something to thank staff at the City Hospital's renal unit.
She therefore launched an appeal to create an outdoor space at the hospital and this appeal saw donations flooding in from around the world, with the garden being officially opened late last year. Helen said: "Ben and I both had such immense gratitude for everything all the staff did for us.
"Ben was adamant that we should do something to thank them for their care and support in the event of his death, which sadly came more suddenly than we had anticipated. [Hospital staff] gave us an extra 13 years together, we had more holidays in France when appointments eased off, and Ben was able to get to know our granddaughter Elsie.
"Hayley Bell was Ben's first nurse, and was special to him. She told me that Ben never, ever complained and he didn't. No matter how ill he felt, he never complained."
Helen and Hayley have kept in touch and it was after Hayley mentioned that a door in the staffroom had been opened up to create access to a courtyard that the idea for Ben's Garden came about. Helen said: "I got donations from all over the world. There were so many small donations from people who’d never met Ben, because The Bill was their favourite programme, or they'd seen him on stage somewhere."
Dr Mark Jesky said: "One of the privileges of being part of a kidney team is that we are able to support people like Mr Roberts and his family through their journey with kidney disease, though both good and more challenging times. We are really grateful for the wonderful outdoor area. It is already getting lots of use from staff members and provides a relaxing space to help support the wellbeing of the kidney team."
Helena added: "Life with Ben was never ever boring – not for one second. He was a very generous soul. He was good fun, and a complex character. As the inscription on his bench in the staff garden says 'He was complicated'. I miss him dreadfully."
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