A man who documented his journey with incurable cancer has died just days after his friend, Dame Deborah James.
Darren Roberts appeared as a guest on BBC’s You, Me and the Big C podcast, which was hosted by Deborah along with Steve Bland (who replaced his wife Rachael when she died) and Lauren Mahon.
The 54-year-old, who was also known as The Enlightened Arsehole, was first diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2016, which developed into metastatic kidney cancer.
Darren was praised by many for his frank and honest account of the disease, with gifting project Don’t Buy Her Flowers describing him as ‘a source of great comfort and solidarity to many’.
Darren Roberts has died at 54, with a moving tribute paid. Credit: Instagram, @the_enlightened_arsehole
A statement posted on his Instagram page announced that he died yesterday, 4 July, in the early evening, and paid thanks to the staff at The Royal Marsden.
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The statement said: “There is so much I want to write here as Darren was one of life’s greats – a real character and a true gent – but I simply don’t think there is enough space. Everyone that met Dazza fell a little bit in love with him.
“Whilst my time with him was cut short way too soon, I look upon every moment of my 3.5 years with him as the biggest gift. I’m so happy the stars aligned and brought us together – we were soulmates and each other’s ‘one’.”
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It then described Darren’s last craving (which he called his ‘hankerings’).
The post says: “Two days before he passed away he had slept most of the morning and couldn’t speak that clearly. I suddenly heard the faint word ‘Mortadella’ muttered and I realised he wanted a mortadella sandwich.
“The nurses tipped me off about the best Italian deli on the Fulham Road and so off I marched in search of this special sandwich that Sir had requested. Whilst his appetite had really dwindled, he sat in his bed and ate every last bite of that sandwich, washed down with a can of coke. He kept giving me the thumbs up and called it his ‘last supper.’ Which heartbreakingly it was.
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“In honour of my Dazza, I’d like to ask you all to enjoy a mortadella sandwich at some point soon and remember him. If you don’t know what it is and have never tried it – even better – you will thank him!
“He received so much support from you all on here so I’d like to thank you for being there for him. Godspeed my love. 26.07.67 – 04.07.22.”
Steve Bland paid tribute to Darren, writing: “I am going straight away to get a Mortadella sandwich and the rest to toast an extraordinary guy who did so much to help so many people. Rest easy pal. You smashed it.”
He also wrote: “Absolutely gutted. Top man and part of the YouMeBigC family, who took us along through his whole journey. Rest easy pal.”
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Six days ago, when Dame Deborah passed away, Darren simply wrote: “I cannot say anything at the moment – I’m genuinely gutted. #f*ckcancer.”
Featured image: Stand Up 2 Cancer
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Manchester Airport issues update for anyone flying today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has issued an update for anyone catching a flight today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday.
In case you hadn’t heard, hundreds of flights at several major UK airports – including Manchester Airport – were disrupted by a technical fault at air traffic control provider National Air Traffic Services (NATS) yesterday (8 September 2026), with the incident grounding planes and resulting in numerous cancellations.
According to Flightradar24, more than 1,000 flights were cancelled nationwide, and many passengers were told to expect disruption for the rest of the day.
One of the worst-affected airlines was said to be Ryanair, with around 65,000 passengers affected by the cancellations and delays.
Manchester Airport issued its first statement addressing the matter at 3:15pm yesterday, stating: “We are aware of an issue affecting NATS’ air traffic control service at UK airports, which may result in delays to some departing flights from Manchester Airport today.
“Passengers due to travel are advised to check the latest status of their flight with their airline. We will continue to monitor the situation and share further updates as more information becomes available.”
Now, although the issue has been resolved, Manchester Airport has issued further statements informing anyone travelling today what they can expect.
The airport started off by saying that it is ‘operating as normal’ today, but that passengers are advised to ‘check with their airline for the latest information’.
“A full flight schedule is expected to operate [today] but the airport may be busier due to rescheduled flights,” it added.
Passengers were then thanked for their ‘patience and understanding’ over the past 24 hours.
Featured Image – Ivan Shimko (via Unsplash)
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Hundreds of staff at four Greater Manchester hospitals to strike AGAIN next week
Emily Sergeant
Another round of strikes has been called at a handful of major Greater Manchester hospitals.
Amid ongoing disputes following the first set of strikes at the end of last month, it has now been announced that more than 350 Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust (NCA) employees – including nurses, clinical support workers and housekeepers – who are members of the union UNISON will once again walk out for three days next week.
According to the union, the dispute centres on the NCA’s use of an outside agency called NHS Professionals (NHSP) to manage overtime.
When covering staff shortages, workers are entitled to time-and-a-half pay – however in some cases, staff earn less than they would on a normal shift, and some have even been missing out on more than £80 per shift, the union added.
Operating theatre staff were previously on picket lines in June, and although an option to resolve the row was initially tabled by NCA bosses, this has now fallen through.
Hundreds of staff at four of Greater Manchester’s hospitals are set to strike next week / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
This means that staff at Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary, and Fairfield Hospital in Bury are walking out next week on Monday 14, Tuesday 15, and Thursday 17 September.
The union’s North West regional organiser, Kevin Dolan, said the trust had given ‘no indication’ that it’s willing to re-enter negotiations, adding that operating theatre services were ‘chronically under-staffed’ and staff were choosing to work extra shifts to cover shortages.
Ahead of the August strikes, the trust declared a critical incident to help it secure extra support and keep urgent surgery running, while also announcing that some procedures would have to be postponed.
Understandably, some disruption is expected at each of the hospitals on strike days.
But Gertie Nic Philib, who is the chief people and strategy officer at the Northern Care Alliance, said that the trust will do ‘everything we can to minimise the impact on patients’ and ‘maintain high standards of care and quality at all times.’
“We also have contingency plans in place for emergency situations,” they concluded.
Daisy Jackson -
5th July 2022 
