Russell T Davies says husband Andrew Smith’s death was his ‘greatest loss’

Russell T Davies has said his husband Andrew Smith’s death from an aggressive brain tumour is his “greatest loss”, while speaking on the On the Marie Curie Couch podcast.

Smith died in September 2018 after eight years of treatment for glioblastoma multiforme. Davies and Smith were together for 20 years and married in 2012.

Davies said he was not at Smith’s first hospital appointment because they believed it would be an “ordinary meeting”.

Recalling the day Smith came home, Davies said: “He said it’s a brain tumour. I said ‘what sort of brain tumour?’ And he just couldn’t remember,” adding: “All he knew is he had another appointment in a week, so I said I would come to that obviously.”

Davies said Smith later found a piece of paper in his bag with the words “glioblastoma multiforme” written down by a nurse. Davies said he looked up the term and only then realised how serious it was.

Grief and caregiving

Davies said Smith did what he called a “remarkable thing” by choosing not to find out his prognosis when first diagnosed. “It was completely to my surprise,” he said, recalling asking a nurse: “I know how bad it is, shouldn’t he know how bad it is?”

Davies said he was told Smith had about 18 months to live, but he lived for eight years.

Elsewhere, Davies reflected on how those later years sit in his memory.

“It’s not that I can’t remember them, it’s just that’s not where my mind goes,” he said, adding: “I would so have wished that to continue.”

He went on to say he “would absolutely take that burden” of his husband’s caregiving on, though described it as “hard work”.

End-of-life care at home

Davies also spoke of the Marie Curie nurses who cared for Smith in his final weeks, describing their presence as like having a “saint visiting the house”.

He recalled holding Smith’s hand when he died at home, with Davies’ sister present. “I’m really glad he was at home,” he said.

Davies, who created Queer as Folk and It’s a Sin and returned as Doctor Who showrunner in 2023, has also recently spoken about the LGBTQ+ community facing “new threats” and his work on Tip Toe and its “horrifyingly violent ending”.

As for his personal life, Davies is dating new boyfriend, Oliver Cole, and they celebrated their first anniversary in July 2026.

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