Finnian Garbutt, a 28-year-old actor from Bangor, announced on social media on Monday that his skin cancer has progressed rapidly and he is now in the last stages of life. He stars as police constable Ryan Power in the BBC NI police drama Hope Street, filmed in Donaghadee.

Garbutt received a diagnosis of stage three skin cancer four years ago after finding a lump behind his ear in late 2020. He first thought it was an ingrown hair. His barber noted it had grown substantially. He then underwent 12-hour surgery to remove 75 lymph nodes from his face and neck.

Recently, Garbutt experienced pain in his back and hip over the past month. His cancer team admitted him for scans and observations. The scans confirmed the cancer had spread.

Garbutt is a young father and has been married since his diagnosis. He reported buying his own house and filming 30 episodes of the TV show plus a lead movie role during this time. He invited people to contact him for meetings to spend time together.