Jim Broadbent visits St Andrew’s Hospice in Lincolnshire

Jim Broadbent recently visited St Andrew’s Hospice in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, where he toured the facilities and met patients, staff, and volunteers. He also ate lunch in the dining room with patients and visited the construction site where new facilities are being built.

He said of the experience,

St Andrew’s is a fantastic place, and I am very impressed. It’s lovely to meet everyone. The work being done here is so important, and it’s heartening to see the significant investment being made in redeveloping facilities. I am looking forward to coming back to see how things will have changed.

St Andrew’s Hospice cares for 1,000 adults and 100 children.  It is Lincolnshire’s only children’s hospice.

Broadbent also shared with hospice staff how his own mother suffered from dementia. She died shortly before Broadbent filmed Iris, in which he played the husband of the title character who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.  He said that the role “involved very little research, as I’d experienced it myself.” He later won an Oscar for the part.

He went on to discuss some of his other roles, including Harry Potter.

Harry Potter was a joy. I thought, ‘this film won’t come around again any time soon,’ and it was magical to be a part of. I spent hours with the tailor for my costume as the character Horace Slughorn. Several were made and all individually designed. It was great.

Broadbent also expressed disappointment that the hospice only receives minimal funding from the government. He said the hospice is “right at the heart of the community” and hopes everyone supports it.

You can check out Jim Broadbent’s other charity work on his cast page!