Roger Lloyd-Pack: Celebrating a life
Roger Lloyd-Pack, whose birthday it is today (8 February) died of pancreatic cancer in 2014 and made a huge impact on the disease after his death, through a remarkable supporter-led campaign - Call Everyone Dave Day.
Acting was in Roger’s blood. His father Charles Lloyd-Pack was a familiar face to Hammer Horror fans, having appeared in Dracula, The Revenge of Frankenstein, Quatermass 2 and many more cult favourites. Other members of his family have experienced fame too. His daughter Emily Lloyd is an actor, well known for her role in Wish You Were Here (1987), while his brother Christopher is the birth-father of Sandi Toksvig’s daughter Jesse.
Roger himself appeared in many great TV shows and films, including Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011). His television roles encompassed Doctor Who, a co-starring part in sitcom The Old Guys, and a much-loved character called Owen in The Vicar of Dibley. However, it is fairly certain that he will be remembered most as Trigger, the rather taciturn and sometimes confused road-sweeper from Only Fools and Horses. Which leads us to Roger’s surprising and wonderful legacy…
Call Everyone Dave Day was set up by a Pancreatic Cancer UK supporter Tom Kenning in January 2014 following Roger’s death. Taking inspiration from Trigger’s habit of always getting Rodney’s name wrong, Call Everyone Dave Day saw people came together to raise funds and awareness for our work. It was a great success, and the fundraising initiative ran until 2017 with people coming together across the country on 8 February, Roger’s birthday, to raise money and awareness by changing their name’s to Dave, playing bingo, baking Dave cupcakes and dressing as a fave Dave.
Our community fundraising team is still supporting a few fundraisers for whom Call Everyone Dave Day remains an annual tradition.
For your wonderful performances, and for your amazing role in taking on pancreatic cancer, thank you, Roger. Or should we say… cheers, Dave.