SHEILA HANCOCK STARS IN "THE ANNIVERSARY" (December 2004) -
Sheila Hancock appeared in the original stage production of Bill Macllwrairh's venomous, sixties comedy The Anniversary as Karen, a women desperate to escape from the clutches of her hateful mother-in law, along with the rest of the family. It was a role she later reprised in the film adaptation opposite that terrifying Grande Dame of the silver screen, Bette Davies.
THE LAST WISH OF DYING MORSE (Feb. 23, 2002) - By Mark Jagasia & Ruth Hilton (article courtesy of Janet) -
INSPECTOR Morse star John Thaw's dying wish was that his wife should put her grief behind her and get on with her own acting career. Sheila Hancock, who turned 69 yesterday, herself battled cancer 13 years ago. She also lost her first husband to the disease. Wanted wife to work on friend of the couple said last night: "Sheila is extremely upset today. The grief is obviously overwhelming now that cancer has claimed John too.
THAW'S FINAL ACCOLADE (April 22, 2002) - By Mark Reynolds, The Daily Mail (article courtesy of Janet) - It was the night when his many fans paid a final tribute to John Thaw. The actor, who died of cancer two months ago, yesterday received a posthumous Bafta award voted for by members of the public. And in a poignant moment his widow Sheila Hancock in front of an audience of stars accepted it at British television's biggest night of the year.
HIS BROODING WAS NOT AN ACT (October 24, 2004) - Charles Spencer reviews The Two of Us by Sheila Hancock (article courtesy of Janet) :
THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE (January 15-21, 2005) - An Interview With Sheila Hancock, from the Daily Express (article courtesy of Janet) -
MORSE AND RUMPOLE GET NEW LEASE ON LIFE (July 16, 2004) - By Tom Leonard, The Daily Telegraph (article courtesy of Janet) - Two of television drama's most memorable creations, Inspector Morse and Rumpole of the Bailey, are to be revived, despite the death of both their main stars, ITV said yesterday.
Inspector Morse is British television's most successful export and continues to attract high ratings even after numerous repeats.
INSPECTOR MORSE REMAKE PLANNED (July 15, 2004) - By Sherna Noah Showbusiness Correspondent PA News (article courtesy of Janet) -
A remake of TV classic Inspector Morse is set to return to the small screen two years after the death of its star, John Thaw.
The series is one of three popular dramas, including Rumpole of the Bailey, and Sharpe, which TV executives want back on screen.
THE LEGEND LIVES ON (October 4, 2004, Western Daily Press, article courtesy of Leila) - Morse Star confronted his alcoholism in the rural retreat where he is still missed.
How a tortured John Thaw conquered his demons in a West Village he called Lucky -
Now, almost forty years later, Hancock returns to the play as the matriarchal Mum, devouring the stage as much as she greedily demolishes her offspring. But, if you're looking for old school Hollywood references, it's Marlene Dietrich that haunts you, not Davis.
With her ginger wig, monocle, immaculate clothes and cabaret like swagger, Hancock's Mum rules the nest like a star showbiz turn who takes as much pleasure in controlling the people around her as she does about putting on a show for her own amusement. In one gloriously shocking moment she kisses her son good night with a long, lingering snog, then turns to his fiance and snaps, "Follow that, if you can!"
Mum pushes the boundaries of acceptable behaviour in a vile game of desperate longing that can only end with disaster. She is a suburban monster; endlessly throwing put downs, bitchy one-liners, caustic vitriol and bravado homilies to her dead husband, whose wedding anniversary the family have gathered to honour. But there's too much of a smug, insincerity about Hancock's performance that keeps the action to a game of wits instead of the more frightening reality of actually meaning the hate that she spews.
There's no doubt that the women have the upper hand. From daughter in-law Karen (who fantasises about knocking down the house or setting it on fire and gleefully asking, "and where's Mum?"), to the newcomer to this charade of happy families, Shirley, who is the only person strong enough to stand her ground and confront the enemy head on, both women are desperately trying to cut the umbilical cords of guilt that ties their men to the family nest.
The male head of the family is Henry, the simple cross dressing son with dark hints of paedophilia. His fetish is treated with an almost kindly acceptance and then finally as a way for Mum to blackmail her sons. But as she carries bundles of lingerie across the stage to burn in the garden, you wonder whether her reaction would be quite so casual, or whether distasteful disdain would have been more appropriate for the character.
Perhaps this is one of the signs that the play has not quite survived as well as it at first appears, for cross dressing is no longer the dirty little secret it once was and can no longer be treated in quite the same way.
Also, at its premiere, The Anniversary would have been a play that spoke volumes about class and social superiority, now it's hard to see quite why the family have put up with their horrid mother for so long.
Director Denis Lawson rightly plays The Anniversary as a period piece, but it's an interesting diversion rather than a play that can speak to a modern audience. So, not quite the happy celebration implied by the title, but it still contains a mesmerising performance by Hancock and just watching her prepare for battle is satisfaction enough.
The Anniversary, by Bill MacIlwraith
The Garrick
Charing Cross Road
London, WC2H 0HH
020 7494 5085
"But I know that John wanted her to go on working. "There has been so much loss in the family because of this awful illness that it has made them determined to keep going. John wanted her to go on and keep at it, as a testament to their refusal to be defeated." The actor died aged 60 of cancer of the oesophagus at his Wiltshire home on Thursday afternoon. By his side were his wife of 29 years and their three children - Melanie Jane, Sheila's daughter from her first marriage, Abigail, from Thaw's first marriage, and Joanne.
Sheila is set to film another series of the BBC1 mini-soap Bedtime in April but had not committed herself to any other work because of the demands of her husband's illness.
Friends said that although they knew how serious his condition was, she had not expected it to overcome him so quickly. Actress Denise Gold, wife of director Jack Gold who had been a close confidant of Thaw for more than 40 years, last night called for him to be given a posthumous knighthood.
"If any television actor deserved a knighthood then John Thaw deserved one," she said. Similar suggestions were made after the death of Beatle George Harrison, also from cancer, but Downing Street said it had no plans to change the rules, which say only servicemen can be given posthumous honours.
Waterman also spoke of his regret that he had not seen more of Thaw before his death. "We hadn't seen each other for a while. You know what it's like when you catch up with a good friend and say, 'We must keep in touch and we must go out for a drink', but it never happens.
"But John was happiest with his family. His kids will be devastated. He was a very dedicated family man and an extremely good father. Not only that but it goes without saying he was a remarkable actor, a really nice bloke and a super friend."
Actor Kevin Whately, who starred alongside Thaw for 13 years as sidekick Sergeant Lewis in Inspector Morse, said: "John's death will leave a hole in millions of lives. I have lost a great pal and mentor. The country has lost quite simply its finest screen actor, but my thoughts are with Sheila and the girls, who have lost a dear husband and dad."
Thaw was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus last June. Sheila had recovered from her own brush with death in 1989 when she discovered she had breast cancer but the treatment was successful. Colin Dexter, who wrote the Morse books, said the actor's death was "a huge sadness". The two men had made 33 episodes of the TV series together.
"He was very brave and very optimistic and very hopeful about the future, although I think everybody knew this was an awfully serious form of Cancer," he said.
As a tribute to Thaw, ITV1 last night changed the scheduled episode of inspector Morse and replaced it with Who Killed Harry Field? Made in 1991. Plans are also being discussed for a tribute in coming months. The actor wil be creamated ina quiet ceremony near his home in Luckington, near Malmesbury.
Additional reporting by Caroline Virr, Nick Fagge and Jane Clinton.
Thaw won the Lew Grade Audience Award, chosen by Radio Times readers and listeners to BBC Radio 2, for the ITV drama Buried Treasure. The role was to be the 60-year-old star's last before he fell victim to cancer of the oesophagus. Last night Miss Hancock accepted the award from Thaw's Inspector Morse co-star Kevin Whately.
She tearfully told the Bafta audience at London's Drury Lane Theatre: 'I'd like to thank you all on behalf of John and I'm happy - no I'm not happy, I'm proud - to do that.' The actress, who was married to Thaw for 29 years, added: 'I want to thank the production team for making a really daring and beautiful film.
'It's very fitting that the last award that John will ever get, and he got a lot, should be one that is voted for by the audience. 'John was hugely, hugely proud of his respect within the industry. 'And he liked it when the critics gave him a good review, but if they didn't he always used to say to me, "It's only the audience that matters kid, without them we are nothing".
'He would have been absolutely overwhelmed and moved beyond belief at the great wave of love that has come towards my daughters and I since his death. 'It seems to have really made people very sad indeed.'
Last year Thaw was awarded a Bafta fellowship, the screen body's highest honour, and had also been recognised for Inspector Morse and Goodnight Mr Tom. Last night Miss Hancock - who was accompanied to the ceremony by daughters Melanie and Joanna - was a nominee for the best actress award for her role in Russian Bride but narrowly missed out to Julie Walters in My Beautiful Son.
When the actor John Thaw died in February 2002, Britain lost one of its best-loved actors, and one whose performance as Inspector Morse saw television acting raised to the level of greatness. For the actress Sheila Hancock it meant the loss of a husband whose life she had shared, through good times and bad, for more than 25 years. She was nine years older than Thaw and, when they first met, much more famous than he was.
This at times painfully personal double biography is an account of their lives, their careers and their marriage, as well as a moving meditation on the devastation of bereavement. There are passages when Hancock writes with such rawness, such nakedness, that one feels almost embarrassed to be reading her. Should she really be laying herself bare before the public like this?
But the tenderness and unflinching frankness with which Hancock describes her relationship with her husband, and the aching sense of loss and pain she experienced after his death will, I suspect, offer great comfort to any readers attempting to cope with bereavement themselves.
The book is constructed with considerable skill. In alternate chapters it describes the lives of Hancock and Thaw before they met, and then their lives together, a marriage blighted for long periods by Thaw's alcoholism. But the biography is also interspersed with extracts from the diary Hancock kept, describing their idyllically happy final weeks together before her husband's diagnosis with cancer, the long, often harrowing months of his treatment, and the desperately lonely aftermath of his death.
Hancock was brought up by loving, lower-middle class parents, and seems to be blessed with a natural resilience of character and a fervent appetite for life. Thaw, as you might imagine from his television performances, was a much darker personality. His mother abandoned him when he was seven and his younger brother five to go off with another man. His father Jack gained custody of his children, but he was often away working as a long-distance lorry-driver.
Relatives and neighbours rallied round, but the boys often spent nights alone together in their council estate home in Burnage, Manchester and had to fend for themselves. Not surprisingly, they were reluctant to talk about this family shame and young John's teachers only got to hear of his mother's desertion when he arrived at school clutching a dirty hankie to a bad cut on his hand. When questioned he explained he had done it opening a can of beans for his and his brother's breakfast.
You don't have to travel very far from this childhood trauma to understand where Thaw found that haunted sense of private pain that made his performances as Morse so compelling - and the man who played him so difficult to live with.
Hancock was still married, and Thaw divorced, when they first met working on a West End comedy together. "I'm afraid I've fallen in love with you, it's a nuisance," he told her at the end of the run, but Hancock felt she must stay with her husband. It was only when he died from the same cancer of the oesophagus that later killed Thaw that they finally came together.
Their marriage was passionate, and you get the feeling that Hancock did all she could to lighten Thaw's darkness. But his drinking drove a wedge between them, and when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she moved out, unable to cope with his brooding silences, increasing isolation, occasional cruelties and general inability to cope. Like many alcoholics, Thaw managed to keep working. It was his wife and children, not his acting, that suffered. Only in 1995 did he finally achieve sobriety.
Readers may occasionally be distracted by Hancock's somewhat glib and chippy left-wing views on political issues (her book contains a good deal of social history, from the Thirties to the present day), and her occasional embarrassing flights into over-the-top luvviespeak. But such lapses are a small price to play for a book of exceptional emotional candour.
To hear a 14-minute audio interview with Sheila discussing the book and her life with John, CICK HERE. You will need windows media or real player to hear the interview.
"It wasn't my intention but I'm grateful the book is helping people."
"I'll perform in two shows of The Anniversary on Saturdays. It can be pretty tiring, so after the matinee, I'll take a rest, very often on the dressing room floor - there's nowhere else to nap! "I also like to relax by listening to the radio. Jonathan Ross gave me one on his show so I could listen to his Radio 2 programme, but I must admit - I haven't figured out how to work it!
"If my fellow cast members don't have anything better to do after the evening show, we'll head for The Ivy or J Sheekey - we're playing just down the road at The Garrick.
"Sunday is the only day off for theatre actors. I love the Sunday papers and it takes me all week to trawl through them. Sometimes I will go on 'Breakfast with Frost' in the morning to analyse the week's news. I also enjoy catching up with the reviews, but I don't read my own.
"I have so much fun with my five grandchildren. Our family home is in Wiltshire, but I don't go there very much now John isn't here. But if they're around, it's lovely spending a Sunday lazing around with my three daughters and grandchildren. We'll cook a Sunday roast there or if we are in London, we'll eat at 'The Brackenbury' near my house. It's a first-class cafe. "I cherish my Sunday nights as they're the only time I get to watch TV I take the paper and tick off viewing for the evening, which is quite sad. I get sick of people saying that there's nothing good on!"
Sheila Hancock, 71, found fame in the 60s and went on to have her own shows, Simply Sheila and the 1972 BBC series But Seriously, It's Sheila Hancock, guest starring Dudley Moore and Anthony Hopkins.
Next month she will star in a new series of Grumpy Old Women, and from this week appears in The Anniversary, a West End play based on the 1968 film in which she starred with Bette Davis.
Sheila was married to Inspector Morse star John Thaw, who died in 2002, and has since written her bestselling memoirs, 'The Two Of Us: My Life With John Thaw'.
She has homes in west London and Wiltshire, and has two daughters, Melanie, 39, from her first marriage to actor Alec Ross, and Joanna, 30, with John, and a stepdaughter, Abigail, 40. I'm grateful John's biography is helping people "I don't go anywhere near central London on a Friday night as people are reeling around drunk and the traffic is a nightmare. Saying that, if there's a good classical concert on, I will go to the end of the earth to hear a composer.
"I'm up by 7am on a Saturday morning. Because of the biography I wrote about John, I am receiving a lot of letters from people who have lost their husbands, or have partners who are alcoholics. Many are distressed and need someone to talk to, so I like to answer them promptly.
It started in 1987 and finished after 33 episodes in November 2000 with the irascible Oxford detective's death from a heart attack.
The problem of reviving the drama is compounded by the death of John Thaw, the actor who played Morse, and the fact that ITV has already filmed all the books by Colin Dexter.
However, the broadcaster is planning a new two-part episode with the spotlight instead falling on Morse's long-suffering assistant, Sgt Lewis, played once more by Kevin Whately.
ITV, which is drawing on its old successes in an attempt to challenge BBC1 in the ratings battle, adopted the same tactic to ensure the continuation of its Scottish detective series Taggart after the death of its star, Mark McManus.
As Leo McKern has died, Rumpole this time is almost certain to be played by Albert Finney.
ITV is also in talks with Sean Bean about resurrecting a third of its old drama staples, the adventures of the Napoleonic war hero Richard Sharpe of the 95th Rifles. Nick Elliott, the head of ITV drama, said that with the death two and a half years ago of Thaw from cancer, it now seemed an "appropriate" time to revive Inspector Morse.
"Kevin will be Lewis, getting on with his life after his friend's death," he said.
Thaw's widow, Sheila Hancock, and Dexter have both given their blessing to the new show, said Mr Elliott. "Time has now passed (since Thaw's death) and it's appropriate and everyone's very happy about doing it," he said.
The two episodes will be written, with Dexter's blessing, by Russell Lewis, who worked on previous episodes.
Lewis will also write the new Rumpole series, basing it on three short stories by the barrister's creator, Sir John Mortimer.
Leo McKern, who played Rumpole, died two years, aged 82.
However, Mortimer never killed off his character so, this time played by Finney, ITV can bring him back to the Bar from a nursing home.
If it goes ahead, the new Sharpe drama - based on a story originally written for television - will be shot in India.
Mr Elliott said he planned to make further dramas for Rumpole, Sharpe and Lewis, if the new productions were successful.
ITV is planning a new two-part series of Inspector Morse, centred around the grouchy inspector's sidekick Sergeant Lewis, played by actor Kevin Whately.
Thaw's widow Sheila Hancock and Colin Dexter, the writer behind the Morse books, have both given their blessing to the new show.
Head of ITV drama Nick Elliott said today: "Kevin will be Lewis, getting on with his life after his friend's death.
Time has now passed (since Thaw's death) and it's appropriate and everyone's very happy about doing it."
All the Inspector Morse books have already been filmed, and it is not yet decided whether Colin Dexter will write the new script.
ITV is planning two-hour dramas for Rumpole, Sharpe and Lewis, with more to follow if they are successful.
Big Fish star Albert Finney has been approached about taking on the role of the cantankerous barrister Rumpole.
ITV is also in discussion with Sharpe star Sean Bean about a new adventure featuring the Napoleonic war hero.
Set in Oxfordshire, Inspector Morse was Thaw's most popular and long-running project, established him as British television's most bankable actor.
The original series of Inspector Morse was launched in 1987 and Thaw's final appearance was made in The Remorseful Day, in November 2000.
Thaw died two-and-a-half years ago, at the age of 60, from cancer.
Actress Sheila Hancock’s emotional account of her life with John Thaw reveals the passion that one of Britain’s greatest TV actors had a secret corner of the West. And as Tristan Cork discovered, they still miss him in idyllic Luckington.
He was the nation’s favourite and most famous actor who needed a sanctuary away from his fans.
So when John Thaw arrived in a West Village 12 years ago, a love affair began which endures today, despite his untimely death.
They are still grieving, although there are no black ribbons on the road signs or flags at half-mast.
For like the man himself, the relationship between the people of Luckington and their famous resident is intensely private.
More than two years ago after his death, the loss of John Thaw is still felt in this close-knit rural community. And as his wife Sheila Hancock’s powerful and emotional account of their life is gaining plaudits for its honesty this week, the people who knew him best in this pretty corner of North Wiltshire are smiling quietly to themselves.
Although the nation is still feeling the loss of arguably the greatest TV actor Britain has produced, Luckington is still grieving over a neighbour, friend, and local characters.
Everyone here has their memories of John Thaw that have nothing to do with Inspector Morse, The Sweeney, or Kavanagh QC. But there’s still a fierce sense of loyalty to the man, his memory and the family he left behind.
It is a loyalty born from respect and mutual admiration. Villagers admired his work and respected his passionate desire for privacy. He admired their picture postcard village and respected the community. Soon he became part of it.
The Publication of Sheila’s account of their life, his death and her grieving process, The Two Of Us – My Life With John Thaw describes how John was at his happiest in the place he christened “Lucky.”
As soon as he arrived in 1992, at a time when, as Sheila’s book frankly acknowledges, their marriage was in trouble, Luckington provided Thaw with a refuge. She described how they chose Luckington initially as a way to solve their marriage problems.
“The house by the river in Chiswick became associated with miserable silences and fierce rows. OK change it. How about a house in the country. We acquired a Cotswold stone house by a stream with a field attached in Luckington, which became known, rather optimistically, as Lucky. That didn’t work.”
In fact, it wasn’t until John confronted his alcoholism at Luckington, five years later, that the couple’s partnership was rebuilt intact.
Sheila added. “Richard Eyre and his wife Sue Birtwhistle came round to Luckington for Christmas drinks. John tired to pour champagne but his hand was shaking so much it went all over the table. We all sat and watched, making no attempt to cover for him. After a dreadful Christmas, the family and I left him on his own and went back to London.
He made it clear he could not bear us around. Before I left, I told him, if he wanted help I had something to suggest. It was the worst few weeks of my life. Eventually he did phone. Jo [their daughter] and I drove down immediately. We were shocked by appearance.”
A year later, the new sober John celebrated his silver wedding with Sheila. She commissioned sculptors and artists to make various garden seats for his favourite spots in Luckington. The inscription on one bench, by the stream in their garden, written after his death, reads “the two John Thaws loved it here.”
For a man who disliked fame, constant attention and the pressure of being recognised everywhere he went, Lucky was an escape. Here he’d be recognised as the chap who liked down the road first and the chap off the telly a distant second. Locals had quickly got used to him – his cheery wave from his soft top vintage sports car as it sped down the lanes on the way to another of the couple’s favourites picnic spots.
And they protected his desire for privacy. Any hapless Fleet Street paparazzo wandering into the local pub – strangely titled The Old Ship although the sea is 50 miles away – would be directed to the other side of Malmesbury to find his house. In the village shop they would feign ignorance and then call to warn him.
Even now, with Sheila remaining in the village, the loyalty is still fierce. One prominent local didn’t want to be named, but was emotional in tailing about the couple.
He said, “He was a good friend. He kept himself to himself because coming here was an escape for him. He loved it and did get involved in the community, but in an understated quite way.
“He did support the school and such and it wasn’t like he blanked everyone, but when he’d go out everyone wanted a piece of him, so I think it was a relief to him to come here and not have that.
He was very, very gentle man and very shy but loving, generous and caring. We miss him terribly and we still do even after two years or more. He wanted to keep the exact location of his house secret, and everyone understood that. It was difficult for both he and Sheila when people think they own him. But what he loved about Luckington was the fact he could sit in his garden and read and hopefully not be bothered.”
Thaw’s most famous role, of many hits, was Inspector Morse. And Morse's boss in the series, Supt. Strange, was played by veteran actor James Grout – a virtual neighbour.
James, who has lived in Luckington’s nearest town, Malmesbury, for decades, became a fiend through the years of scenes of looking strained behind his desk as the maverick Morse embarked on another unconventional investigation. “We were very close through work but even though we lived just a few miles apart, he always maintained his privacy,” James remembers.
“He’d sometimes call me up and ask me if a particular shop in Malmesbury was any good. I remember once he asked me what the carpet shop was like in the High Street. I said it was fine, and I think they did rather well of him. he’d do a lot of his shopping in the town and he liked it because he didn’t tend to get the autograph hunters there. People would say ‘hello’ but that was about it.
“He was a lively man. I went over for drinks a few times at Luckington, but he wasn’t some great social party person. I think he viewed Luckington as a place he could go to get away from all that.
He did go out – he wasn’t quite a recluse. But these very famous people are under pressure. You don’t realise how much until you go out with them – first you have the waiters, then the head waiter, and then the other diners. It does rather spoil the meal.
“But he was a complete workaholic and didn’t spend that much time down here. Maybe that’s why escaping here was so special to him. He loved it, but Sheila is a city girl at heart and never completely fell in love with the countryside, although she loves the village and the house.” In the pubs and restaurants around this south Cotswold idyll, they are used to famous faces, according to another villager who worked in several pubs in the area.
“Waiters and most crucially, other dinners are far from star-struck. When John and Sheila went out to a village pub for a meal, it was a quite affair and no-one got too excited.
Bear in mind that while they might be in the restaurant part, Princes Harry and William might have been boozing in the bar. They had recognition, but this is the sort of area where people know these famous faces have come here to escape from that.”
JOHN THAW'S DAUGHTER ON WHAT SHE REALLY THINKS OF HER STEPMOTHER'S BOOK (January 19, 2005, Daily Mail, by Lester Middlehurst, article and photos courtesy of Leila) -
"I’m embarrassed that Sheila told the world about Dad’s alcoholism. I know it’s not the whole truth."
When Abigail Thaw encouraged Sheila Hancock to write a ‘warts and all’ book about her late father, John Thaw, little did she realise just how honest her stepmother was going to be or how many people would read it.
The result – The Two of Us – was published just before Christmas after being serialised in the Mail, and became an instant bestseller.
It is a deeply moving tribute to the talented actor, who died three years ago, just after his 60th birthday. But it also showed a side to Thaw that his fans had never seen.
With unsparing honesty, Sheila wrote about his severally depressive moods and alcoholism, which put a blight on their marriage and family life until he gave up drinking in 1995.
“Where he had once been funnily cynical,” she wrote. “he became, at times, viciously cruel, not only to myself, but to our daughters, who came to resent and fear him.”
Even now, Abigail – Thaw’s 38 year old actress daughter from his first marriage to feminist historian Sally Alexander – still winces at her stepmother’s candour.
“Don’t get me wrong. She wrote what she needed to write. But I do find it quite strange to think that so many people now know so much about our family. Maybe Sheila did take that ‘warts and all’ thing a little bit too far.”
She has since told me that when she wrote it she didn’t realise that people were actually going to read it. She then read it again and felt very embarrassed about it, which is how I feel about it too.”
During the actor’s worst alcoholic times, Sheila recalls an occasion when she and John were apart and Abigail had gone to visit her father.
Finding him desperately depressed, in an attempt to cheer him up, she took him to the local pub, where he vomited violently and she had to get her mother, Sally, to come round and help.
They called a doctor, who told Thaw his life would be threatened if he didn’t give up drinking.
“There is a part of me that thinks those are my memories, which I want to keep private,” Says Abigail.
“And memory is also subjective. I have certain memories of the way things were which are different to Sheila’s memories. I read certain bits of the book and thought: “Was it really like that?”
“Unfortunately in our business, with Dad’s generation of men, drinking was a social thing that got out of hand.
Alcoholics can be deeply entertaining, charming and sensitive souls but it is also a disease which can be very frightening. If, by writing what she has, Sheila has helped people then that’s great.”
Then she adds, tantalisingly “But, it’s not the whole truth. There is a lot she has decided not to say which is still private to us.” Abigail’s parents separated when she was just two years old and a year later, her mother re-married, to a man she is no longer with.
The divorce was, initially, acrimonious but over the years the wounds were healed and Abigail found herself with an extended family life that she recalls fondly.
She has a half brother from her mother’s second marriage and a half sister, Joanna, from her father’s second marriage.
She also regards Sheila’s daughter, Melanie, from her first marriage, as her sister. “I can honestly say I have been so lucky. Maybe I have blocked out all sorts of horrendous things, but my memories as a child are all lovely.”
Nonetheless, Abigail admits that her dysfunctional background has probably affected her attitude towards marriage.
Although she has been with her partner, Nigel Whitmey, since they meet at drama school 16 years ago and has two daughters – seven year old Molly Mae and 18 month old Talia – they are not married.
“I made a conscious decision not to get married at the beginning of our relationship. I was terrified of marriage not working because I had seen it fail so many times.”
Abigail says she never had any pressure from her father to get married.
“He never pushed us, although he did say to me once, with a glint in his eye: “You can get married in St. Paul’s, now kid, because I’ve got a CBE”, which did seriously appeal to me. But all Dad really cared about was that we were all ok.”
Even now, Abigail is discovering new things about her father – particularly, his dysfunctional childhood. When he was seven, his mother abandoned him and his five year old brother.
He tired to persuade her to come home by turning up, at the age of seven, in his best suit, at the house of the man she had gone to live with. She sent him away with a sixpence and he never saw her again.
This accounted for much of the cynical bitterness that dominated his adult life.
“I was fascinated by all this information,” says Abigail. “He kept so many things to himself.”
Yet despite the secrets that haunted her relationship with her father, the two were incredibly close, not least because Abigail followed in his footsteps by becoming an actress.
And it is faintly ironic that, bearing in mind Thaw’s success in such roles as Inspector Morse and Jack Regan in The Sweeney, Abigail is playing a policewoman in the forthcoming yow part ITV drama The Stepfather.
Abigail never worked with her father but, last summer, she worked for the first time with Sheila Hancock in a stage play.
“It just never happened with Dad. We were always being asked to, but I never like the idea because I didn’t want him to see what I am like in rehearsals and vice versa.
The longer I was in the business, the more a working relationship between us began to develop rather than just a father and daughter one."
"But he was never that kid of showbiz Dad who would say “Don’t worry kid, I’ll pick up the phone and have a word with someone for you.”
It was precisely that lack of showbusiness ‘luvvie-ness’ that made it so difficult for Thaw to cope with fame. Abigail saw, at first hand, how he hated all the attention and how it fuelled his demons.
“He was in a Catch 22 situation. He was driven by work but the more he found himself in the public eye, the more it terrified him."
“He hated leaving the house because he didn’t want to be gawped at or he didn’t want someone picking a fight with him because they wanted show their mates that they were as tough as his Sweeney character Jack Regan.
“It was very sad to watch as a child. I can remember feeling terribly protective towards him and not really understanding why.”
Even now, Abigail has still not come to terms with her grief. She treasures her memories of her father and is continually reminded of him by the strangest things.
“I have a couple of pairs of his socks that I wear all the time and think of him. One minute I’m fine and then the next minute, suddenly a smell or a joke hits me and I’m off in floods of tears and hopeless for the rest of the day.”
One consolation that Abigail has found in common with her stepmother is writing. She has enrolled in a writing course, and when her father died she wrote a poem, Dad’s 60th birthday present, which she read at his funeral.
“Sadly, it is often a death that prompts people to write. It’s a way of conversing with the dead and definitely helps in a therapeutic way. But, unlike Sheila, what I write isn’t for the public eye, not yet!”
THE BIG INTERVIEW: SHEILA HANCOCK (Feb.24, 2005, article and photos courtesy of Leila) -
There are very few people who can truly be described as British acting royalty; performers you would happily offer up a body part to see, let alone meet for an intimate coffee. Sheila Hancock is one of these few. Currently appearing in The Anniversary at the Garrick theatre – a show in which she first appeared nearly 40 years ago – she met a very awe-struck Matthew Amer at the Langham Hilton for a bit of a chat…
Sheila Hancock is one of the most easily recognisable faces in show business. Whether she is making her presence felt as Steve Owen's mother in Eastenders, eliciting a titter in sitcom, or wowing live audiences in a theatre, hers is a presence that immediately sets an audience at ease; they know they will be in for the finest of treats.
A treat is certainly what audiences at the Garrick theatre are getting, as Hancock is currently playing the deliciously domineering ‘Mum’ in Bill MacIlwraith’s The Anniversary. The play’s title comes from an occasion that Mum’s family are joining her to celebrate; the wedding anniversary of Mum and her late husband, presumably Dad. In actual fact it is the perfect excuse for Mum to gather her sons together in an attempt to set their lives back along the tracks that she dictates and wrestle them away from her daughters-in-law.
"It’s not very nice being in the West End if you’re not in a success."
Hancock’s last West End performance came way back in late 2000 when, following a successful run in Under The Blue Sky at the Royal Court, she starred in Neil Bartlett’s In Extremis at the National Theatre. For an actor whose roots lie in stage work, four years is a long time to be away from the bright lights of London. She is enjoying being back, but… “I wouldn’t be if it wasn’t such a success. It’s not very nice being in the West End if you’re not in a success. But it is lovely and just wonderful to hear audiences laughing and clapping”.
Although clearly loving the experience of returning to the West End and performing to live London audiences, Hancock is not as young as she once was and playing the pivotal part in a West End comedy is proving challenging physically. “It’s bloody hard work, because you’ve got to drive the play. You’ve got to be on absolutely top energy every single night.” The taxing nature of performing eight shows a week is having an effect on Hancock’s normal life as every day’s activities are geared towards being on top form at 7.30 each evening. Though a restful afternoon might be happily accepted by many, the restrictions on going out or doing too much must be frustrating. Not that Hancock seems particularly worried about this; she is too busy singing the praises of MacIlwraith’s play to care. “It really is an extraordinarily well shaped play for audience reaction. It takes an audience totally with it and they react all the way through in a way that is quite unusual.”
Hancock’s character, Mum, is the type of terrorising mother-in-law that has been a stereotypical staple of comedy since it was first invented. Still trying to control the lives of her three sons, she spends the entirety of the play employing a collection of different methods of persuasion and abuse to try and make her offspring view situations the way she does. Controlling and manipulative, she won’t take ‘No’ for an answer. No-one would dream to suggest that a national treasure such as Hancock could share these uncomplimentary traits… “I am very like her. I’m very possessive and I can be very domineering. I don’t think there is a mother in this world who, if she’s honest, isn’t possessive towards her children, and isn’t super-protective towards her children with regards their partners.” Anyone reeling in shock at this point should look away now, as Hancock goes on. “At various times when [her daughters] came back with nasty little men I’ve been the first one to be vicious to the men and try to get rid of them as quickly as I possibly can.”
One such boyfriend, who wasn’t shown the door following a lashing from Hancock’s tongue, is real life son-in-law Matthew Byam Shaw, the producer behind The Anniversary. A cynical theatregoer may think there was a little inside knowledge about Hancock’s ability to convincing play a battleaxe at work in the casting. The more sensible among us would realise it has more to do with Hancock’s comic timing and ability to play a ‘big’ character. Hancock, with a wry smile, sits firmly in the second camp; “[Byam Shaw] is much too beady to be concerned about my feelings as a mother-in-law; he was thinking of me purely as an actress”.
"I’ve been the first one to be vicious to the nasty little men."
Hancock clearly has a soft spot for Mum, and is quick to defend her. Dubbed by some a monster – “she’s no more monster than anybody who makes a mess of the way they love” – Hancock has found a way into her heart and understands the forces moving her. “Everything she does is driven by love; a hideous form of love. I do know women who are almost as bad as her and I’ve had people stop me to say ‘it is exactly like my mother or mother-in-law’.”
Of course, Hancock’s performance may be helped by the fact that she knows what it is like to be on the receiving end. When the show premiered in 1966, Hancock played daughter-in-law Karen, before reprising the role opposite Bette Davis in the screen version. But after such a long career, Hancock’s memories of those performances are somewhat blurry; “I’ve done so many hundreds of thousands of plays in my life that I have instant wipe-out when I finish. I don’t remember a great deal about it”. She does remember getting her first big West End break in Rattle Of A Simple Man, in which she played a prostitute opposite Edward Woodward’s football fan, also at the Garrick. “There I was as a young woman, not known, and I had success. Now here I am an old woman in the same dressing room, looking in the same mirror. There’s a symmetry to it.”
Although Hancock’s career has encompassed a wide range of projects, from working with the RSC to appearing as a slightly Oedipal mother in Eastenders, it is for her comedy roles that she is often recognised. The sitcoms The Bed-sit Girl and The Rag Trade brought her to the attention of the nation in the 60s, and she has been bringing a smile to faces and laughter to lips ever since. Though unable to comment on her own ability – “I can’t talk for myself, because I can’t see myself” – she has her own ideas about what makes a good comedy actress. “It’s the ability to know how to let a laugh settle, how to place a line, to have an ear for the audience so that you don’t step on them when they want to laugh. I think that is the difference between being a straight actress and being able to do comedy. I suppose one has to have a sense of fun oneself. One has to not be too solemn about things to be able to see where comedy lies.”
There are some people, though, who have no idea where comedy lies. If it were lying in bed next to them, it would not even raise a titter. After recently appearing on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Hancock received a letter complaining about her conversation with floppy-haired, jauntily-suited chat show comedian. While chatting, the two had discussed the idea that a footpath sign saying ‘Dismount Cyclists’ could actually have meant that people should take it upon themselves to knock cyclists off their bikes, perhaps with a large pole while enjoying a leisurely picnic. The letter-writer didn’t see the funny side. “We were being absurd! But this woman had taken it absolutely seriously. She couldn’t see that one was being silly.”
"My only boast is ‘I’m still here’."
For someone with such a lauded career spanning film, television and theatre, straight parts, comedy and musicals, Hancock is remarkably grounded. There is no air of superiority or achievement about her; in fact it is hard to get her to recognise just how incredible her career has been. “My only boast is ‘I’m still here’. I’m 72 next birthday and to be able to say ‘I’m still here, working, playing in the West End, getting audiences in; that is an achievement and I will boast about it. I didn’t give up. I kept going. So that is a claim to fame, but I haven’t got an illustrious career. I don’t look back and think ‘oh, what a remarkable career’. I don’t think that for one minute.”
Maybe this is because there are a number of roles that got away. Hancock’s voice is tinged with a hint of sadness and regret when she talks of the great Shakespearean roles that she never got to play; the Juliets, the Ophelias, the Beatrices. “I’m too old for them all.” When Hancock began treading the boards, society was very different. She had come from a working class background and a working class family, and struggled against the odds to be accepted at RADA. On top of that her looks were ‘unconventional’. At that time, these were not attributes that landed you a leading Shakespearean role. “I love Shakespeare and worship Shakespeare with all my soul. I’d love to have had the opportunity to play those great parts.”
The tale of Sheila’s childhood and entry into the acting world is told, in a most touching fashion, in The Two Of Us, as is the life of John Thaw, fellow actor and Hancock’s husband, who tragically died while battling cancer. The response to the book has been incredible, but Hancock was not originally even going to write it. Rumours were circulated purely to put off other writers threatening to publish a ‘warts and all’ biography of Thaw. Such was the response to the rumours alone, that Hancock set about the task. “I wanted people to know that he was not just a TV cop, both career wise and as a man. I got really fascinated by the research into the social background of our lives. I thought it was a fascinating period.”
Much of what has caught the imagination about The Two Of Us is the honesty with which Hancock writes about aspects of her and Thaw’s lives that could have been glossed over; Thaw’s estrangement from his mother, his decent into alcoholism and the effect this had on the rest of his family. “I’m a very honest person. It has always worked to my disadvantage in lots of ways because it is not good for actors to bear their souls. But it would have been ludicrous to have written a book about John without [the alcoholism] because it was so much a part of his life; it is what drove him and what happened to him as a result of his childhood. When I wrote the book, I wasn’t thinking of anybody reading it, I was just telling the story. It was only when I thought ‘people are going to read this’ that it frightened me to death.”
"I think this year is going to be phenomenal."
Although the publishers may have thought the book would have been a success – it was, of course, about two of the nation’s favourite actors – no-one foresaw that it would have evoked the massive response that it has. It is the telling of Thaw’s fight against cancer, and Hancock’s attempts to deal with both that and his death, that has evoked much of the response. It has already been described as a ‘textbook on grief’. “None of us realised it would have this huge emotional response. I was just telling my story; I didn’t know it was millions of other people’s story too.”
Another striking characteristic of Hancock that flows from the pages of The Two Of Us is her campaigning spirit. When she finds a cause she believes in she is not one to sit quietly when something needs to be said. Most recently she lent her support to the campaign damning the violence seen outside the Birmingham Rep Theatre late last year. Her answer to many of the problems she encounters would be simple but effective, “I wish more people could empathise. The cause of all hatred and all prejudice and all bigotry is because people don’t understand what those people are going through. Once you do, you can’t hate anymore.”
With The Anniversary going strong, Hancock is not worrying too much about what she will be doing next, “I like to not know what’s round the corner”. What she is sure about is the state of theatre in London. With Get Into London Theatre now in its last week (promotion tickets must be booked by 8pm Feb 25), offering reduced price tickets for many top shows including The Anniversary, Hancock is excited about the breadth of choice and quality of productions available to the public. “I think the West End is going through the most amazing time at the moment, I really do. There has never been a better time… never mind the National, which is also doing very well. I think this year is going to be phenomenal.”
JOHN THAW: FROM BAKER'S APPRENTICE TO TV STAR (From the book "Television Stars Of The 1960s" , article courtesy of Janet) -
John Thaw, the star of ABC-TV's "Redcap" series, established himself rapidly as a top television personality. His role of Sergeant Mann of the Special Investigation Branch of the Royal Military Police won him a large slice of fame.
Like many young men of school-leaving age, John did not have the slightest idea what he wanted to do for a living. Then one day, this son of a lorry-driver took a job as a porter at a fruit-market on the suggestion of a friend.
"For three months," he said, "I slogged away between four in the morning and two in the afternoon doing jobs like piling sacks of potatoes one on top of another."
After getting rather bored and tired doing this sort of thing, he decided to become a baker's apprentice. He stayed at this job for two months before making up his mind that he would like to become an actor.
Having an intense and keen interest in dramatics, he was encouraged by the elocution teachers with whom he was studying to further his drama work at a local youth club in Burnage, Manchester.
The next giant step he took was the trip to London and to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He confesses that his first term there was somewhat of a disaster in that he found it difficult to grasp the things that were being taught. He says he flopped in the end of term exams, and went home to Burnage feeling very unhappy. But the next term at RADA was more successful. He went on to give a prize-winning repertory season at Liverpool between July 1960, and January 1961.
The next step was television, when he was invited to appear in a season of Granada's "Younger Generation" series, and in an exciting role in the TV version of "Sergeant Musgrave's Dance". From then on the acting career of John Thaw was never in doubt. One role followed another. He appeared at the Royal Court Theatre in "The Fire Raisers", in the film The Loneliness of the Distance Runner, which starred Tom Courtenay, a former flat mate of his, at the Arts Theatre in "Women, Beware Women, and so on.
He was chosen to understudy Sir Laurence Olivier in the West End production of "Semi-Detached". He also played the part. Working alongside Olivier, proved an invaluable experience for him.
After this came four appearances in "Z Cars", which was then followed by three months repertory work in Dundee, and by roles in TV plays, including one in "The Avengers".
"It was through that role in 'The Avengers' - the former series, with Cathy Gale, who was involved in a plot to put her on the throne of Britain - that I was noticed by ABC, who were looking for an actor to play Sergeant Mann in 'Redcap'."
Just before he started work on the series John, who had married actress Sally Alexander, spent a one-week honeymoon in Corsica. After this he got down to the part which has made him popular throughout the country.
He says his greatest weakness is that he worries about everything. But one thing he need have no worries about - is his future in television.
