SHEILA HANCOCK OPENS OXFORD HOSPITAL CANCER SCANNER SUITE (September 12, 2002) - Actor Sheila Hancock opens a new MRI scanner suite at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford on Thursday 12 September.
Sheila Hancock will unveil a special plaque to mark the opening of the suite. She will be joined by Neil Ashley Chairman of the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust.
The Trust is housing a state-of-the-art MRI scanner in a new unit at the Churchill’s Radiology Department. The whole-body scanner will be used in the diagnosis of cancer.
Sheila Hancock’s late husband, the actor John Thaw, died of cancer in February this year. John Thaw is best remembered for his portrayal of the Oxford detective Morse in the popular television series.
Sheila Hancock, whose career has spanned television, film and the stage, recently appeared in the series Bedtime on BBC1 and will shortly be seen in Bait, co-starring with John Hurt, on ITV.
The new MRI scanner is the first to be installed at the Churchill Hospital. Currently, patients must go to the nearby John Radcliffe Hospital for MRI scans. The project has been under construction since April 2001 and is being funded jointly by the Trust and the National Lottery New Opportunities Fund to the tune of £1.75m.
Linda Soderberg, manager of radiology services at the Churchill, said: “We provide extensive cancer services at the Churchill Hospital and the MRI scanner will give us a state-of-the-art facility for the benefit of our patients.”
The suite, designed by Oxford architects Gray Baynes & Shew, also houses consulting and counselling rooms along with equipment and control facilities. The ‘Twinspeed’ scanner, which cost £1million, is one of the most sophisticated in the UK.
BLOOMSBURY TAPS MORSE: PUBLISHER EXPECTS TO CASH IN WITH WIFE'S BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN THAW (August 19, 2002) by John Cassy - Bloomsbury, the publisher behind Harry Potter, has secured the rights to the biography of the late Inspector Morse star John Thaw.
The book will be written by his actress wife Sheila Hancock and is expected to be one of the biggest selling celebrity biographies of recent years.
Financial details have not been disclosed but Bloomsbury is thought to have paid a six figure sum to secure rights to the story. Some estimates put the final figure in excess of £1,000,000, thereby setting an all-time record for a celebrity biography in Britain.
"We expect the Thaw book to be huge and we're very sorry to have missed out on it," said a senior editor at a rival publishing house.
Mr Thaw, who died from cancer in February, was one of Britain's best loved television detectives, having taken lead roles in Inspector Morse, the Sweeney and Kavanagh QC. The final episode of Morse attracted 13million viewers.
The book, which is due to be published in 2004, is understood to have attracted interest from a wide range of publishers, including Random House, Harper Collins, Hodder & Stoughton, MacMillan and Transworld.
Celebrity biographies are hugely popular with readers and have emerged as some of the biggest selling books over recent years.
Profits at Hodder, the publishing unit of WH Smith, have in recent years largely been supported by biographies of Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, former cricket umpire Dickie Bird and television chat show hosts Richard and Judy.
Pearson's Penguin books unit has high hopes this year for the already controversial autobiography of Manchester United captain Roy Keane, after recent success with Victoria Beckham's life story.
Ms Hancock has said her book on Mr Thaw is an opportunity to put the record straight following an unflattering and unofficial biography that deeply upset her husband when it appeared in 1998.
Bloomsbury's success is securing Ms Hancock has surprised many in the publishing industry. Although it has experienced huge success with Harry Potter and Joanna Trollope's Aga sagas, it has a limited record in high-profile biographies.
The deal was negotiated between Alexandra Pringle, editor-in-chief of Bloomsbury's book division and agents acting for Ms Hancock at ICM.
SHEILA HANCOCK SIGNS BOOK DEAL (June 30, 2002) by Robert McCrum - The news that Sheila Hancock, the widow of John Thaw (Inspector Morse, Kavanagh QC), is being offered a telephone number advance to write her late husband's biography, is less astounding than her reported reason for wanting to undertake the work.
Apparently, it is not the money but the desire to put the record straight that's persuaded Ms Hancock to propose setting pen to paper. An unofficial life, John Thaw - the Biography, published three years ago by André Deutsch, is said to be so offensive to his memory that Ms. Hancock, while not wanting to write what she calls 'a luvvie biography', feels that her work will 'correct the tone'.
No one wants to intrude on Ms Hancock's private grief, but the news that this project has exhilarated the corporate chequebooks of HarperCollins, Macmillan, Transworld and Random House compels this column to wonder aloud at the lunatic delirium that occasionally afflicts the book business in its increasingly desperate quest for profits.
I'll come to the long-term implications in a moment, but there is a short-term commercial explanation for this fever. Big publishers need big books. They like to pretend otherwise, but the truth is that without a hardback bestseller renewing and invigorating the corpuscles of the corporate physique they are in danger of becoming extinct.
Nothing is bigger than the celebrity biography, and celebrity wives writing about celebrity husbands is now about as big as you can get. In such a climate, what Sheila Hancock is offering, an affectionate portrait of a much-loved TV star, is not merely an invitation to print money but also the opportunity to cart barrowloads of the stuff in broad daylight back to HQ.
Leaving aside the gruesome spectacle of good and sensible publishers turning themselves into the merchants of trash (nothing new there, actually), there is the larger point that writing a biography 'to set the record straight' is precisely not what the genre is about. The biographer has only one responsibility and that's to serve the reader. His or her obligations are not to the family, the widow or the estate. A good biography should be as complete a dissection of what made a particular individual tick as possible.
Samuel Johnson famously said that you couldn't write someone's life unless you had eaten and drunk 'and lived in social intercourse' with your subject (there, at least, Ms Hancock is well-qualified) with the firm implication that a life should not on any account be a panegyric, but should reflect the personality in all its messy, and even embarrassing, inconsistency.
More, 'setting the record straight' is precisely not what the readers of such books expect. It's impossible to know for sure, but biographies are bought out of a simple, and quite vulgar curiosity - curiosity about other people's lives, curiosity about the creative or the political or the domestic texture of a life in which we happen to have an interest.
In other words, biographies arise out of that profoundly human instinct for gossip, for peeping through keyholes, for reading the carelessly open diary, for eavesdropping.
The reading public does not like to spend its money on propaganda. It can certainly fall for something sentimental, but even sentiment must carry a whiff of authenticity.
If the purpose of Ms Hancock's life of John Thaw is to 'correct the tone' of previous versions, I can see the public, who loved John Thaw for the sense he conveyed of a man with an interesting past, staying away in droves.
Then, with a bit of luck, Random House or Transworld or HarperCollins (or whosoever emerges from the current 'bidding war' with the right to market this property) will catch the cold of a lifetime, lose a corporate shirt or two and learn the error of their ways.
FAREWELL BAFTA FOR THAW
(April 22, 2002) - The late actor John Thaw, who died of cancer in February, has been awarded a posthumous TV Bafta by television viewers.
Thaw's wife Sheila Hancock fought back tears as she collected the award for his role in ITV1's Buried Treasure, voted for by readers of Radio Times.
"I was asked to accept this on behalf of John - I'm happy - no, not happy - proud to do it," she said.
"John always said the most important thing was the audience.
Getting the Bafta Fellowship last year was the greatest award of his life."
Hancock also thanked viewers for the "great wave of love" she and her daughters had felt since Thaw's death.
The actor, who was best known in recent years for playing the dour detective Inspector Morse, died of cancer of the oesophagus in February.
Hancock was herself up for the best actress Bafta, but lost out to Julie Walters for ITV1's My Beautiful Son.
Hundreds of stars attended Sunday night's gala at the Theatre Royal in London, the biggest night in the British TV calendar.
Sheila Hancock had said it would be difficult to see images of her late husband John Thaw at this Sunday's Bafta TV awards. She told ITV News on Thursday that Thaw, who starred in ITV's Inspector Morse, is still with her "every minute of the day".
"The most difficult thing for me is that I haven't been able to watch John since he died," she said.
"I knew they were going to do clips and I can't quite face seeing the image of him."
She described her grief as "a chasm" but added: "I'm very lucky, I have a family."
"A lot of people in my position, and at my age, are left with much less than I am and I'm very conscious of that and extremely blessed.
At the moment he's with me every minute of the day, because there is nowhere I go that I haven't been with John.
There's nothing I do, there's no programme that I watch on television that I haven't had him at my side being rude about it.
EastEnders was our great joy and he won't know the plot lines so I sit there thinking 'Oh, what a pity he didn't see what happened to Janine in that episode'.
It's a very, very difficult thing to come to terms with, but it's life sadly, and life is not easy. "
She said that Thaw, who died on 21 February from cancer of the oesophagus, never accepted he was going to lose his battle with the disease.
"Even the night before he died he just was absolutely convinced that he was all right and in fact he thought he was feeling a lot better," said Hancock.
"He ate a Lancashire hotpot. But then the very end was quite quick and quite sudden.
The next day I found a contract for another year that he signed with ITV. So he obviously thought he was going to be working fairly soon.
He was feeling very positive about it."
She said that Thaw was rather different from the character TV viewers saw on screen.
"He was a giggling man, he was fun, he was a moody man, he was difficult, he was immensely loving, incredibly gentle, and just an ordinary man really," she said.
"We've always led, both of us, very ordinary lives, we haven't been very theatrical. But then most theatricals aren't."
Sheila Hancock had to fight back tears as she collected the Lew Grade Audience Award on behalf of her late husband John Thaw. The Bafta award for Buried Treasure was voted for by the public.
She took to the stage with the film's young star Dominique Jackson at the London ceremony.
The actress said John would have been "absolutely overwhelmed and moved beyond belief."
She said: "Thank you very much Ladies and Gentlemen, I've been asked to thank you all on behalf of John and I'm happy - no I'm not happy - I'm proud to do that. I want to congratulate the production team on making a really daring and beautiful film."
She went on to say: "It's very fitting that the last award that John will ever get - and he got a lot - should be one that's voted for by the audience.
"John would be hugely, hugely proud. He likes it when the critics gave him a good review. But if they didn't he always used to say 'it's only the audience that matter.'"
Hancock had been presented with the prize by Kevin Whateley, who co-starred with Thaw in Inspector Morse.
Sheila missed out on the best actress award for her role in Russian Bride to Julie Walters' performance in My Beautiful Son.
About midway through the ceremony a filmed piece was screened paying tribute to those actors who had passed away during the last year. At the end of the piece the camera closed in for a long, last lingering look at a photo of John showing one of his trademark mischeievous grins. The audience rose in a thundering standing ovation.
MORSE'S JAGUAR SELLS FOR £53,000
(April 12, 2002) - Inspector Morse's burgundy Mk II, arguably the most recognisable Jaguar in the world, raised £53,000 when it was sold at auction.
The 42-year-old car, made famous by the late John Thaw as the crossword, opera and real ale-loving Morse, went under the hammer on Tuesday.
It was sold by lawyer James Went, who won the car in a competition last year.
The buyer was thought to be a man from Sunderland, who intended to keep the car in the UK, said auction house Coys.
The car was sold to an English gentleman from Sunderland for £53,000 - it's the record that we have received for such a car," said a spokesman for the London company.
"The Mk II Jaguar of that class is normally worth about £6,000," he added.
The vintage car appeared in all 33 episodes of Morse. During the 13 years of filming of the series, it was kept in a garage in London and taken by transporter to the locations.
The steering and brakes have been overhauled, the off-side doors refurbished, the bumpers and chrome-work replaced and the inside has new carpets and new wood veneer.
Mr Went - after receiving the keys from Morse creator Colin Dexter at a ceremony at Magdalen College, Oxford - had initially said he would keep the car to drive.
John Thaw, also famous for his maverick detective in the Sweeney, died from throat cancer in February.
He once described the Jaguar, which has a six-cylinder engine and a top speed of nearly 100 mph, as "a beggar to drive".
IN MEMORY OF MORSE (April 12, 2002) -
THE wife of Inspector Morse star John Thaw, whose death from cancer stunned the nation, today gave her backing to the Lancashire Evening Telegraph Magic Eye Appeal.
Actress Sheila Hancock urged local people to do everything they could to help raise the £200,000 needed to buy a scanner to ease the suffering caused by oesophhagal cancer -- the disease which killed her husband.
The appeal will provide local cancer surgeons with the only Magic Eye scanner of its kind in Lancashire, which will help diagnosis and give a clearer picture of the extent of cancers in the stomach and throat area without the need for an operation.
It will also go a long way towards making East Lancashire a regional cancer treatment centre.
Today, officials revealed that more than £12,500 had been raised in the two weeks since the appeal, which will help patients throughout East Lancashire, was launched in the Evening Telegraph.
Respected actor John, 60, died in February from cancer of the oesophagus, after treatment failed to beat the disease. Sheila, 69, gave up work to nurse him at their home in Wiltshire.
Sheila said: "I fully support the Lancashire Evening Telegraph Magic Eye Cancer Scanner Appeal.
As many of you will be aware, my husband, the actor John Thaw, died of oesophageal cancer earlier this year.
"I would support anything which makes diagnosis quicker and better and makes the process less traumatic for the patients involved and their families. If it can bring the service closer to home for many people and save them having to travel distances, then that has to be a bonus, too.
I would support anything which could prevent others suffering the loss I have, and applaud the Telegraph for launching such an appeal."
Local people have got behind the appeal and have started to arrange charity evenings and fund-raising events across East Lancashire.
John, who was born in West Gorton in Manchester, was known to millions as the star of Inspector Morse, although he had already been the star of the hugely popular 70s television series The Sweeney. Sheila, who recently starred in EastEnders, attended the Baftas in April accompanied by John's daughters Abigail and Joanne. The couple were both nominated for awards.
She herself battled with cancer 13 years ago, and also lost her first husband to the illness.
Appeal co-ordinator Sheila Shaw said: "We are very pleased that Sheila Hancock has agreed to express her support for the East Lancashire Magic Eye Appeal, especially at a time when she herself is coping with great personal loss.
"Her courage and strength in the face of adversity are a great example to us all and her message is a great boost.
The Magic Eye Appeal offers hope for the future and in hope there is strength. As we conduct our appeal to raise money for this much-needed equipment, I hope that Sheila continues to show her fighting spirit and that those in similar circumstances will derive comfort from her message."
John Thaw died on Thursday, February 21, 2002, with his family at his home in Wiltshire. His diagnosis and public announcement about the disease was made in June 2001.
MORSE'S FANS BID FOR JAG (March 30, 2002) by Philip Seton-Anderson - Inspector Morse fans have launched a campaign to ensure that the television character's classic Jaguar car is made available to lovers of the series.
The Morse Society intends to make a bid for the burgundy 1959 Mark II Jaguar, driven by the late John Thaw in the detective series, when it is auctioned in London next month.
The car was won by Oxford solicitor James Worth in a competition in November. He sold it to a work colleague who, in turn, has decided to auction it.
Antony Richards, founder and president of the Morse Society, has attempted to buy the car from both of its previous owners. He said: "The car has been sold very quickly for a profit, but we want to make sure it is looked after and displayed to fans as often as possible.
We are hoping it will not fall into the hands of a private individual or, even worse, taken abroad, because fans of the series would want to see the car and it would be a pity if that was not possible."
The society's 700 members will be asked to make a donation towards a fund to bid for the car when it is auctioned by Coys of Kensington, at the London Business Centre in Upper Street, Islington, on April 30.
The Jaguar has been restored in advance of the auction because it was never in as good condition as it appeared on screen. The chrome and interior of the vehicle were in a poor condition before the restoration and it had to be pushed around for the first two series because its engine did not work.
MORSE'S MOTOR GOES UNDER HAMMER
(March 29, 2002) - Inspector Morse fans will be hoping the television character's classic Jaguar car finds a good home when it is auctioned in London next month.
The burgundy 1959 Mark II Jaguar driven by the late John Thaw in the popular TV series is expected to fetch between £30,000 and £50,000 at auction.
The car was won in a competition in November by Oxford solicitor James Went. He sold it to a work colleague, who, in turn, has decided to sell the car at auction. Morse creator Colin Dexter said he was saddened that the famous Jaguar has not yet found a home.
He said: "I would like to see it given to a car museum so people could go and look at it."
Mr Went, who lives in central Oxford, sold the car shortly after winning it in a competition run by Carlton Video and Woolworths.
He said: "I don't have a garage so it was kept at my girlfriend's parents' garage, but it would have slowly rusted away there."
The car's next owner, Brian Hilditch, a solicitor in London, had the car restored in advance of the auction. He said: "The interior of the car and the chrome were in a terrible state. I would have loved to have kept it. I'm a big Morse fan and I have the films and the music, but it just wasn't realistic for a family with teenage children."
The car will be auctioned by Coys of Kensington, at the London Business Design Centre, in Upper Street, Islington, on April 30.
POLICE OFFER ON MORSE MEMORIAL SITE
(March 15, 2002) - Oxford's main police station has been offered as a site for a memorial to John Thaw, the actor who played Inspector Morse.
The chief constable of Thames Valley Police Peter Neyroud has suggested St Aldate's police station as a possible location for a memorial.
He said: "If finding a site proves difficult, I would be happy to offer St Aldate's Police Station."
Morse's creator Colin Dexter said: "If they are thinking of something like a plaque outside the police station this would seem to me wholly appropriate."
But the station faces competition from other sites in the city.
Dr Robert Gasser, a former bursar of Brasenose College and a leading proponent of creating a memorial, said the Exeter College wall in Brasenose Lane, near Radcliffe Square, would be an attractive location which people would recognise from the TV drama.
Susan Marshall, home bursar of Exeter College, said: "I would have thought Brasenose Lane was one of the more obvious contenders.
"I would certainly not rule out the possibility. I would have to put it to the governing body of the college."
EX-BURSAR CALLS FOR MEMORIAL FOR THAW (February 27, 2002) by Alison Bartlett - The former Bursar of an Oxford University college has put forward the idea of commemorating John Thaw's legacy to the city with a memorial.
Dr Robert Gasser, who retired after 19 years at Brasenose College in September last year, worked with John Thaw when Inspector Morse was being filmed in the city.
Dr Gasser said: "I do think it would be nice for there to be some kind of memorial to John Thaw in Oxford, such as a plaque.
"I believe Inspector Morse is one of the most successful detective series ever, and it appealed across the board, giving a lot of pleasure to both the city and the university."
Dr Gasser, who appeared as an extra in about half of the episodes, became involved with Inspector Morse in his role liaising between the university and film and television companies.
For many, Oxford is synonymous with Colin Dexter's fictional world of Inspector Morse. However, identifying a city site to commemorate the actor who brought the character to life would not be easy.
A number of Oxford colleges were used as locations in the series, so that no one college could be identified as the fictional Lonsdale College. The shows were also filmed in parts of Jericho and the Covered Market.
Dr Gasser praised John Thaw's professionalism. He said: "All the lovely things that have been said about him since he died are absolutely true in my experience.
"He was never puffed up and was always friendly and cracking jokes on the set. His acting may have looked effortless on television, but it was his professional attitude and dedication that made it so good."
The idea of appointing someone from the university to liaise with film and programme-makers came about in 1984 because of the complexities of establishing who owned land and buildings. After serving as bursar of Corpus Christi for 22 years before moving to Brasenose, Dr Gasser was the ideal candidate.
Last year, Oxfordshire County Council linked up with Oxford University's Said Business School to provide a public work of art. A statue of Inspector Morse was one of the suggestions put forward by Oxford Mail readers although, after consultation, the design for a £48,000 bronze Ox sculpture was unveiled.
AUTHOR LEADS TRIBUTES TO MORSE STAR THAW (February 22, 2002) - Oxford author Colin Dexter led tributes today to actor John Thaw after the Inspector Morse star lost his battle with cancer.
Mr Dexter, of Banbury Road, who created Morse, said: "He was a very private man, yet everyone wanted to know him.
"I got to know him awfully well, and his friendship with me was very warm and very genuine.
"He brought me an enormous amount of good luck."
The 60-year-old actor, famous for his roles in Inspector Morse, The Sweeney and Kavanagh QC, died at his home in Wiltshire yesterday, surrounded by his family.
He was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus last June but was so determined to beat it that he was discussing new projects as late as last week.
In a statement, his wife, actress Sheila Hancock, 69, said: "John died with his family around him. We have all been so grateful for the thousands of letters and messages from people wishing him well."
Mr Thaw, who was made a CBE in 1993, saw Ms Hancock herself fight back from breast cancer 13 years ago. Television producer Ted Childs, who had tea with him last week, said: "John was as he has been throughout his illness -- very positive, funny and self-effacing.
"Even in recent weeks, when he clearly wasn't very well, he had a great sense of humour."
Mr Thaw, who was catapulted to stardom in 1974 as hardman Det. Insp Jack Regan in The Sweeney, played Morse for 13 years.
DRAMA TEACHER PAYS TRIBUTE TO BURNAGE BOY THAW (February 22, 2002) - THE death of actor John Thaw left many thousands of television fans saddened and shocked - especially here in his home town of Burnage.
Famous for playing the role of Inspector Morse over a 13-year period, the actor made a huge success out of a life that started with humble beginnings in Burnage.
Thaw was born in his grandparent's home in 1942 and was brought up in a Daneholme Road council house by his parents John Edward and Dorothy.
His father was a lorry driver and he had a brother, Raymond, who was two years younger than him - now living in New Zealand.
But Thaw's childhood was not an easy one as his mother left the family when he was only seven and his father was often away on deliveries for long periods of time.
The two boys had to learn to cook and clean for themselves and were often left with neighbours to care for them.
They both went to Green End Junior School - then separate boys' and girls' schools - and it was there that Thaw first took to the stage.
As the single sex schools merged they celebrated by putting on a play for friends, parents and local residents.
Thaw's old drama teacher, Alan Watson, said: "When we did the auditions we soon realised John was outstanding."
Having caught the performing bug, Thaw then began attending the Burnage Odeon on a Saturday morning for the cinema club, and telling jokes on stage in the interval.
In the late 1950s Thaw won a Manchester City grant to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and his acting career took off.
His talents were rewarded with a CBE in 1993 and the highest accolade possible for a television actor - the BAFTA fellowship.
Thaw was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus in June 2001 and bowed out of public life while he was being treated.
He was cremated on Monday with just his wife and three daughters present at the Gloucestershire crematorium.
ACTOR JOHN THAW DIES (February 22, 2002) - Actor John Thaw, star of Inspector Morse and The Sweeney, has died at the age of 60.
He had been battling cancer of the oesophagus and died on Thursday at his home in Wiltshire.
His wife, actress Sheila Hancock, said: "John died with his family around him.
"We have all been so grateful for the thousands of letters and messages from people wishing him well.
"Everyone, including the media, has been wonderful during this difficult period.
"I would like them all to know how much their support and understanding has meant to him and to all of us."
Thaw's public admission on 19 June that he was undergoing treatment for cancer of the oesophagus made front-page news.
It was delivered with characteristic bluntness.
In a statement Thaw said: "I am receiving treatment for cancer of the oesophagus. As soon as this has been completed, I intend to return to work."
The star had been planning to resume work in spring, filming two more episodes of the ITV drama Kavanagh QC.
He had been married to Ms Hancock since 1973. Between them they had three daughters, Melanie Jane, from Hancock's first marriage, Abigail from Thaw's first marriage and Joanne.
Ms Hancock herself fought back from breast cancer 13 years ago.
Thaw's big break was as the tough-talking, no nonsense policeman in The Sweeney.
The series lasted only three years but it has attained a cult status.
The role that was to define Thaw's career began in 1985 when he was cast as the cerebral Inspector Morse, based on the books by Colin Dexter.
When the character was finally killed off on screen in 2000 there was a sense of mourning, as 13 million people tuned in.
Television producer Ted Childs had tea with Thaw and Ms Hancock on Wednesday last week to discuss planned episodes of Kavanagh QC. John spent his last night walking in his garden at home, and enjoying a Lancashire hot pot, one of his favorite dishes.
"John was as he has been throughout his illness, very positive, funny and self-effacing," he said.
"He clearly was not very well. HE did not want to face that the illness might get the better of him, he just put it out of his mind.
But he was anxious to get back to work and had a great sense of humour.
Childs, who worked on programmes with Thaw for nearly 30 years, added: "We also talked about the old times, working on The Sweeney, and it was very funny."
The next morning, after John passed away in his sleep, his wife found a signed contact on the piano in which he had signed on to do another series of Kavanagh Q.C.'s.
Actress Geraldine James, who starred alongside Thaw in Kingsley Amis's Stanley and the Women in 1991, sounded a very personal note, telling GMTV that "there was something extraordinary about him, it is extraordinary that he won't be there any more doing it. I can't quite believe it".
SHEILA HANCOCK TALKS ABOUT HER EXPERIENCE OF BREAST CANCER (September 25, 2001) -
Q - How did having breast cancer change your life or inspire you to make radical changes to your lifestyle? We’re all rooting for John’s recovery.
A - When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, it was my first brush with mortality. I thought I was going to live forever before then. So it made me more determined to enjoy life while I had it. On a practical level, I did improve my diet. I did take more time to rest. I did try not to get stressed out over ridiculous, unimportant things but, most importantly, I made a conscious effort to live the moment. I have a phrase which I constantly say to myself: ‘I am here now’. The general feeling is that a diagnosis of cancer is a death sentence. It is not necessarily, and here I am 14 years later to prove it.
It makes you look around and appreciate the moment. Thanks for your thoughts for John.
Q - How should friends behave toward someone they love with cancer? Should they back off and let family members take the strain or pitch in?
A - One of the good things about having cancer (unbelievably there are some) is the network of friends that you discover. The people I found most helpful were the people who had been through it themselves. Mainly new friends, made through support groups, and people I met in hospital. As far as being a friend of somebody who is diagnosed, I think the most important thing is to carry on as normal. The worst thing in the world is to be treated as though you're already dead or some kind of victim. In fact you're the same person with a bloody awful illness.
Q - How have you conquered the fear of a relapse? The treatment itself seems hard to bear but how does one cope with the fear that the cancer may return?
A - After I was first diagnosed, every twinge I got was a relapse! I once remember worrying for a week quite seriously that I had cancer of the big toe. After all these years, it has become infinitely better although I would be foolish to pretend it has completely gone away. And indeed, I think it's sensible to be aware of your body and look out for danger signs as long as it doesn't become obsessive. Just as you would in fact had you not had cancer.
Q - Were you working when you found your lump and if so did you try to carry on while you were having treatment? How did you feel when you found out?
A - Yes, I was filming when I took a shower and felt the lump. I had in fact been having regular mammographies for lumpy breasts which didn't pick up anything. Like many women I've met, I knew instinctively, straight away, that I had cancer before any of the tests that proved it. Obviously I was terrified and shocked. I couldn't believe that my hitherto healthy body had let me down. But after a while I decided I wasn't going to be beaten. I was either going to get better or die well! It's never easy but people do get through it.
Q - When a loved one contracts cancer, apart from dealing with the horror of what they are feeling, there is always the terrible threat of death in the background. Is it best to acknowledge this or not?
A - The questions you have raised surely apply to life in general. You talk about the threat of death, the fact of death is always in the background, every time you cross the road and the appalling events in New York at the moment demonstrate that. Can I repeat I really believe friends and relatives should carry on as normally as possible. Allow the patient to talk about it if they want to, and not if they don't. I never think it's a bad idea to talk about death. When you get to my age it would be stupid to ignore the fact that it's on the horizon. And somehow it becomes less scary if you look it in the face.
Q - Is there anything, which if it had been handled differently, could have made a positive difference to the way you coped with your illness?
A - I did meet the occasional, rather brusque doctor or nurse, some of whom thought I had no right to ask difficult questions. This attitude has changed enormously in the medical profession.
Q - Does the information and memory from your own battle with cancer help or hinder you emotionally in dealing with your husband’s cancer?
A - Regardless of cancer I believe when it comes down to it, nobody can ever quite live your life for you. If you have a shock or grief or problem, ultimately only you can deal with it – hopefully, with somebody holding your hand. The best I can do is hold John's hand.
MORSE STAR JOHN THAW "RESPONDING" TO CANCER TREATMENT (August 15, 2001) - Actor John Thaw is responding well to cancer treatment, his wife Sheila Hancock has said.
The Inspector Morse star, who was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus in June, will return to acting as soon as he feels better.
"John is doing well and has responded well to treatment and wants to get back to work as soon as he is well enough," Hancock said on Tuesday.
The 59-year-old actor is one of the best-loved figures on British television, and found fame as detective Jack Regan in 1970s police drama The Sweeney.
He played Inspector Morse for the first time in 1987 and went on to appear in 33 Morse episodes.
Thaw received a Bafta fellowship in May, after previously winning two Bafta TV awards - both for his role as the Oxford-based detective, who was killed off last year in an episode watched by 13 million people.
In 1995 he began appearing as Kavanagh QC and recently recorded a radio play as Captain Hook in Peter Pan.
Hancock, who has starred in EastEnders as Barbara Owen, herself battled with cancer but is in the clear after being diagnosed 10 years ago.
Her first husband, Alec Ross, died of the disease in 1971.
And their grandson Jack, six, suffered from a brain tumour last year although he is now said to be "out of the woods".
Hancock was speaking at the launch of the BBC's autumn TV schedule in London.
She is set to star alongside Meera Syal, Timothy West and Stephen Tompkinson in a new mini-soap, Bedtime.
In it, she plays a disillusioned housewife who becomes involved in anti-globalisation demonstrations.
"At the moment I am enjoying ducking and diving. I like variety and I like not knowing what is round the corner," she said. Ten years ago Sheila Hancock herself was diagnosed with breast cancer, but recovered.
"Sheila is very blase about it," Thaw has said.
"She has to have a check-up every year, but she doesn't make a big thing about it.
They do say that after about seven or eight years it is unlikely the cancer will come back - but the thought is always with you."
MORSE FAN IN LABOUR OF LOVE (August 6, 2001) - A woman who claims to be Inspector Morse's biggest fan hopes to have raised more than £400 for breast cancer research by cycling from her home in Dorset to Oxford.
Janet Owen, 57, of Beacon Hill, near Poole, completed the 102-mile trip in just over 12 hours on Friday, despite damaging a ligament in her knee halfway through the journey.
Mrs Owen raised the money for Action Against Breast Cancer, an Oxford-based charity strongly supported by Sheila Hancock, the wife of Morse actor John Thaw.
Mrs Owen said: " I really am Morse's number one fan and I love John Thaw.
"That is how my interest in Oxford came about, and when I found out that Sheila Hancock was a keen supporter of this charity, I knew that I had to do something to help.
"My knee really hurt for the last 50 miles, but I just wanted to finish."
On her arrival in Oxford, she was delighted to meet up with Morse author Colin Dexter in the Randolph Hotel.
She added: "I am a great admirer of his work, although I did shed tears when Morse was killed off in the last programme."
Mrs Owen took a more leisurely route for her return home, catching a train out of Oxford station on Saturday evening.
JOHN THAW PLEDGES COMEBACK AS HE REVEALS CANCER BATTLE
(June 20, 2001) by Jeevan Vasagar - The actor John Thaw, best known for his portrayal of the cerebral Inspector Morse, is undergoing treatment for cancer of the oesophagus, he revealed yesterday.
Thaw, 59, said he was confident of recovery and planned to get back to work as soon as he can. His wife, the actress Sheila Hancock, waged her own successful battle with breast cancer in the 80s.
"I am receiving treatment for cancer of the oesophagus," he said in a statement. "As soon as this has been completed, I intend to return to work. Sheila and I appreciate everyone's support and understanding, but would now be very grateful if our privacy as a family could be respected."
Both Thaw and Hancock's families have been blighted by cancer. His parents died from the disease and his wife nursed her mother and first husband through terminal cancer.
Cancer of the oesophagus, or gullet, is curable but in most cases the outlook is poor. The proportion of male victims who survive five years after learning they have the disease is less than 6%. However, among patients fit enough for intensive treatment cure rates of 20% are possible.
The cancer arises in the lining of the gullet and mostly affects people over 60. It narrows the gullet, making it painful to swallow. Treatment is by surgery to remove the tumour, preceded by chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Sufferers may also require the use of a tube called a stent which is passed down the gullet and allows them to ingest food.
Dr Matt Seymour, an Imperial Cancer Research Fund oncologist based at Cookridge Hospital, Leeds, said the outlook for people with cancer of the oesophagus was improving. "This is still a very serious disease and a lot of people are dying from it, but there are reasons for optimism.
This is down to improving on the diagnosis, improving on the way that cancer services are organised, better use of chemotherapy and radiotherapy and better techniques."
Thaw was most recently seen in ITV drama The Glass. At the launch of the show last month, he appeared tanned and healthy and gave no hintof illness. He received a Bafta fellowship in May.
Thaw's onscreen demise as Inspector Morse, from a heart attack, was broadcast last November. "Seeing yourself on a mortuary slab pulls you up," he said in an interview at the time. "I'd done a past Morse when he was in hospital and you think, 'this could be me tomorrow or in six months time, I could be here as John Thaw'."
INSPECTOR MORSE STAR HAS CANCER
(June 20, 2001) - TV's "Inspector Morse" -- a.k.a. actor John Thaw -- is in hospital undergoing cancer treatment, The BBC reports.
Thaw, 59, is being treated for cancer of the esophagus, he confirmed in a statement.
"As soon as this has been completed, I intend to return to work," Thaw said in the statement.
Thaw first came to prominence as Det. Jack Regan in the '70s British TV drama "The Sweeney."
Starting in 1987, he appeared in the first of 33 Morse stories. Last year, the Morse character was killed off, an event viewed by 13 million viewers, The BBC said.
The BBC said this isn't the first time cancer has affected Thaw's life. His wife, Sheila Hancock, lost her first husband to cancer in 1971. Their grandson Jack, six, is recovering from a brain tumour, and 10 years ago, Hancock recovered from breast cancer.
Thaw's "Sweeney" co-star Dennis Waterman said he believed his friend will make a full recovery.
"From day one he has been very positive," he told The BBC. "If there is anyone who is going to beat it, then John will".
The Inspector Morse actor says he hopes his privacy will be respected as he attempts to battle the illness.Thaw's actress wife Sheila Hancock - who recently had a stint in EastEnders - waged her own battle against breast cancer and successfully beat it a decade ago.
The Kavanagh QC star has issued a statement, which reads: "Sheila and I appreciate everyone's support and understanding, but would now be very grateful if our privacy as a family could be respected, particularly during the period of my treatment and recovery."
Thaw was seen in ITV's drama The Glass in which he appeared with Sarah Lancashire. At the launch of the programme last month, he was seen looking tanned and healthy and gave no hint that he was battling the illness.
Shortly before that he appeared as Captain Hook in a BBC Radio 3 dramatisation of Peter Pan recorded at the Royal Festival Hall.
The hard-working actor recently spoke of his desire to cut down his workload.
"In the last few years I have made a conscious decision to slow down and I've not worked for a couple of months, quite deliberately," he said. "I've been called a workaholic in the past. But now I can think of many pleasant ways of spending retirement - lots of reading, going to concerts, sitting in the sun and long, leisurely lunches." Thaw is regularly voted the most popular actor in Britain at the National Television Awards, an accolade which tends to alternate between him and David Jason.
He rose to national TV prominence as hard-nut DI Jack Regan in cop drama The Sweeney, in which he starred opposite Dennis Waterman. The sitcom Home To Roost followed but he is now instantly known for his 13 years as cultured Inspector Morse. He made his final appearance last year after author Colin Dexter killed the character off.
Thaw and his wife's lives have been touched by cancer many times. Hancock's first husband, Alec Ross, died of the disease in 1971.
And their grandson Jack, six, suffered from a brain tumour last year although he is now said to be "out of the woods". Thaw has spoken about how the cancer scare for his wife weighed heavily on his mind. "Sheila is very blase about it. She has to have a check-up every year, but she doesn't make a big thing about it. "They do say that after about seven or eight years it is unlikely the cancer will come back but the thought is always with you."
MORSE AUTHOR RECEIVES FREEDOM AWARD (February 27, 2001) - Colin Dexter, creator of Inspector Morse, was awarded Oxford's highest honour last night from Lord Mayor Maureen Christian.
Actors John Thaw and Kevin Whately, who played Morse and his sidekick Lewis, joined city councillors, dignitaries and devoted Morse fans at the town hall where Mr Dexter was made an Honorary Freeman.
His popular crime stories have been translated into dozens of languages and televised all over the world and have done much to spread the word about the beauty of Oxford.
Mr Dexter said he felt proud, but more than a little humbled at receiving an honour previously bestowed on President Nelson Mandela and Burma human rights campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi.
Mr Dexter, 70, of Banbury Road, Oxford, said: "Indeed I am very proud. Anyone would be. But I am surprised that they should have picked me.
Colin Dexter - who single-handedly killed off 80 Oxford residents with his world-famous Inspector Morse novels - has been awarded Oxford's highest honour, the Freedom of the City. The crime novelist joins an exclusive group. Nelson Mandela and the Burmese human rights campaigner, Aung San Suu Kyi, are the only other living holders of the distinction.
Mr Dexter, who moved to Oxford in 1966 to take up a post at the Oxford Delegacy of Local Examinations, said he was particularly pleased to be recognised in his adopted home.
He said: "I think that until now the honour I was most proud of was something the city council gave me seven or eight years ago, saying they thought I had done an awful lot for the city of Oxford not only the gown but also the town. But I'm sure being given the Freedom of the City will be the proudest thing I've ever had."
The award was given in recognition of the part Mr Dexter has played in enhancing the international profile of Oxford. His 14 books - all of which feature the grumpy-but-loveable, beer-guzzling, opera-obsessed Inspector Morse and his trusty sidekick, Sergeant Lewis - proved the inspiration for 33 television adaptations, starring John Thaw and Kevin Whately, which have played to a world-wide audience of one billion.
Freeman of Oxford is a hereditary or appointed title that dates back to medieval times. There are four ways to become a Freeman:
Be the son of a Freeman,
serve an apprenticeship with a Freeman,
be the son-in-law of a Freeman, or
become the husband of a Freeman's widow.
Freemen in the present day are still allowed to graze animals on Port Meadow and fish in the River Thames.
MORSE TIPPED FOR KNIGHTHOOD (November 27, 2000) - John Thaw, star of Inspector Morse, is being tipped for a knighthood.
The 58-year-old actor - whose character was killed off on ITV two weeks ago - may become Sir John in the New Year's Honours list.
There could also be an honour for Kevin Whately, who plays Morse's sidekick, Sgt Lewis.
The Queen has already honoured Thaw and is a big fan of Inspector Morse.
Manchester-born Thaw made his name when he starred in the 1970s cops and robbers series The Sweeney. He has also made a hit of the TV series Kavanagh QC.
Thaw was awarded a CBE in 1993 and is married to actress Sheila Hancock.
Richard Wilson, who played Victor Meldrew in One Foot in the Grave until he was killed off last week, could also be honoured.
A senior Whitehall insider said: "The timing could not have been better. Both Morse and Meldrew have just been killed off. These are TV's top shows and TV's top actors. These honours would be very popular at Buckingham Palace because the Queen and other members of the Royal Family enjoy both these shows."
COLIN DEXTER: MORSE THE PITY
(November 17, 2000) by Bob Chaundry - He has been responsible for more than 80 murders, nearly all of them in the Oxford area, and his latest victim has resulted in sacks of hate mail.
Yet Colin Dexter counts himself a very lucky man. Lucky, because although more people know his character Morse from the television, the impact of these adaptations on his book sales has been phenomenal.
He attributes this, in no small part, to the superb casting of Kevin Whately as Lewis and, particularly, of John Thaw, who has become a close friend.
"John has enjoyed playing Morse more than any other role because the fictional role is very close to the real-life John", Colin Dexter explains. "He is sensitive and private, rather vulnerable and slightly melancholic."
Now Morse is no more. And those who have written to the author accusing him of betrayal will have to accept the fact that, at the age of 70 and after 14 novels and 33 two-hour TV specials, Colin Dexter has had enough.
"I'm now going to get on with all the other things I've neglected like mowing grass and enjoying a nice pint."
He is not giving up writing completely, though. He is planning a book set in a school which will reflect his views that educational standards are falling.
It was while rain was falling, during a cottage holiday in north Wales in 1973, that the Morse saga began. Colin Dexter, then 43, had nothing to do except read a couple of detective novels that were in the house.
Like the cliché goes, he didn't think much of them and felt he could do better.
It was not the psychological motivation of the murderers that appealed to him, but rather the mechanics of the whodunnit. Even today he feels that authors who denigrate the plot in favour of characterisation are short-changing the reader.
He has a meticulously ordered mind, well-suited to devising the twists and turns of a mystery plot. A former national crossword champion, Colin Dexter studied Classics at Cambridge, along with his elder brother.
This was a remarkable achievement given that both their parents had left school at the age of 12 and their poor Lincolnshire upbringing meant the two brothers had to share a bed.
After graduating, Colin Dexter spent 12 years teaching Classics at schools in the Midlands in the 1950s and 60s until deafness ended his career. He met his wife Dorothy at a Leicester school and they have been happily married for 44 years.
Before that, he had been a morse operator in the army. Honestly. But that is not how the character got his name. Colin Dexter's two favourite crossword compilers were Sir Jeremy Morse and Mrs B. Lewis.
It was when he became an A-level examiner in English, Latin and Greek for the Oxford Board that he found the location for his books.
Oxford remains his favourite city in the world and an ideal backdrop for his stories. The beautiful architecture and dreaming spires have enhanced the television adaptations too.
So how much of Morse's personality reflects that of the author? Certainly both share a love of Wagner, A.E. Houseman, the painter Vermeer, Charles Dickens and, above all, beer.
And Morse, like his creator, will not be disturbed while The Archers is on the radio. They share a sense of melancholy, they are the same age and both have diabetes which was a contributing factor in Morse's death.
In fact, on the same day as the British showing of the final episode, Colin Dexter was opening a new diabetes centre in Coventry.
But there are disparities too. "I'm not as mean and I always thank people. That's one of Morse's more unpleasant streaks; he's never grateful".
MORSE FANS PREPARE FOR THE WORST (November 15, 2000) by Andrew French - Inspector Morse fans will be in tears tonight (WED) as they say a final farewell to their favourite TV detective.
Oxford's Randolph Hotel will host a special screening of The Remorseful Day, the last of 33 small screen investigations featuring John Thaw and Kevin Whately as Morse and Lewis.
Some time after 8.30pm on ITV, Morse will die, with his faithful assistant Lewis saying a tearful goodbye.
The author of the Morse books, Colin Dexter, 70, who lives in Banbury Road, Oxford, will be at the hotel to welcome fans flying in from across the globe to mourn the passing of the morose policeman.
Since Morse investigated his first of 80 Oxford murders in The Dead of Jericho in 1987, he has gained 16 million regular viewers in the UK, and 750 million in 40 other countries.
MORSE: THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU DIDN'T KNOW
(November 15, 2000) - Amaze your friends with these dinner table titbits about Oxford's favourite sleuth:
**Most people know Colin Dexter has cameo roles, Hitchcock-style, in the televised versions of his detective's adventures. But when he played a tramp in Happy Families, filmed from the top of the Carfax tower, a real down-and-out approached him, grabbed his 'meths' and ran off - only to find it was water.
**Morse shares his birthday with Dexter - September 29, 1930 - making the detective 70 this year. John Thaw is 12 years younger.
**Morse originally drove a Lancia in Dexter's early novels. He changed his mode of transport to a Jaguar after the television Morse started to drive one.
**In September 1999, Brakspear's Brewery in Henley brought out a new beer - Morse's Bitter Endeavour - to mark the end of the detective. The brewery was used as a setting for a fictitious brewery in The Sins Of The Father.
**After saying goodbye to Oxford in March, many of the Morse crew - including John Thaw, producer Chris Burt and director Jack Gold - returned in the summer for a day's filming on a special episode of Kavanagh QC.
**Before the first Morse film, The Dead Of Jericho, hit the screens, television bosses were worried a two-hour detective drama wouldn't interest an ITV audience.
**Morse has a global audience of one billion people in 200 countries, ranging from Canada to Mongolia, Malawi to Nepal, El Salvador to Papua New Guinea.
MORSE: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, SAYS DEXTER
(November 15, 2000) by Katherine MacAlister - As Oxford braces itself for the death of its most famous cop, Katherine MacAlister looks behind the scenes of Inspector Morse
Oxford is in mourning today for one of its favourite characters. Inspector Morse has not only put the city firmly on the television map but also become a great friend over the years.
Morse graces our screens for the last time tonight and as the nation sits glued to its seats with the usual mixture of excitement and suspense, there will also be a huge sense of loss.
Tonight's is the 33rd episode and viewers have become addicted to the heady mixture of murder and mystery, interlaced with the detective work of Inspector Morse, played by John Thaw, and his trusty sidekick Sgt Lewis, played by Kevin Whately.
But it's not just the characters that have made Morse such a favourite - knowing that its author, Colin Dexter, lives in Summertown and seeing so many familiar sights as the backdrop for this hugely successful series have helped boost Morse's enormous following at home.
But while Dexter is unrepentant about closing the book on the nation's best-loved police partnership, both the Carlton TV crew and cast themselves were depressed by the decision.
Producer Chris Burt says: "The worst time for us was the last day's filming in Oxford itself. There was a great depression throughout the whole crew and the actors.
"This was the last trip to Oxford with Morse still being there with his red car. John was very depressed by it. He had enjoyed doing Morse for so many years, especially coming to Oxford once a year. It was a very sad moment for him."
"There were people who said this will never work and believed that an ITV audience just wouldn't take two hours of complicated detection," says Ted Childs, executive producer of the show from the start.
Morse himself can be far from likeable.
Creator Colin Dexter describes him as "the melancholy, sensitive, vulnerable, independent, ungracious, mean-pocketed Morse".
The only thing that Morse had in its favour was its Oxford location - not because the city is picturesque, not because this was the first crime series to be set there.
Rather, Oxford fell within the broadcasting region of Central TV (now Carlton).
Morse is an expensive programme to make but setting and filming it in Oxford helped Central fulfil its requirement to make programmes reflecting its region.
Though the two-hour length was risky for the UK, it did mean that the company was effectively making TV movies to sell overseas.
The plan could not have worked better. Morse invariably has high viewing figures in the UK - with a peak of 18 million for episodes in the mid-1990s - but worldwide its audience is estimated by ITV at one billion across 200 countries.
And the two-hour episode length has become the norm for detective series, from ITV's A Touch of Frost to BBC's Dalziel and Pascoe.
The famous theme music, with its distinctive start based on the Morse code for m-o-r-s-e, was heard for the 33rd and final time with The Remorseful Day.
And while we have been told before that Morse is finishing, this time it is guaranteed.
For Dexter, Thaw and the producers have made no bones about Morse meeting his end - just as we have long been told Victor Meldrew will be killed off in the final One Foot in the Grave next week.
It is already public knowledge that Inspector Morse gets finished off once and for all in this last episode, and Dexter has made it clear his mantle won't be taken up by anyone else. He says: "The copyright of Morse is mine. No-one can take over Morse or Lewis, so there is no question of a new series. I shall not be writing any more about them."
His decision is fair enough. After all, Inspector Morse is now in his 70s and Dexter has had no qualms about depicting him as the pensioner he is, far removed from the blunt, Wagner-loving, bitter-swilling character that strolled on to our screens in 1987.
But after 81 violent deaths and 27 years of living and breathing Morse, Dexter feels the time is right. "Various possibilities suggested themselves for Morse - retirement, marriage, failure, nervous breakdown. I decided that Morse must die."
People write to say how cruel it is of me to kill off Morse. But I am getting old. I think I have said enough about Morse and Lewis.
He started off in his early 40s and he must be 70 now. Do you know what age policemen retire? It's usually 50.
Anyway, with the murder count at 80, Oxford has become the murder capital of the UK. The time has come to put an end to this."
Morse is now a pale, hunched, slow-moving version of his former self, and has chosen to take up bird-watching rather than drinking in his favourite watering holes in case he has to go back to hospital.
But while the ageing of Inspector Morse may come as a shock, The Remorseful Day won't disappoint.
It centres on the year-long investigation into the murder of Yvonne Harrison which sparks to life again when new evidence is uncovered.
Morse, who has been ill, is back on duty but working under Lewis, who is leading the investigation. Sure enough, Morse soon starts interfering and checking up on Lewis's procedure.
Filming the last episode was certainly a momentous event in John Thaw's career as he said goodbye to arguably the best part of his acting life.
When it came to film the ending, the cast and crew said although they were in tears, they felt it was time for the end.
"Producer Chris Burt phoned to tell me that in Colin's next book Morse would die," says Thaw.
"I was pleased in a way because it took away the responsibility of deciding if I, as an actor, should do Morse again and again. "
He adds: "If Morse hadn't died in this, then I would have filmed it and waited for the next book.
All I said previously was that I didn't want the television Morse to end like Frank Sinatra, doing an endless series of farewell concerts.
When producer Chris Burt phoned to tell me that in Colin's next book Morse would die, I was pleased in a way, because it took away the responsibility of deciding if I, as an actor, should do Morse again and again."
But he admits the last day of filming on the last episode filled him with sadness.
"It shouldn't have really because it is only a part. But it has been so much part of my life and I was a bit emotional.
"I've enjoyed Morse more than anything I've done so when the final episode does go out, it's going to be a sad day - not just for me but for everyone involved." Inspector Morse is bowing out at the peak of its popularity - and at writer Colin Dexter's too.
"In the last few years, I have found it increasingly difficult to pursue the lonely and demanding discipline of writing. It was time for me to finish," he concludes.
ACTORS MARK A TEARFUL DAY FOR MORSE (October 10, 2000) - John Thaw, who has played TV's Inspector Morse for the past 14 years, today revealed how he was choked watching the final scene in which the much-loved detective dies.
The last instalment, to be broadcast next month, sees the demise of the classical music-loving Oxford policeman.
The Remorseful Day is the 33rd Morse film and brings to an end one of British television's biggest successes, based on the novels of Oxford author Colin Dexter.
Speaking about his final few days in the role, Thaw said the popularity of Morse ruled out the chance of he and his co-star Kevin Whately working on another project together.
"It would be very difficult for the audience."
He added: At the end I was choked up to see the last scene. It was a very movingly made film.
Whately, who played long-suffering Sgt Lewis, said: It is a very strong feeling seeing such an icon lying there on the slab.
Playing Lewis has taken 14 years out of my 25-year career more than half my acting life and it's certainly something I never expect to equal again in terms of success, viewing figures and quality.
A special documentary, The Last Morse, will be screened on the eve of The Remorseful Day in mid-November.
CLASSICS NEW CHALLENGE FOR MORSE (September 11, 2000) - John Thaw, the actor who played Inspector Morse, may have a new role in a television play by Oxford writer Colin Dexter.
His famous creation Inspector Morse was killed off after 14 novels and 32 TV dramatisations, but now the author is said to be writing a TV play set in a grammar school. He wants John Thaw to play the role of senior classics master.
The two men have become good friends through working together during the Morse series. John Thaw's agent has confirmed the actor will consider the play when it is completed. Mr Dexter may be able to draw on his own experiences for the play. He and his elder brother won scholarships to their local grammar school and then to Cambridge before becoming classics teachers.
His motivation for the new play is thought to be a growing dissatisfaction with the Government's education policies.
He said: "I used to teach Latin and Greek. I worked in several schools in the Midlands and they were mostly grammars. But they've all become co-ed comprehensive schools."
Mr Dexter said he hoped to make progress writing it during the next two months.
LEWIS AND MORSE'S LAST STAND (March 23, 2000) - So that'll be it, then. After 33 episodes, 66 hours of film, 14 years and Colin Dexter alone-knows how many murders, it's goodbye to all that for John Thaw and Kevin Whately as Inspector Morse and Sgt Lewis.
We are sitting in John Thaw's impressive trailer, on location in Oxford for the shooting of The Remorseful Day, the last-ever tale of the silver-haired sleuth and his long-suffering sidekick.
Unless you have been living in a coal-bunker in Carlisle since last Autumn, you will be aware that in this final episode adapted from 69-year-old Dexter's final book, the good Inspector finally succumbs to the regime of neglect he's imposed on himself.
The years of poor diet and strong drink - much of it scrounged from the kindly Lewis - at last take their toll and at the end, Morse shuffles off to a better place, where the soundtrack is by Wagner and the beer is freely on tap.
At 58, John Thaw is without doubt among the top five bankable TV stars in the country. So, come to that, is Whately - the others being David Jason, Robson Green, and, at a pinch, Nick Berry. If there was ever such a thing as the couch potato olympics, watching Inspector Morse would surely qualify as the gold medal event.
"Do you know," says Thaw, "that by the time we finish shooting this, there will be 66 hours of Morse in existence - which is an amazing amount. If you were to sit down and watch it all at once, you'd be in front of the telly for two and a half days!"
"Morse has been a major thing for both our careers - it's a big part of the success we've both had.
I just enjoy playing him," he adds. "Morse is like an old friend and the way we've ended up doing it - once a year - has meant that I've looked forward to it. So now, after this, professionally I'll miss that looking forward thing."
Whately agrees. "Making Morse is like an island of sanity," he smiles.
"But because people will always associate John and myself as Morse and Lewis, we can never be teamed up in anything else again. You've had 15 years of my life already!" Thaw laughs.
In truth, the two actors hit it off from the word go. It was a partnership which worked like a Swiss watch, with the characters' glaring differences only adding to the viewers' enjoyment and the sense of fun of it all, in among the dark deeds and the murders and mayhem.
Lewis and his occasionally dodgy grammar - Morse and his reverence for language bordering on pedantry.
The sergeant and his egg and chips - the inspector and his mainly liquid, alcoholic diet. Lewis the family man - Morse the social hermit. The younger man's instinctive generosity - the older man's inherent miserly ways. It all helped to make Morse what it was - a televisual triumph.
Mind you, the choice of location was always a winner, too. "I'll miss Oxford," Thaw admits. "We've always enjoyed coming here and getting to know so many local people." "Yes," agrees Whately, "Oxford has been a huge ingredient in the show's success. Coming here is a great treat for an actor."
And just as Morse has benefited from Oxford, so the city itself has reasons to be glad of Morse. There's the Morse Tourist Trail for a start, taking in places like the Randolph Hotel, the Sheldonian, the Ashmolean, the Trout Inn at Wolvercote - people come from afar, just to walk in the detective's footsteps.
Whenever filming is actually taking place in Oxford, the crowds gather with their autograph books and their Instamatics and their enthusiasm.
And now that's it. After today, when the cast and crew pack up and leave Oxford, the familiar sight of Thaw and Whately strolling through college quads and along the city streets will be a thing of the past. Without giving away too many details, it's fairly common knowledge that Morse's actual demise is down to natural causes - but would Thaw have preferred to go out with a bang, machine-gunned to death by a madman on the steps of Kidlington cop-shop, perhaps?
"No, we're always respectful of Colin Dexter's wishes and Morse's death is much more believable like this, it is much more likely. He doesn't look after himself and he drinks too much. In the films, though, he doesn't have diabetes, he has ulcers," he points out.
"But if we get the death scene right," promises Whately, "there won't be a dry eye in the house.
Although you know what's coming, it still takes you by surprise. I'm quite moved by it."
"But," interjects Thaw, "there are no great speeches involved. It's all very real."
Although Colin Dexter has said publicly that's he's tired and doesn't want to write any further Morse novels, there has been talk that Carlton, the TV company responsible for the show, might be able to make more shows, by setting them in the past and producing them as original screenplays. But would Thaw be interested, in any case?
"That's a big question, George," he says seriously. "And the answer is - I honestly don't know."
But perhaps today, when the last piece of equipment is packed away and the production rolls out of Oxford for the last time, perhaps then would really be the time to call it a day - albeit a Remorseful one.
As they say in the business, that's a wrap.
MORSE'S DEATH HAS BEEN TELEGRAPHED
(Sept. 16, 1999) - Inspector Morse star John Thaw accused a national newspaper of being "spiteful" after it revealed how the fictional Oxford detective will be killed off.
Author Colin Dexter told a news conference that Morse dies in his 13th - and last - book about the famous Oxford policeman, The Remorseful Day, and that his health was to blame - but he did not go into detail. The Daily Telegraph, however, printed details of how Morse dies.
Mr Dexter said: "This is just awful. It has spoilt the ending for all the fans. The only bright thing is that not everybody, by any means, reads The Daily Telegraph." Mr Thaw said: "This is a great shame. I can't see what the newspaper gains by doing this. They have given the plot away. It is just spiteful."
Mr Dexter said he was saddened to take leave of Morse, and added: "He has lived with me now for more than a quarter of a century and I shall miss him. With the body count in books and on TV now risen to almost 80, Oxford had become the murder capital of the nation, and the time had come to put an end to this.
"Oxford is the background character. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world."
Mr Dexter said he had considered many ways of 'killing off' his star, including marriage, retirement, the sack or even a nervous breakdown.
NO MRS. MORSE, INSISTS DEXTER (March 16, 1998) - INSPECTOR Morse get married? He'd much rather have a pint of real ale, do a crossword or listen to Wagner.
That is the message from his creator Colin Dexter, who insists his most famous character is not about to tie the knot.
Mr Dexter, 67, told the Oxford Mail from his north Oxford home: "Morse is not the sort likely to get married.
"If anybody has read my books, they will know it will be extremely unusual for a man of his independent temperament ever to get married."
Rumours persist that the Oxford-based Morse, played by John Thaw, will marry a schoolteacher in a forthcoming episode called The Wench Is Dead, to be screened in November.
Watched by 18 million fans in Britain and hundreds of millions around the world, the dour yet loveable detective has been famously unattached for 31 two-hour films. Whenever he has tried to get close to a lady, work often gets in the way. So why should the latest episode be any different?
The script, in draft form only, is being written by novelist Malcolm Bradbury, famous author of The History Man.
The final script will not be released until later this year.
Mr Dexter has written seven best-sellers featuring the irascible Morse, and Carlton Television has invented more than 20 Morse murder mysteries with Mr Dexter's permission.
The final script will be shown to Mr Dexter, who will have the chance to discuss its content. He said he had attended a script conference during the past few days.
(Above): The many faces of Colin Dexter.
NO MORE MORSE SAYS DEXTER (February 19, 1998) - INSPECTOR Morse author Colin Dexter insists he will definitely not write another of the hit novels - because he has killed enough people already.
Mr Dexter, 67, who lives in Oxford, said today: "Seventy-five people have been killed off. I have made Oxford the murder capital of Europe."
Veteran actor John Thaw confirmed he is finishing as Britain's favourite TV detective - because he is bored.
Thaw, 56, who has starred as Inspector Morse for 13 years, said: "I can't get enthusiastic for it, so it's time to go. We have done all the Colin Dexter books that are worth filming.
"They would have to get another writer to create a story and why bother doing that?"
Thaw will make one more two-hour Morse programme based on the book The Wench Is Dead.
"It is the last one we can do really," he said.
Mr Dexter added: "It is not a question of quitting - it is just a question that we have come to the end.
"We have done enough and killed enough people off now. We also feel we want to go out at the top."
Next: Articles & Interviews (Pt.4)
The role of Inspector Morse had already earned John two well-deserved Baftas, and will be awarded a fellowship next year.
"It is an honour to be included in such a select band of actors, directors, and other industry luminaries, from Alfred Hitchcock to Woody Allen, from Sir John Gielgud to Morecambe and Wise," said Thaw.
"They tell me I am the 53rd member - it is a privilege to be among them.
It would be impossible for me to accept this award without paying tribute to all of the directors, writers, cast and crew members with whom I have worked during my career." Thaw will be presented with his award by previous Bafta winner Sir Tom Courtenay at the ceremony, hosted by Angus Deayton at London's Grosvenor House Hotel.
The fellowship, which is given for outstanding contributions to British television, is the organisation's most prestigious award.
"A heartfelt thank you to them all - and there have been a lot of them - and thank you to the members of Bafta. I am very flattered," he said.
