Dame Sheila Hancock has said she’s been overwhelmed by loneliness and feelings of depression following the death of her husband John Thaw.
The 92-year-old actor, who’s known for her role as Barbara Owen in EastEnders, married the Inspector Morse star in 1973. Thaw died from throat cancer 29 years later, aged 60.
Hancock said that although her friends and family have provided her “great comfort” in the 23 years since Thaw’s death, she’s still suffering the “gaping loss” of her husband.
“Who is there now to wipe my tears and make me laugh?” she wrote in Prospect magazine.
Hancock said she still speaks to Thaw while watching the Channel 4 news each day. “But our imagined rant about politicians and human idiocy has grown fainter over the years,” she said.
The actor said her loneliness has been “terribly difficult” to handle, adding she sometimes wakes up feeling “overwhelmed at the thought of a solitary day ahead.”
She wrote: “The easiest thing is to turn over and stay in bed, but an effort must be made when one least feels like it, to get up and be active, or one descends even deeper into the Slough of Despond.”
Hancock revealed she’d considered getting a cat to keep her company but worried about the fact that the pet could outlive her.
According to Age UK, nearly a million older people in the UK are often lonely, with some left struggling to use their voice because they haven’t spoken to anyone for so long.
Hancock rose to fame following her 1966 Broadway debut in Entertaining Mr Sloane, which earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Play.
She went on to star in the comedy films Carry on Cleo, The Wildcats of St Trinian’s, and Three Men and a Little Lady, as well as further stage shows, including Cabaret, Annie and Sister Act.
The Olivier winner met Thaw in 1969 when they co-starred in the West End play So What About Love? They married in 1973, two years after the death of Hancock’s first husband, actor Alec Ross.
Age UK’s free national telephone services can be a lifeline for those who feel as though they have no one else to turn to. For more information about the Charity’s Information & Advice Line, Telephone Friendship Service and The Silver Line Helpline, as well as what’s available at local Age UKs, visit: ageuk.org.uk/loneliness/, and to do your bit in tackling loneliness by becoming a volunteer, visit: ageuk.org.uk/friend.
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