Sheila Hancock tells of ‘immense sense of duty’ after being made a Dame in New Year Honours list

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Sheila Hancock has said she feels an ‘immense sense of duty’ after she was made Dame in the New Years Honours list at the age of 87.  

The British icon, who has starred in movies such as Edie and Carry On Cleo as well as the TV series The Rag Trade, will be recognised for her services to drama and charity.

Dame Sheila, whose illustrious career on stage and screen spans six decades, joined seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton and Veteran footballers Jimmy Greaves and Ron Flowers on the list night.

Also on the list was EastEnders star Nina Wadia, actor Toby Jones, who has played Alfred Hitchcock and Dobby the house-elf Dobby in Harry Potter, and singer Craig David.

Speaking about her award Dame Sheila said: ‘I’ve never felt myself this sort of person. It just doesn’t happen to people like me. I feel I may be lowering the tone. I feel slightly miscast, let’s put it that way.

‘But I also feel an immense sense of duty as a result of it. Far from feeling, ”how lovely, wonderful and good me, pat on the back and now I can sit and enjoy myself,” I actually feel challenged by it.

‘I feel I’ve got to prove something and work even harder, particularly in my charity area. 

‘I’ve got to earn it, as it were, now, quickly, before I die. And acknowledge it’s not so much a pat on the back, but it’s saying you have certain duties. That’s what it feels like to me.’

Dame Sheila, who was married to the actor John Thaw before his death in 2002, started her career in the theatre, finding success in both the West End and on Broadway.

Her career flourished with comedy performances on the BBC, with roles in sitcoms including The Rag Trade, Mr Digby Darling and Now, Take My Wife.

In 1972 she landed her own series, But Seriously, It’s Sheila Hancock.

As well as her acting career, Dame Sheila has worked extensively for charity and has campaigned for improving education, especially for children from poorer backgrounds.

She told of her fears the pandemic-enforced closure of schools may widen the gap between rich and poor students. 

She said: ‘I am very worried at the moment about the gaps with the kids that haven’t done any work since March, if they haven’t got the background that can help, haven’t even got a bloody iPad, and the other ones whose parents have been wonderful in giving them home education.

‘I think this is going to be a huge problem in the future, that we’ve got to work on.’ 

Dame Sheila’s first husband, the actor Alec Ross, died from oesophageal cancer in 1971.

She was married to Inspector Morse actor Thaw until his death, also from oesophageal cancer, in 2002.

She and Thaw had one child together, Joanna, while she also had a daughter with Ross and is stepmother to Abigail, Thaw’s daughter from his first marriage.

Dame Sheila wrote movingly about her relationship with Thaw in the 2004 dual biography The Two Of Us, which reflected on the couple’s 28-year marriage and his battles with alcoholism and depression.

Speaking after his death, the star revealed that she begged her husband not to die, pleading with him not to leave her. 

The actress said the love they shared was so strong that it bordered on ‘obsessive’, and said that neither she nor Thaw could ever imagine being apart from each other.

Dame Sheila made the admission to Radio Times magazine as she compared her and Thaw’s love to tragic lovers Cathy and Heathcliff in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights.

She said: ‘If you have ever known that obsessive love, which sometimes makes it difficult to be together but impossible to be apart, you can identify with the relationship between Cathy and Heathcliff.’

In 2008 she explored her widowhood in the memoir Just Me. 

Her later acting roles include the 2016 TV comedy series Delicious and the 2017 drama film Edie, in which she played an octogenarian who embarks on a mission to climb a Scottish mountain.

Dame Sheila, born in 1933, was evacuated from her home during the Second World War. She drew comparisons between that conflict and the misery caused by the pandemic and said she hopes the health crisis will lead to a more caring society.

She said: ‘At the end of the war we came together, and during the war people were already planning the welfare state. 

‘There were people getting together saying ‘this has got to change’. And because working class men were meeting people from the upper class and vice versa, they realised that there was awful inequality and they did something about it.

‘A revolution happened, slowly. And it was agony, but after the war we changed the world for people from my background. And I’m hoping out of this people will realise we are grossly underpaying people like care workers and we’re not valuing them. It’s no good just standing clapping them.’                

The Carry On star has also candidly spoken about how she is well prepared for her older years and said in 2018 that she intends to leave her wealth to charity rather than give it all to her grown-up daughters.

Leaving money to your children is ‘the worst thing you can do’, the actress said in an interview, adding: ‘I think having to earn a living is a good incentive … to force yourself up off your bottom.’ 

She told The Sunday Times she planned to leave money to her late husband’s charity, the John Thaw Foundation, which helps disadvantaged young people. 

Joining the star on the list last night was seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton and veteran footballers Jimmy Greaves, Ron Flowers and singer Craig David.

Hamilton, 35, who is worth more than £250million, quit the UK in 2007 to live in the tax havens of Switzerland and Monaco. 

But he insists he does pay some tax in the UK. He has stressed: ‘I am contributing to the country and, not only that, I help to keep a team of more than 1,000 people employed.’

Boris Johnson had come under sustained pressure to include Hamilton in the list after a year in which he equalled German ace Michael Schumacher’s record with seven F1 titles and became a vocal activist for the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Meanwhile actress Lesley Manville, 64, who will play Princess Margaret in the final two seasons of Netflix hit The Crown, was made a CBE and EastEnders actress Nina Wadia received an OBE. 

Coronation Street veteran Sally Dynevor, 57, who has played Sally Webster since 1986, becomes an MBE. 

Actor Toby Jones, who has played Alfred Hitchcock and Dobby the house-elf in Harry Potter, received an OBE. 

Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins, who worked on films including Blade Runner, Shawshank Redemption and Skyfall, was also knighted. 

Broadcaster Eric Robson, 73, who headed Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time for almost three decades, was given an OBE.  

Football heroes Greaves, 80, and Flowers, 86, were also made MBEs after a long-running campaign to ensure every surviving member of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning squad gets an honour. 

The Prime Minister said he hoped the New Year Honours would inspire the nation. Mr Johnson said: ‘In a year when so many have made sacrifices to protect our NHS and save people’s lives, the outstanding efforts of those receiving honours today are a welcome reminder of the strength of human spirit and of what can be achieved through courage and compassion.

‘The 2021 New Year Honours offer us an opportunity to salute their dedication and recognise many who have gone above and beyond in their contribution to our country.

‘As we begin a new year and continue to come together to fight this virus, may their service and stories be an inspiration to us all.’