When John Thaw, star of 'The Sweeney' and 'Inspector Morse', died from cancer in 2002, a nation lost one of its finest actors, Sheila Hancock lost a beloved husband. In this unique double biography she chronicles their lives - personal and professional, together and apart.

John Thaw was born in Manchester, the son of a lorry driver. When he arrived at RADA on a scholarship he felt an outsider. In fact his timing was perfect: it was the sixties and television was beginning to make its mark. With his roles in 'Z-Cars' and 'The Sweeney', fame came quickly. But it was John's role as Morse that made him an icon. In 1974 John married Sheila Hancock, with whom he shared a working-class background and a RADA education. Sheila was already the star of the TV series 'The Rag Trade' and went on to become the first woman artistic director at the RSC. Theirs was a sometimes turbulent, always passionate relationship, and Sheila describes their love - weathering overwork and the pressures of celebrity, drink and cancer - with honesty and piercing intelligence.