SHEILA Hancock was being brutally honest.
Her husband John Thaw was one of Britain’s favourite actors when he died in 2002.
But she believed that as future generations moved on and new stars emerged, he would mostly be forgotten.
It’s a sad inevitability that young viewers of the future will not know anything of John.
Unless they catch repeats of the likes of Inspector Morse, The Sweeney and the wonderful Goodnight Mister Tom.
Or read her moving book The Two Of Us – My Life With John Thaw.
There’s another book on John which I contributed a chapter to.
But as none of the contributors were paid in a saga that ended up on BBC1’s Watchdog, I don’t recommend you buy it.

Perhaps one day I’ll post that chapter online here.
Sheila is right – the world keeps turning and mass attention focuses on other things.
But John’s legacy does live on.
Both via the fine body of work he left behind on film and his lasting influence on actors and future TV dramas.

Philip Glenister and I were talking about him recently.
We now meet up at regular intervals to discuss current TV projects in much the same way as I once did with Manchester-born John.
Without The Sweeney, there probably would not have been a Life On Mars.
And without Morse, there certainly would not have been Lewis.
Sheila talks again about her relationship with John in this Sunday’s edition of Piers Morgan’s Life Stories on ITV1.
You can read some of what she has to say in the MEN TV feature here.
While Monday’s MEN will feature an interview with Kevin Whateley, ahead of the new ITV1 series of Lewis.
I’ll provide a link here when I post that feature online.
Also check out the links below for lots more.
Life Goes On For A Wife Less Ordinary
John Thaw: A Night Of Morse Memories
John Thaw: Morse At 20
Lewis…And Morse
Cracking The Morse Code
Final Round Of Applause For Thaw
Thaw And His Legacy Of Love
John Thaw Site