Sheila Hancock

Amol Rajan sits down with actor Dame Sheila Hancock for an in-depth conversation about her life, career, friendships and great loves. From growing up above a pub in the East End of London to being a war evacuee, Amol hears how bloody-minded determination helped her break into the acting elite, which at the time was very male, posh and university educated.

Hancock says she was guided by a strong and urgent sense of justice, instilled by her father, and Amol asks how that has helped her re-write the rules for comedy, women and the working class.

The dame’s deep love and then loss of her late husband and fellow actor John Thaw further endeared her to millions, and through charming anecdotes, including her claim that her feisty attitude caused her to be blacklisted from TV, we see how this remarkable 90-year-old is scarred by war, stirred by faith and as energised by injustice as ever.