"John was as he has been throughout his illness ... as Monsignor Renard and one-off dramas like Buried Treasure. Thaw's family has been touched by cancer a number of times.

Family became the cornerstone of Thaw's life. His second child - and first with Hancock, their daughter Joanna - was born in 1975. John liked nothing more than to spend what spare time he had with ...

Sweeney co-stars John Thaw and Dennis Waterman had a real-life street brawl - on Christmas Day. Dame Sheila Hancock, 91, revealed how Thaw - who played DI Jack Regan - and Waterman, who played ...