Dame Sheila Cameron Hancock (born 22 February 1933) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has performed on stage in both plays and musicals in London theatres, and is also known for her roles in films and on television.
Sheila Cameron Hancock[1] was born on 22 February 1933 in Blackgang on the Isle of Wight, the daughter of Enrico Cameron Hancock and Ivy Louise (née Woodward).[2] Her sister Billie was seven years older.[3] After Enrico and Ivy left the hospitality industry in 1938, the Hancocks moved to a semi-detached house in Latham Road, Bexleyheath, which Hancock considered dull compared to "the rough and tumble" of King's Cross. She later recalled that there was a sense that "we had definitely gone up in the world... became lower-middle-class".[3]
Hancock furthered her acting education at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), graduating in 1952 with an Acting (RADA Diploma).[5]
Theatre
Hancock worked in repertory during the 1950s and made her West End debut in 1958, replacing Joan Sims in the play Breath of Spring. She then appeared in Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop production of Make Me An Offer in 1959, and her other early West End appearances included Peter Cook's revue One Over the Eight with Kenneth Williams in 1961, and starring in Rattle of a Simple Man in 1962. She recalled that in One over the Eight she had been egged on by Irving Davies's exhortation as dance captain, "Eyes, teeth, and tits, darlings – and sparkle, sparkle, sparkle!"[6]
In 1965, Hancock made her Broadway debut in Entertaining Mr Sloane. In 1978, she played Miss Hannigan in the original London cast of the musical Annie at the Victoria Palace Theatre and two years later, she played Mrs Lovett in the original London production of the musical Sweeney Todd at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane; her portrayal was described as having "caught the love-story element perfectly."[7]
Hancock took the role of Rose in the West Yorkshire Playhouse's 1993 production of Gypsy; a reviewer commented that she "certainly had the measure of Rose... 'Everything's coming up roses' brought the first hint of true pathos into the show", while in the final scene "her wild fluctuations between self-belief and self-doubt ended in tear-jerking self-awareness".[10]
In 2006, Hancock played the role of Fräulein Schneider in the West End revival of the musical Cabaret at the Lyric Theatre. She won the Laurence Olivier Award, and the Clarence Derwent Award, for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical. In 2009, she spent over a year playing Mother Superior in Sister Act the Musical at the London Palladium for which she was nominated for an Olivier Award.[11]
Hancock has also presented several documentaries. In 2010, she presented Suffragette City (part of A History of the World series), telling the story of the suffragette movement through objects from the Museum of London's collection.[19] In 2011, she presented Sheila Hancock Brushes Up: The Art of Watercolours, exploring the history of watercolour via beautiful yet little-known works of professional and amateur artists.[20] In 2013 she presented, as part of the ITVPerspectives documentary series, Perspectives: Sheila Hancock – The Brilliant Brontë Sisters, examining the writers' upbringing and the sources of their inspiration.[21]
In January 2016, Hancock made a guest appearance in an episode of the BBC medical drama Casualty for its 30th anniversary. From December 2016 until its conclusion in January 2019, she starred alongside Dawn French, Emilia Fox and Iain Glen in all three seasons of the Sky One comedy drama series Delicious.[citation needed]
In 2023, Hancock played Liz Zettl in the BBC true-life crime drama miniseries The Sixth Commandment.
Other work
In March 1963, Hancock made a comedy single record, "My Last Cigarette".[25] The song is about someone trying to give up smoking; however, every good intention is dependent on her having "just one more cigarette".
Hancock regularly works in radio. She has been a semi-regular contestant on the BBC Radio 4 panel game Just a Minute since 1967. She starred as Alice Foster in the BBC Radio 2 comedy series Thank You, Mrs Fothergill, in 1978–79, alongside Pat Coombs. In 1995, Hancock provided the voice of Granny Weatherwax in BBC Radio 4's adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel Wyrd Sisters. In 2011, Hancock appeared in the BBC Radio 4 series North by Northamptonshire, alongside Geoffrey Palmer.[27]
Hancock was married to actor Alec Ross from 1955 until his death from oesophageal cancer in 1971. They had one daughter, Melanie, born in 1964. In 1973, Hancock married actor John Thaw. He adopted Melanie and they had another daughter, Joanna Thaw. Thaw's daughter Abigail, from his first marriage, also joined their family. All three of their daughters have become actresses.[26][42][43]
Hancock was married to Thaw until his death (also from oesophageal cancer) on 21 February 2002. Hancock herself was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1988, but made a full recovery. Her 2004 book, The Two of Us, is a dual biography, which gives accounts of both their lives, as well as focusing on their 28-year marriage.[44] This was followed by the 2008 book Just Me, an autobiographical account of coming to terms with widowhood,[45] and Old Rage in 2022.[46] In 2014, she published her debut novel, Miss Carter's War.[47] Hancock had published the memoirRamblings of an Actress in 1987.[48]
Hancock is a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).[49] She is a patron of educational charity Digismart as well as a trustee of the John Thaw Foundation.[50]
Hancock is a friend of Sandi Toksvig and read Maya Angelou's poem "Touched by an Angel" at the "I Do To Equal Marriage" event that celebrated the introduction of same-sex marriage in England and Wales.[51]
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