Old Rage: 'One of our best-loved actor's powerful riposte to a world driving her mad’ - DAILY MAIL

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The book opens well with some cracking stories and I settled down for what I thought would be a really good read. One of the reasons I was late to meet you is that I can’t dress any more,” she says, exasperatedly (our conversation takes place in the London studio where she is to have her photograph taken).

She is kind and doesn’t have a bad word when speaking of people she knows and has met over the years.Having lived through bereavement and been born and remembers the Second World War, she now finds herself lonely at times and her body is finally not doing that well now. At Lisson Grove market [near Paddington], the traders are all [she slips into cockney] ‘Allo, Sheila! I enjoyed this, although I'm not a fan of celebrity autobiography, which is often very self indulgent. From Brexit to politicians to Covid she seems to be saying the world (and Britain in particular ) is a horrible place and she can't wait to get out of it. I think I know the answer to this question, but her relish is so enjoyable, I want to be the perfect audience.

She had weathered and even thrived in widowhood, taking on acting roles that would have been demanding for a woman half her age. Biography: Sheila Hancock, one of Britain's most highly regarded and popular actors, received a Damehood for services to drama and charity in 2021.View image in fullscreen Hancock in her Gucci leather jacket, once owned by her late husband John Thaw.

Old Rage” is in no way a metaphorical title: this is a brutally honest and fiercely funny book by a lady who has pretty much seen it all, and may yet have some life left in her. There are eight grandchildren, all of whom, at various points during the lockdown, stood on Hancock’s patio and merrily “shouted” at her.

Her loneliness throughout lockdown and her vivid descriptions of watching nature from her verandah and later from her walks are all what other people who were classed as ‘extremely vulnerable’ and those who live on their own, can all relate to. She has suffered loss and sadness, and currently has rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune and inflammatory disease, but doesn't stop her maintaining a firm grip on life and learning. But here we have a much loved and in many ways under-appreciated actress, dealing with the privations and challenges of old age.