Sheila Hancock’s urgent appeal to find missing wedding rings

Dame Sheila Hancock said she was “grateful” to those scouring the streets of London looking for her “most treasured possession” after the actress revealed her rings had gone missing.

The British actress, 90, lost a sentimental gold chain holding four wedding rings belonging to each of her parents and her two marriages to the late John Thaw and Alec Ross.

Sharing several posts on Twitter, her official account offered a reward for finding the necklace as the Metropolitan Police “no longer deal with lost items”.

A statement read: “Sheila is so grateful to everyone sharing the posts about her lost chain with the wedding rings.

“It hasn’t been found yet but she sends heartfelt thanks to everyone trying to share news for her.”

“If anyone does find it, it is of such huge personal import(ance) to her.. please contact us.”

An earlier tweet read: “CCTV suggests this necklace with four wedding rings was lost round Haymarket W1.

“The police no longer deal with lost items so even if someone went to hand it in there is no central system to find it.

“She is desperate to have this personal treasure back.”

Pictures of Dame Sheila with the chain around her neck were also tweeted, which said the actress is “heartbroken to lose her most treasured possession”.

Sheila was married to Inspector Morse star John – who died of cancer at the age of 60 – from 1973 until his death in 2002, and the actress previously shared her regrets about not “trying to understand” his fascination with the universe.

She told Yahoo: “I remember when John used to ask me to join him looking at the stars at our French home – we no longer see them in big over-lit cities.

“I would have a quick look and say, ‘Yes, lovely,’ and carry on cooking supper.

“He would stand there for ages, and I think now that he probably knew that feeling of being part of the universe.

“And I didn’t understand it. How sad that I was too busy to try.”

The Olivier Award-winning actress – who has daughters Melanie, 57, and Joanna, 48, from her marriage to John – added that just before he died, John spent a “very long time” staring at the stars.

Now two decades later, she can still “feel his presence” as she questions whether she will ever be able to “set aside” her own “rational approach” to life as she touched on dying.