Sheila's star part

From the archive, first published Friday 13th Sep 2002.

Actress Sheila Hancock had a starring role when she opened a new cancer scanner suite at an Oxford hospital.

Ms Hancock unveiled a plaque at the Churchill Hospital on September 12 to mark the opening of a £1.75m Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) suite.

She said cancer had stalked her family, and MRI scans had saved both her and her grandson from the disease that in February this year killed her husband John Thaw, who played Oxford detective Inspector Morse in the hit TV series.

She said: "Obviously, because of John's association, this has a special meaning for me.

"An MRI machine is a wonderful diagnostic tool."

About 4,000 patients a year will benefit from the new scanner.