Dame Sheila Hancock has said that she fears the prospect of dying with Nigel Farage as prime minister.
The actress and national treasure appeared on Have I Got News For You this week in a pre-taped episode the results of the local elections are revealed.
with Steph McGovern host, 93-year-old Dame Sheila guest starred alongside the comedian and Waterloo Street star John Richardson.
As the first round kicked off, Dame Sheila and team captain Ian Hislop were presented with footage from the local elections.
This included an image of Reform in the UK leader and ex I am a famous man… Get me out of here! contestant Farage, 62.
It was as the panel discussed THE the growing popularity of the controversial right-wing party that Dame Shiela admitted she was ‘scared’ she might live long enough to die with Farage in power.
After suggesting Farage doesn’t know ‘what human beings are’, Dame Sheila shared her fears for the country’s future.
“I’ve reached the age now that I probably won’t be here much longer,” she continued.
“And I’m so scared (that) I’m going to die when he’s prime minister. I can’t die when Farage is prime minister!’ she exclaimed.
“Okay, that’s something to look forward to,” joked Hislop, before putting him at ease: “And he’s not going to be Prime Minister just because they win seats in local elections.”
Dame Sheila continued: “I have a feeling that the country is so confused at the moment and so desperate for change of any kind – and that is always so dangerous.
“This has happened in countries around the world. I will not name Germany because… but it happened there,” she concluded.
Born in 1933, Dame Sheila rose to fame in the early 60s after starring as Carole Taylor in the popular BBC series The Rag Trade.
Dividing her time between stage and screen, the actress, singer and West End star also appeared in episodes of Doctor Who, Inspector Morse and Jackanory, as well as the films Buster (1988) and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008).
In 2021, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for her services to drama and charity.
The actress was married to actor Alex Ross from 1955 until his death from esophageal cancer in 1971.
Tragically, her second husband – Inspector Morse star John Thaw – suffered the same fate. also dies of esophageal cancer in 2002.
The pair share two daughters together, including Dame Sheila’s daughter from her marriage to Ross.
This is not the first time the Great Canal Journeys star has addressed the possibility of her death.
She described it earlier how she’s not afraid of ‘cancelling culture’ due to her increasingly advanced years.
Appearing in Good morning Britain in 2023, she said: “What I tell my grandchildren is, ‘I don’t care what gender people are, it’s honestly irrelevant if they’re trans or whatever, I’ll call them whatever they want, but I should be able to express opinions.’
And they say, “Oh nana, you can’t say that, you’ll get canceled.”
But, as she told the hosts Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley, that didn’t bother him.
“Honestly, when you get to 90, you’re going to be written off,” she said, adding, “You might as well risk it.”
Have I Got News For You airs at 9pm on Friday on BBC One.
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