Our Great Canal Journeys: A Lifetime of Memories on Britain's Most Beautiful Waterways. Timothy West

some vital thing she had been told, and asking the question again (Judi Dench, in her brilliant performance as Iris Murdoch in Iris, portrayed it exactly).

      I had to think: is this going to be apparent when we’re filming; or, even if it isn’t, how many people will have heard rumours and be watching out for indications? So I decided I couldn’t possibly pretend to ignore it: to do so would be foolish, dishonest and altogether wrong. With Pru’s agreement and that of our TV producers, I made a clear statement about it on screen, and revised this as we went along.

      How is it for me? Well, painful of course when I remember the wonderful girl I fell in love with, so clever, so funny, so adventurous. But one mustn’t do that, mustn’t dig into the past. Live for the present, just take it day by day. Day by day I don’t notice that much difference in her: physically she’s in amazing shape for her age, and still likes going to the theatre, to concerts, restaurants and so on, and especially being on the boat. She’s well aware of the problem, doesn’t like talking about it, and is not letting it get her down. We really do have a lot to be thankful for.

       PART 2