Thaw celebrates 60th birthday

Thaw's big break was The Sweeney

John Thaw, who celebrates his 60th birthday on Thursday, is one of a rare group of British television actors who can rightfully be called national treasures.

His craggy features and mop of grey hair have almost listed status, such is the affection in which he is held.

His public admission last year that he was undergoing treatment for cancer of the oesophagus made front page news.

It was delivered with characteristic bluntness.

Thaw and Sheila Hancock: Married since 1973

In a statement Thaw said: "I am receiving treatment for cancer of the oesophagus.

"As soon as this has been completed, I intend to return to work."

More than six months on he is still receiving treatment, a spokesman for his agent told BBC News Online.

"He is fine in himself and looking forward to the end of the treatment and getting back to work," he said.

The star is planning to resume work in spring, filming two more episodes of the ITV drama Kavanagh QC.

Gruff

Thaw has been a television star for more than three decades but the obvious fondness displayed by audiences is in the face of what appears to be a gruff exterior and his closely-guarded privacy.

He has been married to actress Sheila Hancock since 1973 and the couple have a 25-year-old daughter but the divide between his public persona as a performer and as a father and husband has never been blurred.

From Inspector Regan in The Sweeney to Inspector Morse and Kavanagh QC Thaw has favoured characters with little obvious charm or appeal.

The more gruff and hard-nosed his performances have been the more favour he has won with audiences.

'Tough-talking'

He was born in Manchester in 1942 and his talent in school plays led to an audition at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

While he has acted on the stage to great acclaim - most notably in David Hare's The Absence of War - he is best known as one of Britain's most accomplished TV actors.

His first role was on Z Cars, later playing a military policeman in Redcap.

Hs big break was as the tough-talking, no nonsense policeman in The Sweeney.

Morse

The series lasted only three years but it has attained a cult status.

The role that was to define Thaw's career began in 1985 when he was cast as the cerebral Inspector Morse, based on the books by Colin Dexter.

When the character was finally killed off on screen in 2000 there was a sense of mourning, as 13 million people tuned in.

Not all of his roles have been as successful, however.

The Glass, in which he starred alongside Sarah Lancashire, was considered a flop, as was the adaptation of Peter Mayall's A Year in Provence.

Yet he remains one of ITV's biggest stars, and he is tied to the channel in an exclusive deal said to be worth more than £1.5m.