Dame Sheila Hancock still talks to her late husband John Thaw more than 23 years after his death

In a column for Prospect magazine, she wrote: " I sometimes feel lonely, although I am blessed with friends and family. They are all a great comfort, but eventually they go home.

"I am left with the gaping loss of the person who has left forever, with whom I could be totally honest and myself, warts and all. Who is there now to wipe my tears and make me laugh?

"I still talk out loud to my long-departed husband, especially when I watch the news on Channel 4, but our imagined rant about politicians and human idiocy has grown fainter over the years. Loneliness is terribly difficult to deal with."

Sheila went on to reveal she has been tempted to get a cat to keep her company, but she fears it could "outlive her".

She added: "Some people's 'each other' is an animal ... I was tempted to buy a ... houseproud cat, but there is a danger it could outlive me ... "

Sheila recently revealed she's been battling anxiety and has signed up for a course to help with her cope.

The actress admitted she often worries about trivial matters and is "obsessive" about making sure she's never late for appointments - but she wants to spend "the last few years" of her life "being less anxious" so she has turned to a National Health Service course to learn how to deal with the pressures of every day life.

She told the Guardian newspaper: "I'm always desperately worried about being late. Obsessive even. I'll arrive so early that I sit for an hour in the car waiting, rather than risk being tardy or stuck in traffic.

"It's absurd. Everybody is late now; nobody is on time. Why am I the only person worrying? ...

"I'd like to spend the last few years of my life being less anxious, if I could. That would be a gift.

"[I have decided] to sign up for an anti-anxiety course. You can get it on the National Health. It's practical. None of this 'Did you have an unhappy childhood?' rubbish. More, 'What are you going to do about it?'"

Sheila concluded: "My anxiety is not an illness, just fear, for all sorts of reasons. I'm bored of normal emotions being categorised as sickness, honestly."