Actress Abigail Thaw said she was 'a mess' after filming her final scenes for Endeavour and 'had to be poured into the car' home.

Ms Thaw, who is John Thaw's daughter, starred in the offshoot series as Oxford Mail editor Dorothea Frazil, a role she took on in 2012, 10 years after Thaw’s death at the age of 60 from cancer.

Thaw appeared as Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse in the popular ITV drama, which ran from 1987 until 2000.

The current series of Endeavour, the ninth and the last, concluded last night.

Ms Thaw told the Daily Mail: "Of course, I've always known Endeavour would have to end one day, by its very nature as a prequel, it would eventually catch up to the 1980s, when Morse began.

"But I was truly taken aback to find myself so emotional on finishing my final scenes.

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"The moment I heard the words 'that's a wrap', the realisation finally struck that my 11 years of having this onscreen link to my father was over… I was a mess! I had to be poured into the car home."

Ms Thaw told the paper she was approached on set by many people with a connection to her father "from the gaffer to the cameraman and the script supervisor whose mother had worked with Dad, also as script supervisor, from the day she joined Morse in 1987 through every TV job he did until he died".

Oxford Mail:

"All these connections added a depth of experience for me while making Endeavour," she said.

"Then last year, as it had to, it came to an end. And I had a tiny experience of how Dad must have felt on that day in 2000 when Morse finally concluded.

"There's a long-held tradition for an actor to be applauded by cast and crew at the end of their final scene. When I heard those words 'Cut. And that's a wrap for Abigail', I went blank.

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"People started clapping. Someone handed me a bunch of flowers. And someone else a bottle of champagne. I was being hugged. Shaun was back on set grinning at me. Wait, what? That's it?

"Well, I wasn't as together as I thought. But what an absolute joy it's been. Dad was never sentimental and neither am I. How many people get to revisit something so profoundly part of a lost parent?

"He'd be the first to say, 'It's time to move on, kid. But what a ride, eh?'

 

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This story was written by Miranda Norris, she joined the team in 2021 and covers news across Oxfordshire as well as news from Witney.

Get in touch with her by emailing: Miranda.Norris@newsquest.co.uk. Or find her on Twitter: @Mirandajnorris

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