Ms Horton said Rickman’s diagnosis was a “complete shock” to the couple, as the actor had not experienced any “obvious symptoms”. “He had a few minor things. I gather, quite a lot of people with pancreatic cancer do have symptoms two years beforehand, they do go to their doctor, but they’re so nebulous,” she said. “And in Alan’s case, backache, maybe some stomach problems, but nothing that you would associate with something like pancreatic cancer, so when he was diagnosed, it was a complete shock. “I think it knocked us sideways, completely.” [...] Of her late husband, Ms Horton said he was not only an “extraordinary actor” but was “incredibly kind” and would do anything he could to help others. “If he could make a phone call, if he could write a letter, if he could put two people in touch with people, he did. “I know people say to me often when they’re in any sort of difficult situation: ‘Now, what would Alan do here?’ because he did have a reputation of being not just wise, he just had a very good intuition about things and about people which is one of the reasons he was a good actor.”
[https://www.itv.com/news/london/2025-04-15/actor-alan-rickman-had-so-much-more-to-offer-the-world-his-wife-says + video interview of Rima Rickman]
