Alan Rickman ‘had so much more to give’, his widow says

By Jenny Garnsworthy, Press Association

Alan Rickman’s widow has said he “had so much more to give”, as she discussed a prize draw offering Harry Potter books signed by some of the film’s stars.

The draw is raising money for Pancreatic Cancer UK and has been organised in memory of Rickman, who died of the disease 10 years ago.

The set of seven books has been signed by 12 of the cast’s biggest names, including Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley, and Ralph Fiennes, who starred as Lord Voldemort.

Appearing on BBC Breakfast on Tuesday, Rickman’s widow, Rima Horton, said she hoped the draw would raise lots of money to fund developing a breath test, which could be used in doctors’ surgeries to detect symptoms in patients.

She said: “Our motive is to raise money for this deadly disease, because it now has one of the highest death rates.

“The biggest problem is that by the time that people find out they’ve got it, it’s too late.

“The symptoms are so difficult to work out.

“What we’re trying to do is raise money for a breathalyser test which could provide an early diagnosis.

“All you have to do is buy a ticket.”

Presenter Jon Kay held up a copy of JK Rowling’s first book, Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone, and pointed out the signatures of Grint, Helena Bonham Carter, Miriam Margolyes and Imelda Staunton.

Horton said: “The actors were wonderful. Everybody asked said of course they’d do it.”

Rickman portrayed potions master Severus Snape in all eight films in the series, and died of the disease in 2016 at the age of 69.

Horton said the average life expectancy for pancreatic cancer is three months after diagnosis.

She said Rickman lived for six months after finding out he had it, and had chemotherapy, which “extended his life a bit, but it didn’t cure it”.

“He had so much more to give. There were so many more things he could have done,” she added.

Around 10,800 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer across the UK each year.