Emma Thompson (Trelawney) and Alan Rickman (Snape) had him in stitches when they wore funny wigs to visit him in hospital; he sobbed on the shoulders of Kenneth Branagh (Lockhart) and John Sessions; and Timothy Spall (Pettigrew) relived his own leukaemia battle to help Patrick through.

"I rang Ken (Branagh). He came to visit twice a week while I was ill. He would help the hospital staff make tea, and bring in tapes and books for me."

"Emma Thompson rang from Hollywood when she heard the news. She'd just had an MRI for a back problem and had me in stitches when she said the radiologist handed her a script he'd written and asked her to read it, adding that she was too old to play the lead role."

Hospital staff became used to celebrity visitors. "Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman came in wearing ginger wigs, speaking with Scottish accents. The ward didn't know what had hit it."

"From the U.S., Emma sent me a package with a cheap black nylon wig for when my hair fell out, hair restoring cream, a tiny skeleton and a still from a film her husband Greg Wise had just done, showing a mortuary slab.

"She'd written a speech bubble with the words: 'Oh my God, it's Patrick!' The nurses were horrified but I thought it was hilarious.

"Timothy Spall had not long recovered from AML himself, having been diagnosed a year or two before, and he helped me lots with advice and encouragement. He'd say: "How's the diarrhoea? I know, I know. And he did, because he'd been through it."

"Emma arrived as I'd just been given a drug which made me feel drunk and over-emotional. I kept telling her how much I loved her. She cried with emotion."

"Ken and John Sessions visited me at home at this time. I'd already cried in front of Ken in hospital and he'd encouraged me to let it all out."

"One of the nicest times was working with Ken on Love's Labours Lost soon after being discharged."