Actress stages search for former husband

ACTRESS Jill Gascoine is hoping to find her first husband – who she has not spoken to since the 1960s – while she is in Edinburgh during the Fringe festival.

Gascoine, who is appearing in the dark comedy Sister Cities at the Gilded Balloon, has revealed the private turmoil that lay behind her rise to stardom.

The star of 1980s shows The Gentle Touch and CATS Eyes has completely lost touch with her first husband, Dundee hotelier Bill Keith, and does not know if he is alive or dead.

The Lambeth-born actress spoke out in advance of her appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe.

The Onedin Line star, now based in California and remarried, revealed that she and Keith had not spoken since their tempestuous break-up in the 1960s. She said: "I don't know whether he's alive. I don't know whether he's dead. I don't know whether he's been shot. I'd like to know what happened to him, and I'm sure my sons would too."

If you are Bill Keith or know where he is, please contact [e-mail].