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John Thaw’s talented granddaughter Lola

INSPECTOR Morse star John Thaw’s granddaughter Lola Byam Shaw graduated from Manchester University on Thursday and she’s already plotting her professional stage debut.

The 21-year-old Londoner, whose parents are West End impresario Matthew Byam Shaw and actress Melanie Thaw, is to star in her first play at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival next month.

‘It’s about the animosity between two couples — and it gets very tense, but in a ridiculous way,’ Lola says of the show, called Mallets. ‘It takes the mick out of posh people who play croquet.’

Thaw’s widow, the actress Sheila Hancock, will be in the audience. ‘ My grandma is coming with my parents,’ Lola tells me. ‘She’s really supportive.’

Despite Lola’s showbusiness background, she wasn’t pressured into acting. ‘My parents never threw me into anything, and I was never sent to stage coaching as a kid. They were quite happy that I went to uni.’

She’s also tempted to follow in the footsteps of her father, who produces hit Netflix drama The Crown.

‘Production seems a bit less risky. You do get the same amount of criticism — but they’re not savage directly to you.’