The Leicester-born author of the book which inspired one of Robin Williams's most endearing film characters has paid tribute to the tragic star.
Anne Fine's Madame Doubtfire, the protagonist in her 1987 satirical novel about divorce and family, was immortalised on the silver screen by the Oscar-winning actor.
His portrayal of a father who resorts to cross-dressing as a Scottish nanny to see his children became a huge box office hit in cinemas in 1993.
The actor's body was found on Monday after he had reportedly taken his own life, following a battle with depression and addiction.
Anne said she owed Robin Williams a huge debt of gratitude.
"The film was such a success, it meant my book was translated into 45 languages," said the 66-year-old author of more than 50 children's books.
"It was a huge boost to my career and I can't help but be grateful."
The family in Mrs Doubtfire was different to Anne's portrayal.
"The book was somewhat darker," she said.
"But such a large number of people have come up to me and told me how helpful and comforting that film was to them."
She said of Williams: "He was a stunning comedic actor and I know the subject matter was close to his heart.
"He'd had a few failed marriages himself, where he'd had problems over contact with his children, so that film was not made by accident – he chose to make it because he knew how important it is for children to have easy access to both parents following divorce."
Of the actor's death, at his home in California, Anne said: "It was terribly sad and I was as sorry as everyone else to hear the news.
"He brought enormous joy to so many people. I, like so many, loved his films.
"I remember watching a stand-up show on TV. He was hilarious – I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
"What an awful shame and such a waste."
Anne, however, can relate to the crippling mental illness that consumed the star. "Depression is such a grim business and, sometimes, it seems comedians are the least immune to it," she said.
"I have huge sympathy with him, having been diagnosed with post-natal depression when I was 23.
"I was living in Edinburgh and had just had my first child. I spent two of the blackest years struggling with thoughts of suicide.
"But I managed to recover and have had a merry life since. I have so much feeling for what he must have been going through.
"It is so tragic."
Despite their connection, Anne, who left Leicester aged two, but spent much of her childhood with grandparents in Knighton and off Narborough Road, never got to meet Robin Williams.
"I'd come back from California to spend more time with my family just before the film was made," she said.
"I was supposed to appear on the Parkinson show on TV with him when Mrs Doubtfire was released.
"But I had an appointment that day with a few hundred librarians, who are my bread and butter as a children's author.
"But I have to say, I was so glad, as later that evening I watched the show with my mother.
"He was talking at 100mph and even Michael Parkinson didn't get a word in.
"Robin Williams was brilliant – but I would have been sitting on the end of the sofa looking like an idiot with nothing to say!
"My thoughts and sympathies, like those of everyone else, are with his family."
