Pete Postlethwaite's book serialised in the Shropshire Star

Oscar-nominated actor Pete Postlethwaite revealed the loves and losses of his colourful life in an autobiography completed before he died in January.

The star of Brassed Off and In The Name Of The Father, who lived near Bishop's Castle, died at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

He had been working on A Spectacle of Dust during the two years before his death with Shropshire Star writer Andy Richardson.

The two met and spoke regularly and Mr Postlethwaite continued to work on his autobiography into the final week of his life.

The Shropshire Star is printing extracts from the book, including many previously untold stories, including a run-in with The Beatles, a nervous breakdown, a hell-raising lifestyle in his early years in the theatre and his Hollywood life.

It also dwells on his passion for Shropshire, his adopted home of more than 20 years.

Read the Shropshire Star all this week for more from A Spectacle of Dust.