Bittersweet return to Shropshire for Sheila Dibnah

"It's bittersweet because the last time I was here Fred wooed me by the steam engine," said Sheila Dibnah at Blists Hill Victorian Town yesterday.

"I remember standing by the side of it and him telling me all about it.

"He was all out to impress me," laughed the former showgirl who shared Fred's passion for Victorian engineering.

"It was 1998 and we were engaged by then, but we were still very much getting to know one another."

Sheila returned to the county yesterday to sign copies of her book, A Cast-Iron Will, which is full of personal memories of her life with Fred.

The unlikely star rose to fame in 1978, when he was filmed by a BBC news crew while making repairs to Bolton Town Hall.

The BBC then commissioned an award-winning documentary, which followed the Boltonian engineering enthusiast as he worked on chimneys, spent time with his family and talked about his favourite hobby – steam.

Fearless courage, a passion for mechanics and an open, friendly smile made Fred Dibnah a familiar name worldwide.

His skill at demolishing chimneys and lovingly resurrecting vintage machinery was documented in a number of programmes that are still shown regularly on TV.

Fred was a frequent visitor to Blists Hill Victorian Town and loved to talk to the staff and volunteers about the town's remarkable steam engines and the area's proud industrial past.

"The nice part of getting to come back is I remember walking around the Victorian town with Fred," said Sheila.

"It was like a dream. We got to see inside the stores and it was just amazing. I have always liked it here and I never thought I would be here without him.

"I am going to have a walk around and look at the engine again and take some photos and remind myself.

"There is so much history all around this area. I have always wanted a cast iron Coalbrookdale bench.

"Fred loved Shropshire and he was fascinated by the Bridgnorth Cliff Railway. He just loved being here."

Volunteers at the Victorian town remember Fred in his trademark flat cap or waistcoat downing two pints of stout and talking passionately about the heritage engines.

"He was charismatic and people loved that. It's 10 years since his death and people still come up to me and share their memories of him," said Sheila.

"He was only 66 when he died and I just like to carry his legacy on and I really enjoy it.

It's very important to keep his legacy alive and I do a lot of work with the Fred Dibnah Heritage Centre at a house where he lived in Bolton."

A Cast-Iron Will documents the couple's life together, from their first meeting in Bolton to the final, troubled days of his life, when he cut Sheila out of his will as he lay dying.

Sheila presents a moving, funny and sensitive tribute to the man who became a household name.

"This book is my memoires of all the good times I had with Fred, how he coped with fame, life in the public eye, how he coped when he became ill," she said.

"It's more of the human interest story. I just think he is somebody people could relate to because he said things in such easy terms and made engineering interesting.

"My accent got broader when I met Fred because I knew you didn't have to be ashamed.

"The diehard fans have liked this book because there's an element of controversy because I was cut out of the will, but I am not bitter about that because he was very poorly.

"You can either be bitter, or you can move on and be positive, and that's what I decided to do.

"I always thought I would write a book and what better subject than Fred and my life with him as a tribute. It's been really well received."

Fred was made an MBE in the 2003 New Year's Honours list for his services to heritage and broadcasting.

The TV personality was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2001 and given just 12 months to live. But he fought the illness with his typical northern grit and eventually lost his battle in November 2004.