During the course of 1972 Jacques co-starred in the first series of "Sykes", in which she played Hattie Sykes, "the wide-eyed, less-knowing but remarkably patient sister-cum-mother-figure"; at its height, "Sykes" had 17 million viewers. In February 1972 Jacques was at home with her son Robin to watch Le Mesurier win the British Academy of Film and Television Arts "Best Television Actor" award for his portrayal of a "boozy British aristocrat ... who became a spy for the Soviets" in Dennis Potter's television play "Traitor". Jacques cried when her ex-husband won the award, and divulged to her son that she "wasn't crying out of professional resentment or even envy about Joan Le Mesurier ... but from an unhappiness that, through her own actions, she lost John or there was now no-one with whom to spend her life".