In 1974 Jacques's sons were arrested for possession of cannabis, and her house was searched by police. In the same week that the two boys appeared in court, she received official notification of the intention to appoint her as an OBE. In order to protect her sons from further press intrusion she declined the honour. Later that year, while filming the third series of "Sykes", she suffered a cancer scare and lost a considerable amount of weight. Despite this she refused to interrupt the busy production schedule; when filming was completed on 5 December she underwent surgery at Charing Cross Hospital for what proved to be benign tumours on her kidneys.