Ricky Tomlinson has called on the Tory government to support health workers amid reports NHS consultants could strike.
The Royle Family star appeared on Tuesday afternoon’s Loose Women episode from a theatre in Liverpool and praised the work of the NHS from his personal experience.
Panellist Janet Street-Porter asked if the Scouser was in support of the strikes, after the British Medical Association (BMA) warned it will proceed to a formal ballot for industrial action unless the government acts before 3 April.
Meanwhile, the dispute with doctors is escalating as a 72-hour strike by junior doctors is planned next week in their dispute over pay. They will walk out of both emergency and planned care, meaning consultants are being asked to provide cover in A&E units.
Ricky laid out his own health woes as he explained his support for the NHS, saying: “I’m sitting here and I've got no veins in my arms, because they’re wrapped around my heart.
“I had open heart surgery. I've had both cataracts done. I’ve had a growth on one eye taken off and I'm asthmatic.”
He continued: “I wouldn’t be alive except for the National Health Service. We’ve got the best National Health Service in the world and we’ve got to support them.
“If they come out on strike, I'll be on the picket line with them every morning,” he promised before warning: “Don’t spoil what we’ve got.”
Ricky was jailed in 1973 after being among 24 trade unionists arrested during the builders’ strike a year earlier. He served 18 months but his conviction was overturned last year.
At the end of last year, Ricky pledged to support the Mirror’s Warm Hearts Christmas Appeal, which was launched to ensure no one was left out in the cold this winter.
Ricky, 83, said it was a “disgrace” the elderly are using foodbanks in one of the world’s richest nations and demanded No10 protect them.
Referring to veterans, he said: “The least we can do is repay them the debt of gratitude that we owe them.”
Ricky recalled the harrowing case of a pensioner who last year died trying to survive by eating cardboard.
He said: “I know people will die, because some of them are so proud they think they are asking for handouts and they won’t do it. They’re entitled to whatever they need. Shelter, warmth and food is not too much to ask.”
And of the dwindling number of veterans appearing at Poppy Day parades, Ricky said: “They’re having to remind the nation of the sacrifices they made. Some were in wheelchairs and on crutches. It makes me angry.
"They shouldn’t have to be worrying about electric and gas bills. The triple lock is a right. They paid, in a lot of cases, the ultimate price. They say lest we forget but I think we have forgotten.”
