CASUALTY star Jason Durr has signed up for a new coronavirus vaccine trial – after his mother lost her life to the virus last Spring.

The 53-year-old from Malmesbury, who plays nurse David Hide in BBC drama series Casualty, said he wanted to show people getting the vaccine was “worthwhile and safe”.

Together with wife Kate, a TV presenter turned garden designer, Jason has volunteered to take part in the trial of the Janssen vaccine. The trial is being led regionally by doctors in Bristol, with support from medics at Swindon’s Great Western Hospital.

He told the Bristol Post the loss of his mother, Frances, had encouraged him to do his part in helping to find a cure. She died in April after contracting the virus while resident in a care home. Jason and his family had not been able to go in and see her, following government rules restricting care home visits.

Jason said: “It’s also about showing people it’s worthwhile to do, it’s safe, and at the same time I want to encourage people to go out and get the vaccines that are offered to them too. It’s not mutually exclusive thing, for me.

“I’m touched by it so therefore I want to do whatever I can in a small way to help.”

A prominent supporter of Great Western Hospital, in January last year Jason was one of 65 people who abseiled down the side of the Marlborough Road hospital to raise money for music therapy sessions on the children’s ward.

Volunteers can sign up for the Janssen trial by going to www.findacoronavaccine.com.