Actor Clive Mantle, who plays Dr Mike Barrett in BBC-TV’s Holby City, has backed a campaign by the Bath Chronicle to end the country’s NHS postcode lottery.

He said he had been moved by the plight of one-time champion swimmer Stephanie Millward (18), a multiple sclerosis sufferer, who cannot get a drug which would slow down the effects of the disease.

The Chronicle had previously highlighted the case of 18-year-old Stephanie. She lives in Wiltshire Health Authority’s area and they will not fund the drug, beta interferon. If she lived three miles down the road, under Avon Health Authority’s care, she could be eligible for the treatment.

Mr Mantle, who first found fame in the hospital drama Casualty, said: “There is nothing worse than an actor playing a doctor sticking his nose into things, but this is such a shocking violation of human rights.

“She should be treated exactly the same wherever she lives. Her parents have paid their taxes and paid their national insurance and do not deserve this.

“We could have been cheering Stephanie on at the Olympics were she not struck down by this illness and it is a reminder that disease can strike at any time.”

Mr Mantle posed with Stephanie for a front page picture, which ran alongside the splash written by the Chronicle’s Phil Chamberlain.

Stephanie’s plight had already drawn support from her MP James Gray and encouraged other victims to come forward.

As a fallback, her family are trying to raise the £10,000-a-year cost of getting the drug privately.

Wiltshire Health Authority is waiting for a report from a new Government body, the National Centre for Clinical Excellence, before deciding whether to change its stance on beta interferon.

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