James McAvoy on the NHS saving his life and why he's backing charity masks for NHS heroes
Actor James McAvoy spoke to Good Morning Britain today about his mission to provide the NHS with masks and PPE. He also opened up to Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid for the first time about how he’s driven by gratitude after the NHS saved his life following a botched surgery.
On the battle to provide frontline NHS workers with PPE, he said: “I honestly can’t go into pointing fingers… But there is clearly a problem somewhere along the line whether it’s a shortage of supplies or a problem in distribution. Either way, there is a failure there somewhere and what Masks For NHS Heroes is trying to do is trying to augment what is coming in from the government already."
"We are trying to help plug gaps and put fingers in dams and so far the British people, and people around the world, have been so incredible at responding to the appeal and we have made just under £2 million pounds so we are trying our best," he added.
Talking about why he had donated a large amount to the Masks for NHS Heroes charity, he went on: “The NHS has been there for me from the day I was born. Throughout my life, me personally, they saved my life, which I won’t go into too much.
"For the lives of my loved ones and my family, you know, I would be without multiple members of my family and I mean close, close family if it weren’t for the work of the NHS. And as horrible as this experience is that we are all going through, it is teaching us just how important our welfare system is and our healthcare system is and how important it is that we respect and that we reward and protect those who are in the business of protecting us," he said.
Talking of his life being saved by the NHS, he said: “I think a lot of us are in that similar position… In a less developed society, random everyday things might kill us… you can fall over and bang your head and you’ve got this beautiful thing called the NHS which will save your life."
"You can have a little botched surgery, which is what happened to me, and the NHS is there to save your life. You quickly realise in a situation like this just how close we are to all of that falling apart, how delicate and how precious it is and how much we need to look after it going forward," he added.