Patrick Stewart in support of assisted suicide

Star Trek and Shakespearean actor Patrick Stewart has joined author Sir Terry Pratchett in becoming a patron of Dignity in Dying, an organisation which is campaigning for a change in the law regarding assisted suicide.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Stewart claimed that assisted death 'should be a right' - particularly as the population of the UK ages.

'I have a strong feeling that should the time come for me, having had no role in my birth I would like there to be a choice I might make about how I die,' the actor said.

'Everything that medicine can do to keep somebody alive doesn't automatically follow as the best option,' he concluded.

The 70-year-old also spoke candidly of his coronary heart disease, which he was diagnosed with five years ago.

His comments come hot on the heels of the announcement that a new BBC2 documentary, to be aired this summer, will show the final moments of a terminally ill man at the Swiss clinic Dignitas.

The documentary will be presented by author and Alzheimer's sufferer Pratchett.