Dame Helen Mirren and Sir Ian McKellen are urging peers to 'show the world Britain can lead with empathy and courage' on assisted dying.

The actors have joined Esther Rantzen, Joanna Lumley, Prue Leith, Harriet Walter, Miriam Margolyes and John Nettles in signing a letter supporting what they describe as 'choice and control' in death.

The House of Lords will debate the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on Friday. 

If passed, it will allow adults in England and Wales with less than six months to live to decide to end their lives. 

It is currently a criminal offence in Britain to help an adult to die, which has led to some terminally ill patients seeking help overseas at clinics such as Dignitas in Switzerland.

In June, the Private Members' Bill, which is sponsored by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, was passed in the Commons by a majority of just 23 MPs.

The campaign to allow assisted dying has been spearheaded by Childline founder Dame Esther, who has terminal lung cancer.

The House of Lords last debated assisted dying in 2021 but the Bill later had to be abandoned because it ran out of time at the committee stage. A similar bill was voted on by MPs in 2015 but was defeated.

In their letter, which is being published with the support of campaign group Dignity in Dying, the stars say many of them have 'witnessed people we love suffer beyond imagining as they died'. 

They add: 'And we are counting on you to stand with them too, and back this Bill.

'Give them the choice and control over their own end of life that every person deserves. Show those suffering that you will not stand by while an outdated law forces them to endure unbearable pain against their wishes.

'Show us all that you value and champion dignity, compassion, and personal freedom for every Briton – including the terminally ill – when it matters most.'

Other signatories include designer Jasper Conran, broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby and actress Zoe Wanamaker.

The letter adds: 'This is not a radical proposition. It is a deeply popular and carefully considered reform whose time has come. Three-quarters of the British public support an assisted dying law. 

'Many medical professionals now recognise the need for change. Yet we hear that some peers plan to block the Bill's progress.

'This cannot be allowed to happen... Let this Bill proceed. Give hope and relief to those who are suffering beyond what words can convey. 

'Show the world that this country is prepared to lead with empathy and courage, ensuring that in our final days, each of us can face death on our own terms, surrounded by love, peace, and humanity.'

Under the terms of the Bill, two doctors must assist the request to ensure the applicant has reached the decision voluntarily. 

The person must then apply to the High Court for approval.

But critics say the Bill is a 'slippery slope' and legislation could put pressure on people to end their lives if they fear they are becoming a burden on others.

When it was passed by the Commons, Tory MP Danny Kruger, whose mother is Dame Prue, said 'support is ebbing away fast'. 

He said he hoped the Lords would 'feel they have a real job to do – to examine closely how the Bill will operate and to introduce their own amendments to make it safer, or to reject the Bill altogether'.