New Tricks Alun: My sister’s 40 years of torment with MS
MOVIE veteran Alun Armstrong has revealed the “debilitating and horrible” impact multiple sclerosis has had on his sister Elaine – and the damage it causes to whole families.
Alun, 74, is one of many celebrities helping the MS Society try to find long-lasting solutions to the disease.
The star of TV shows such as New Tricks and Breeders said: “You could say that I’ve been living with MS, because of my sister, for 40-odd years.
“Anybody who is connected with MS and knows someone with it knows what a really debilitating and horrible condition it can be, especially with so many young people struggling with it.
“Your immediate reaction is always ‘Is there no medicine to stop this, is there no help that can be given?’”
Alun – who played the traitorous noble Mornay in Braveheart – continued: “I had an uncle who had MS when I was very little and he died quite young. Seeing the impact was heartbreaking.
“I was so fearful that my sister would end up like my uncle, and I just kept hoping there would be some real scientific breakthroughs discovered so she didn’t end up like that.
“There didn’t seem to be anything for a really long time but even in the last few years things have been discovered that have really helped my sister – both directly with MS and with conditions related to it like migraines.
“She has been prescribed several new medicines over the last few years and I’d say she’s improved at least 50 per cent because of these.”
County Durham-born Alun hopes there will be an even bigger breakthrough soon for sufferers including Elaine, who is in her mid-Seventies.
He added: “MS is very close to my heart and being in Team Stop MS means a lot to me.We’re at a juncture in the fight against MS where the future looks really promising. And from what the scientists tell us, we are on the verge of some really significant breakthroughs in finding treatments to Stop MS.” Alun appears with Game Of Thrones married actor couple Kit Harington and Rose Leslie plus Andy Serkis from The Lord of the Rings in the society’s Team Stop MS campaign film which launches today.
It is the first time Kit and Rose have appeared together on screen since the end of the hit HBO fantasy series. But far from being star struck,Alun admitted: “I hadn’t watched Game of Thrones before so I hadn’t seen Kit in it – and wouldn’t really have recognised him.
“But of course I’d heard of him, so when I heard we were doing a scene together that was quite intriguing! He turned out to be a delightful young man.” The campaign video also features television chef Ainsley Harriott, inset left, Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills and comedian/writer Ivo Graham.
All of those involved have a “close personal connection” to MS, charity staff said.
The video shows them auditioning to become a fundraiser for the group. At the end of the footage, a narrator says: “Join Team Stop MS. No audition needed.
●●Find out more at mssociety. org.uk/team-stop-ms