Walters seeks assisted suicide debate

Rex Features

Julie Walters wants the subject of assisted suicide to be revisited after playing the role of a terminally ill doctor in forthcoming drama A Short Stay In Switzerland.

The BBC One programme is based on the true story of Dr Anne Turner (Walters), a medic who travelled to Switzerland to end her own life because it is illegal in the UK.

The script, written by Frank McGuinness, follows Dr Turner's efforts to cope with progressive supranuclear palsy and her subsequent declining health.

PAquotes Walters as saying: "I think the subject should be debated. I just felt that more by the end of filming. I felt that for Anne it was absolutely the right thing to do. She was an intelligent, informed, articulate woman who knew exactly what she was doing. I thought it was a very courageous act.

"The scene I found most challenging was the one when she had to say goodbye to her children. I read that part of the script only once and put it down. I couldn't read it again. I just could not imagine having to do it."

The drama is scheduled to air on BBC One on January 25.