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Legendary Royle Family actor Ricky Tomlinson has backed Keir Starmer to be leader of the Labour Party.

The Shadow Brexit Secretary bagged the left-wing Brookside star's backing for his work supporting 24 Shrewsbury workers - including Mr Tomlinson - who were prosecuted for committing offences including conspiracy to intimidate, unlawful assembly and affray after taking part in construction strikes in the town in 1972.

Mr Tomlinson, who worked as a plasterer, was jailed along with five others.

The trade unionists insist they were innocent and had been set up by the establishment.

Mr Tomlinson served 16 months behind bars before making his TV breakthrough as Bobby Grant in Brookside and has spent many years campaigning to quash the sentences.

The Liverpudlian actor said Labour took "just a terrible drumming" at the last election and Mr Starmer was the candidate to reverse it.

(Image: Sunday Mirror)

In an endorsement video, first released to the Liverpool Echo, Ricky Tomlinson said: “I’m going to throw my weight behind Keir Starmer and I think you should as well.

“I first came across Keir Starmer some time ago, when he got involved in the Shrewsbury Campaign. [In the Shrewsbury scandal] ... myself and five other colleagues were jailed for going on strike in the 70s

“Since then, I’ve watched his career grow and grow.

“All the contestants are worthy people - but I’ve got to throw my weight behind Keir Starmer - and I’m going to ask you to do the same.

“We can’t make any more mistakes. We just took a terrible drumming at the last election. We’ve got to overturn this government run by Boris the buffoon

"So get behind me, join me, and get behind Keir Starmer for the next leader of the Labour Party.”

(Image: Getty Images)

Mr Tomlinson's endorsement came just hours ahead of a clash in Liverpool tomorrow where all five candidates to replace Jeremy Corbyn will go head-to-head for the first time for the first of 12 official leadership hustings.

The BAFTA award winning actor is a life long left winger who has backed the ­Hillsborough 96 campaign and is a regular on picket lines, standing with Liverpool dockers when they fought job losses – and then the sack.

He jointly backed Jeremy Corbyn and Andy Burnham for Labour's top job in 2015.

But he has previously expressed support for Arthur Scargill's Socialist Labour Party, most recently for the 2009 European Parliament elections.

Mr Starmer had a second brush with pop-culture when he was asked about a rumour that Mark Darcy, of Bridget Jones fame and immortalised by Colin Firth, was based on him.

The Labour hopeful said: "Everybody asks me this question, when they should be asking her [author Helen Fielding].

"It is a rumour that has been going round for years."

Asked if he would be flattered if it were true Mr Starmer said: "Of course I would."