The Dundee-born star features in an advert for the National Trust for Scotland’s newest appeal.

Brian Cox is backing a new fundraising campaign for the National Trust for Scotland (NTS).

The Dundee-born actor, currently appearing in hit drama Succession, has recorded a voiceover from his home in New York for a TV advert highlighting the trust’s Save our Scotland Appeal.

Running nationally on STV and online, the advert shows the impact that the coronavirus lockdown has had on the trust as it prepares to reopen some venues.

NTS bosses say the pandemic has caused a £28 million income shortfall for 2020, meaning that only a fraction of its locations will be able to open in 2020 and into 2021 due to lack of resources or because they cannot be adequately adapted to social distancing restrictions.

Urging people in Scotland to donate to the campaign, Cox says: “The National Trust for Scotland is a charity that looks after everything we love most about this country. But now, we are in crisis and the nation’s most-loved places are at risk.”

The Save our Scotland appeal needs to raise a minimum of £2.5m to ensure the continued protection of the properties and cultural heritage in the trusts’ care. The charity relies on memberships and donations to ensure the long-term preservation of its sites, and a drop in income could see sites mothballed or even sold to private owners.

Mark Bishop, NTS director of customer and cause, said: “Right now the trust is in crisis and we need the help of our members, donors and the public more than ever before. Our job is to protect many of the things that make Scotland so unique, from castles steeped in history, to landscapes famous the world over and the wealth of natural habitats.

“If we aren’t able to love and care for these wonderful places and spaces, Scotland’s natural and built heritage is at significant risk. If we lose it now, we are robbing future generations of what we enjoy so much today.”

Donations to the appeal can be made on the NTS website.