Downton Abbey star Samantha Bond 'wishes she could have helped her mother die'

'At that point I would have liked to be able to give her peace and lack of pain,' says Bond

Her mother Pat Sandys was a producer for The Bill and EastEnders (Getty)

Samantha Bond has spoken out in favour of assisted dying, saying she wished she could have helped her mother die.

The 54-year-old actress, who plays Lady Rosamund Painswick in Downton Abbey and Miss Moneypenny in James Bond, recalls her mother’s death from bowel cancer in 2000.

Her mother, Pat Sandys, was a producer for The Bill and EastEnders.

“I don't understand why people put so many obstacles in its way,” Bond says to The Daily Mail.

“They talk of elderly people feeling they should die because their children are tired of looking after them. It isn't about that. It's about someone with a terminal illness. I watched my mum...”

“Mum was lucky. She spent two weeks in hospital and wouldn't have chosen to end her life until a week before she died. At that point I would have liked to be able to give her peace and lack of pain,” she continues. “If I could've said, 'Would you like an injection and we'll all be here?' She'd have said, “Yes, please.” I don't understand that I can give that to my cat, but not my mum. It's the ultimate cruelty.”

Assisted dying is currently illegal in the UK. The charity Dignity In Dying is campaigning for terminally ill, mentally competent adults, to be able to make the decision, after adhering to strict legal safeguards, to take prescribed medication to end their life.