The Mamma Mia! star has become the latest big name to throw support behind Britain's public broadcaster amid fears government cuts could cripple the organisation.

Stellan is starring in a new BBC drama series called River, and he is adamant U.K. citizens need to start appreciating the historic institution before it is too late, calling it "something worth fighting for".

"It's so important for a society that wants to call itself civilised - and doesn't want to deteriorate - to have public broadcasting," he says. "The alternative is horrifying because the alternative is 'the strongest survive'.

"That means the one who sells his news best survives, which means we're gonna have Fox News all over the world. I mean, the stupidification of America... If a country wants to be democratic, you have to have an educated electorate, and they have to be knowledgeable, and the only way to guarantee that is to have public television and public radio."