CELEBRITIES have been queuing up to get behind the Save the Roman Circus campaign.

Actor Tony Gardner, who starred with comic Jack Dee in Lead Balloon and was the father in kids’ show My Parents Are Aliens, turned out in the snow for the Gazette’s campaign launch yesterday.

He said: “Having a Roman circus heritage centre would benefit children in the way Sutton Hoo does in Suffolk. It would be a fantastic place to come for school trips.”

This Morning gardening expert Sven Wombwell has agreed to design gardens for the heritage centre.

He said: “I think it is ridiculous if you have a Grade II-listed house you need planning permission to change a tile, but with an archaeological discovery of worldwide importance, it takes a pressure group to raise the money to preserve it.

“I’m happy to help them in any way I can.”

The pair will be making an appearance at Colchester Town Hall tomorrow for a fundraising event, hosted by mayor Henry Spyvee.

Other public figures who have agreed to become official campaign patrons include veteran Labour politician Tony Benn, Time Team presenter Tony Robinson and Adam Hart-Davis, who made the history programme What the Romans Did for Us.

BBC documentary presenter Dan Cruikshank, election night veteran Peter Snow and Loose Women panellist Zoe Tyler are also on board.