TELEVISION personality Loyd Grossman has been made patron to a Worcestershire charity supporting healthcare workers in need of financial and emotional support.

The sauce magnate, best known as presenter of Through the Keyhole and Masterchef, has joined the Cavell Nurses’ Trust as it works towards raising £3 million by October 2015 in recognition of next year’s centenary of the death of First World War nurse Edith Cavell.

The Redditch-based charity was set up in 1917 in recognition of her work helping hundreds of Allied soldiers escape Belgium, for which she was executed by firing squad in 1915.

Mr Grossman described Edith Cavell as: “An important figure in the war whose humanity and compassion for the injured and sick on both sides of the conflict shone through a very dark time in history.

“These qualities still have the power to inspire us today,” he said.

The trust’s chief executive Kate Tompkins said she was delighted Mr Grossman had agreed to become a patron of the charity.

“Loyd’s vast cultural and heritage experience will help us build on her legacy and make it even more relevant to those working in today’s nursing profession,” she said.

For more information on the Cavell Nurses’ Trust call 01527 595 999 or visit cavellnursestrust.org