Actress Vicky McClure claims that the government needs to do more in terms of funding for dementia research.
The Line of Duty star made her comments ahead of her new BBC One documentary, Our Dementia Choir, which aims to explore the connection between the condition and music.
McClure, who plays DI Kate Fleming in the gripping TV police drama, said: "The government doesn't put enough funding into research. I am passionate about looking into that.
"I want to know what's being done on that side of things.
"The funding is the hardest part, to have the choir running all the time, they're not cheap.
"It's free to sing, but to have that routine and providing tea and coffee and somewhere to do it, it costs money.
"It can be cheap and manageable, but it's not free.
"(We) need the backing of councils and the Government."
The documentary follows the journey of 20 people with a form of dementia, aged between 31 and 87, to see if music can help them and train to perform as a choir in front of an audience of 1,000 people.
The 35-year-old, who filmed the two-part series in her hometown of Nottingham alongside specialists, has a heartbreaking personal connection to her upcoming project having cared for her 'Nonna' Iris, who died of the disease in 2015.
Speaking to the Mirror , This Is England star McClure said it was her who inspired her fight against dementia.
She said: "My Nonna inspired me to join the fight against dementia. She was very bold, bright, had a cracking sense of humour, a very dirty laugh.
"The dementia stripped all that. It leaves the shell of you.
"I saw how music helped her, changing her mood, calming her down, and for a while bringing us back to the old Nonna."
Our Dementia Choir with Vicky McClure will air on BBC One on May 2.
