Brian Cox in Dundee City of Culture 2017 help vow

Brian Cox has pledged to support Dundee's City of Culture 2017 bid in any way he can. Picture: Hemedia

Cox said it already deserved such an accolade thanks to the cultural transformation it has undergone since he was growing up there.

The X-Men and Hannibal Lecter star has already agreed to spearhead a major production on the city’s waterfront inspired - but said that was only one of several projects he may end up being involved with.

He is one of several high-profile figures linked with Dundee’s culture bid, with others including actors Alan Cumming and Tilda Swinton, and singers Ricky Ross and Sheena Wellington.

Dundee is set to find out today whether its bid to become City of Culture 2017 has been successful. Picture: TSPL

The bid document, published last Friday, includes a project by Cox, dubbed The River, which would focus on the River Tay and explore Dundee’s historic trade links with India stretching back to the 18th century. A separate three-year project will see dancers from Dundee join forces with musicians from India, culminating in a huge 2017 celebration.

The 67-year-old said: “The event down on the waterfront would be a really elaborate one, inspired by a poem by an Indian woman comparing the Ganga and the Tay. We have such a big connection because of the jute.

“I’ve agreed to do anything they asked me to because I’m so proud of my city. I’m quite excited about the announcement.

“Of course it would be fitting for Dundee to be a city of culture, it is already. It wasn’t when I was growing up, but it is now.”

Meanwhile Cox, one of the most high-profile supporters of the independence cause, also defended celebrities like Andy Murray for trying to steer clear of the debate.

Cox said be “wouldn’t have said boo to a goose” at Murray’s age and the tennis star was perfectly entitled to refuse to say if he was for or against Scotland going on its own.