STEPHANIE BEACHAM is the face of a new campaign slating the government for paying lip service to public servants while slashing their pay.

The Dynasty actor stars in a tongue-in-cheek video produced by public-sector union Unison.

In the film, Ms Beacham plays a spokeswoman for a fictional new government scheme — “pats on the back help workplace morale, make you feel all warm inside” — and gives skint teaching assistant Amanda a pat in lieu of a pay rise.

A transformed Amanda beams: “Thanks to Pats on the Back, after I go to the foodbank I can’t wipe the smile off my face.”

Ms Beacham, noted for playing posh characters, said: “I wanted to do this film because I find it deeply unacceptable that public-service staff who keep us safe, look after us when we’re ill and keep our local services running haven’t seen a pay rise in seven years.

“Our public-service workers deserve more than a measly pat on the back: they need substantially more money in their pockets. The public-sector pay cap has to go now, and be replaced with a decent wage.”

Chancellor Philip Hammond is likely to come under renewed pressure to remove the pay cap, which has restricted rises to just 1 per cent, in his autumn Budget later this month.

The government has already offered slight increases to police and prison officers — but TUC figures show that their real-terms pay will still fall by thousands of pounds over the next five years.

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Giving public-service workers a pat on the back isn’t going to put food on their table, petrol in their cars or pay their bills.”