MILLIONS of television viewers will see actor and broadcaster Stephen Fry take an HIV test this week - at a North-East walk-in centre.

Last night staff at Teesside Positive Action, in Middlesbrough, revealed that the celebrity and comedian had an HIV test at their centre earlier in the year.

Sworn to secrecy until now, Michael Kay, service manager for Teesside Positive Action, said Mr Fry dropped in to talk to staff in March.

During the visit to the Baker Street office of Teesside Positive Action, Mr Fry volunteered to undergo a 15-minute HIV test, donating a few drops of blood for analysis.

Footage of Mr Fry at the Teesside Positive Action office will be shown on BBC2 on Tuesday, at 9pm, during the second part of the documentary Stephen Fry - HIV and Me.

"We had been talking to the BBC about the service we offer to people in the North-East, but we didn't expect Stephen Fry to turn up in person," said Mr Kay.

"We didn't know he was coming until the day itself.

"It was a Sunday. He was very nice, very funny and spent most of the afternoon meeting staff."

Mr Fry, who is not HIV-positive, decided to make the documentary to highlight growing concerns about rising HIV and Aids figures in the UK.

In the Eighties, a Government-backed campaign warned: "Don't Die of Ignorance" and urged people to use condoms.

But infections are now rising, particularly among three groups: the young, black African communities and heterosexuals.

Teesside Positive Action, which provides free tests and advice to people with HIV or who are worried they might be HIV positive, is expecting a surge in telephone calls to its helpline because of the Stephen Fry documentary.

"In the trailers for the second part of the documentary, the BBC has screened clips of me taking Stephen's blood sample and of his walking down Baker Street towards our office," said Mr Kay.

This had already triggered an increase in calls to Teesside Positive Action.

Since starting the free HIV test service last year, more than 230 people have been tested at the Middlesbrough centre. Eight people have tested positive.

For more information, call Teesside Positive Action on 01642-254598, before 10pm.