The Oscar-winner visited the residents of Dale Farm in Basildon, Essex after learning authorities had told them to vacate the land they have lived on for years.

She even attended their court hearing in London and spoke of her disappointment after a judge threw out their case - and now Redgrave has revealed why she aligned herself with the cause.

The actress reveals a traveller came to her brother Corin's aid after he suffered a heart attack during a protest - and she wanted to honour the memory of her sibling, who died last year (10).

Redgrave tells Britain's The Guardian newspaper, ""If it wasn't for a traveller giving him mouth-to-mouth (resuscitation), he would have died. As it was he had such loss of oxygen to his brain that he had extreme short-term memory loss. Forty travellers came to the Basildon hospital to pray for him.

""(I'm acting) very, very, very much so (in his memory). The Dale Farm Travellers are inseparable from him for me. It's totally personal. I wouldn't feel I could draw breath or act or anything if I didn't honour Corin and the Dale Farm Travellers.

""What was so wonderful about Corin is that he never stinted himself. He never said: 'I've got to save my energy because I've got to give five performances this week'. He'd go and stand up for beleaguered people. I'm so glad that he went to speak up for the travellers.""