A British actor who is renowned in China for his impersonation of Mr Bean has decided to stay in the city of Wuhan after flying there for a holiday before the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Nigel Dixon, 53, said he would not want to spread the virus to others but insisted that he was safe and happy there.
While the city is on lockdown, Mr Dixon has created a mini-series called 'Mr Pea' to document his life in the epicentre of the coronavirus in the style of Rowan Atkinson's popular episodes, such as 'Mr Bean goes to town' or 'The Trouble with Mr Bean'.
Mr Dixon of Felixstowe, Suffolk, has been told that he looks like Mr Bean from when he was 30 and has played as Mr Atkinson's double in 2017 Chinese comedy 'Top Funny Comedian'.
After the coronavirus began to break out in the city, instead of leaving he decided to stay.
He told MailOnline that he cancelled a trip to Shenzhen to see some friends because it would be 'selfish of me to go not knowing if I have the virus or not'.
Speaking about other British citizens being airlifted back to the UK, he said he only found out about the governmental operation after the first two flights had left.
He said there was little information or help given by the UK authorities to the Britons in Wuhan and called the whole process 'confusing'.
He was not aware that the British government had urged all British citizens to leave China, but he insisted that he felt safe and happy in Wuhan despite the fact that the city was on lockdown.
'I don't think anybody needs to be scared of getting infected as long as they take preventative measures,' he said, adding that having stayed in Wuhan during the outbreak, he appreciated the support Chinese people given to each other and to him.
His daily programme, streamed on short-video platform Kuaishou, has gathered some 5.5 million followers.
In one episode, he sings an revised version of 'You Are My Sunshine' to his stuffed toy 'Teddy' while playing his guitar to show how he kills time when the whole city is in quarantine.
In another episode, he demonstrates how he protects himself, including washing his hands and disinfecting his clothing upon returning home, in a humorous manner.
Mr Dixon spends a typical day in Wuhan reading, doing exercises indoors and thinking about content of his 'Mr Pea' show.
He said he planned to return to the UK at the end of March if he could. He added that he was also looking forward to further his acting career in China.
The comedian expressed his concerns about the shortage of medical supplies in Wuhan, and urged the international society to lend their help.
He said: 'We are one global family. We should support one another and support China.'
The coronavirus epidemic has so far claimed more than 1,018 lives and infected more than 43,112 people in 28 countries and territories around the world - but nearly 99 per cent of infections have been in China.
A total of 103 people died in a single day in China's Hubei province on Monday - the highest toll recorded in any one 24-hour period since the outbreak began in December.
It comes the same day as World Health Organization (WHO) experts and scientists have finally arrived in China to help officials there contain and study the outbreak which has now struck at least 42,729 people worldwide.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
