Bob Mortimer and Shirley Ballas among stars receiving Covid-19 vaccine

Bob Mortimer and Shirley Ballas have joined the ranks of stars who have received the Covid-19 vaccine and urged others to do the same.

Both stars received their first doses of the Pfizer vaccine and shared their separate experiences on social media.

Comedian Mortimer, 61, shared a photo of the slip of paper confirming details of his vaccine batch covering one of his eyes and joked: “Didn’t feel a thing.. not even when the microchip passed through.”

Strictly Come Dancing judge Ballas, 60, documented the whole process on Instagram, sharing a video of the moment the injection went into her arm and the practitioner warned her she would feel a “sharp scratch”.

Wearing a red hat and sweater, Ballas said: “Didn’t feel anything! Absolutely amazing.”

She wrote: “At last my turn has come to get my vaccine. I’m totally impressed with my clinic.

“Straight in , totally organized, helpful in every way possible.

“A little quick jab didn’t hurt at all. Friendly atmosphere with everyone on the same journey.

“I urge everyone young and old and everyone in between to take the vaccine.

“If we all do this together we can get back to some sort of normality We are all in this together.”

One in five adults in England aged under 70 have had their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, new data suggests.

Provisional figures from NHS England, published on Thursday, show that 16,337,561 Covid-19 vaccinations took place in England between December 8 and February 24, including first and second doses.

Prue Leith, Sir David Attenborough and Sir Ian McKellen are among the other stars who have had the jab.