Ashley Jensen, the star of Ugly Betty and Extras, is leading a campaign of celebrities to safeguard the future of Scottish country dancing.

The Annan-born actress has been joined by the film director Ken Loach, musicians Evelyn Glennie and Barbara Dickson, and fellow thespians Richard Wilson and Blythe Duff.

They have signed a letter to Linda Fabiani, the Scottish culture minister, urging her to revive funding of the Scottish Traditions of Dance Trust (STDT).

The trust was formed 13 years ago and members regularly visit primary and secondary schools to teach Scottish country, Highland, ceilidh and Hebridean dancing.

Earlier this year the Scottish Arts Council refused to commit any funding beyond March 2009 to allow it to continue running school and community workshops. Without its current funding of £75,000 a year the trust is likely to close.

In their letter, the celebrities state: “We urge the Scottish government to take action to save Scottish Traditions of Dance Trust. The traditions do matter. If the government takes no action — shame on you Scotland! Our traditions will die.”

Glennie, the profoundly deaf Scots percussionist, said the cut in funding would remove a valuable opportunity for children to learn traditional skills.

“That is something very dear to my heart, as it was through learning about Scottish traditional music that I was greatly benefited as a child.”

Dickson, the Dunfermline-born singer, said: “What should the Scottish Arts Council be funding, if not the culture of Scotland? I am supporting this campaign — it seems very odd to me that the work of the Scottish Traditions of Dance Trust will not be spread to young people who will carry on that tradition.”

The STDT hopes the Scottish government will intervene. “This cut is devastating,” said Angela Dreyer-Larsen, the trust’s director, who has been delighted at receiving such widespread support for her campaign from celebrities.

“We are the main organisation which goes into schools to teach children about all the types of Scottish traditional dance. Not only is Scottish traditional dancing fun for children to learn, but it also keeps them healthy and active and teaches them about their Scottish heritage.

“These are things that the Scottish government wants to promote, and it is ironic that the cut in funding is being made in 2009, the year of homecoming, when there will be a drive to promote Scottish culture.

Four other Scottish traditional arts organisations also had their funding cut: the Scots Language Resource Centre, the Traditional Music & Song Association (TMSA), Edinburgh’s Scots Music Group and the Scottish Language Dictionaries.

The STDT will be taking part in a protest outside the Scottish parliament on September 4 along with other traditional arts groups, including the TMSA, which had core funding of about £33,000 a year axed.

In contrast, Gaelic culture has received generous public support. BBC Alba, the UK’s first Gaelic television channel, which goes on air next month, will cost £25m a year, with around £15m coming from the BBC and £10m from the Gaelic Media Service, a government-funded body.

Sheena Wellington, the ballad singer who famously performed Robert Burns’s A Man’s a Man for a’ That at the opening of the Scottish parliament in 1999, will also be among those at the protest.

“I do plan to take part,” she said. “I feel very strongly about the cut in funding to the Scottish traditional arts groups.

“What will happen is that we will be denying probably 95% of our children their birthright of knowing about their culture.

“We don’t do all that well about teaching our children their own history and culture as it is, and what a lot of these small organisations have been doing is supplementing that — it has been as very good resource for schools.”

She added: “This is not a fight between Scots and Gaelic,but I would like us to get equality. Per capita, Gaelic does need more as it is a very minority language, but I believe we should be getting a couple of million. We would spend that quite easily.”

The arts council said last year it received applications for grants totalling £14.6m while its budget was just £6.9m. A Scottish government spokesman said: “The Scottish Arts Council is looking at the traditional arts sector and new ways and processes of working with it. We are sure the sector will contribute enthusiastically to that discussion and would encourage the Scottish Traditions of Dance Trust to get involved in that conversation.”

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