Inside tiger attack victim's child acting career as 'proud mum' shares heartwarming stories

Inside tiger attack victim's child acting career as 'proud mum' shares heartwarming stories William Chapman was a former child actor featuring on both the BBC and ITV with his mum sharing how 'proud' she was of him in heartwarming stories from his childhood The man who was horrifically killed by a tiger at Yorkshire Wildlife Park was a former child actor, with his 'proud mum' sharing heartwarming stories of his time on set. William Chapman, in his 20s, has been revealed as the victim of the tiger attack on Saturday. He starred in the ITV production May Contain Nuts alongside Shirley Henderson, best known for playing Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter films, as well as playing Edward Jenner as a young boy in the BBC series True Stories. An old blog post written by William's mum shows a glimpse into his life years before the attack. The post, published just over 12 years ago, says William was "passionate about acting and drama" having attended a performing arts school in High Wycombe since the age of four. The Jackie Palmer Stage School in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire have posted a heartfelt tribute on their Facebook page after William was revealed as the victim of the attack. The post reads: "We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our former student, William Chapman. Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with William’s family and friends during this incredibly difficult time. "We loved watching William grow, both as a person and as a performer, during his time with us. It was a privilege to be part of his journey, and he will be remembered with great fondness by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him. "William will be truly missed, and he will always hold a special place in our hearts. Rest in peace, William." In his mum's blog post she described William's mood in an audition in London for the ITV show 'May Contain Nuts' at age five as "unburdened by the nerves he can sometimes suffer from these days". She added: "He seemed to relax and thoroughly enjoy himself." His mum continued to add that working as an extra on Pan, a prequel to the Peter Pan story which starred Hugh Jackman was a 'wonderful experience for him'. The post also includes an extract written by William himself from this time. It says: "Once on set we were sheltering from the pirates under the ship's floorboards and we had to be terrified! Our chief gets shot by Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman), so remember to look out for that scene if you watch the movie. "After lunch we just did more tutoring then we went back on set for a retake of the earlier scene, but we were lucky enough to meet and say hi to Hugh Jackman! We gave him a high five, awesome right?" William's mum continued to detail other roles William has played, expressing how 'proud' she was. She said: "Being a proud mum I couldn’t resist showing off his efforts as the young Edward Jenner for BBC Learning." William's family paid tribute to their 'amazing' and 'warm' son on Tuesday evening in a heartbreaking statement. The statement said William suffered from "significant mental illness" over a number of years and was given "strong medication". It continued: "William was a bright, warm and engaging young man whom his family dearly loved - and William loved them back. "The family are utterly devastated by their loss and are struggling to come to terms with what has happened. "The family are hopeful that the relevant authorities will do their upmost to get to the bottom of why our amazing son did what he did."