Fresh details of tiger attack victim William Chapman's childhood emerge - 'that's what's so sad'

Fresh details of tiger attack victim William Chapman's childhood emerge - 'that's what's so sad' William Chapman's drama teacher Marylyn Phillips said his family were 'very, very nice and never pushy at all' as she paid tribute to the former child actor's talent The 24-year-old man mauled to death by a tiger at Yorkshire Wildlife Park was a "very talented" actor in his childhood, his devastated former drama teacher has said. As a child, William Chapman 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. He had attended Jackie Palmer Stage School in Buckinghamshire where his drama teacher at the time, Marylyn Phillips, now 76, told the Daily Mail she had been struck by how lovely his family were. She said: "It was very difficult when I heard the news. It is just so sad when someone is young, talented, and has everything going for them. "It's heartbreaking enough when they leave [the school] let alone this. They are a lovely family, and they are devastated. "They were always very, very nice and never pushy at all. Anything their children needed, they had it. If he needed to be taken somewhere, he would be taken somewhere. They were just really lovely people and honourable people. That's what is so sad. It is so hard." Marylyn said Mr Chapman was "very talented and very good" and always seemed to "come out on top" in auditions. She said: "He cared about what he did. If I gave him a script, it would be learned by the next time I saw him. "We always stayed in touch and our agency represented him for a time, but then he went on to college." Mr Chapman was pronounced dead last Saturday afternoon after the tiger, named Altai, fatally attacked him at the zoo, near Doncaster. An inquest opening held at Doncaster Coroner's Court on Thursday was told that Mr Chapman had a history of mental illness, a diagnosis of schizophrenia and had suffered bouts of psychosis. The hearing was told that his family had raised concerns about the care he was receiving for his mental health problems in the months before his death. Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust, which was providing his mental health services has launched an independent patient safety investigation. To get into the tiger enclosure, Mr Chapman "climbed two fences", with a video he posted on his Instagram in his last moments showing him walking towards the tiger as he breathes heavily and terrified onlookers cry "oh my god". Yorkshire Wildlife Park, which reopened yesterday (Friday) following a six-day closure, confirmed Altai will not be euthanised as a result of the tragedy.