Tiger assault sufferer William Chapman was former little one actor who ‘appeared on BBC and ITV’
WARNING, DISTRESSING CONTENT: William Chapman, who is reportedly in his 20s, was earlier named as the tragic victim of a fatal tiger attack after he entered an enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park
The man who was mauled to death after he entered into a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park has been identified as a former child actor, according to the BBC. The victim was earlier named as William Chapman, who was killed after entering the tiger enclosure on Saturday.
Emergency services were contacted shortly after 1.30pm on October 10 when Chapman, who police said was visiting the park alone, entered the enclosure. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
It has now emerged that Chapman was a former child actor, who appeared in shows on BBC and ITV. As reported by the BBC and backed up from IMDB, he appeared in the ITV production May Contain Nuts alongside Shirley Henderson, best known for playing Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter films, and he portrayed Edward Jenner as a young boy in the BBC series True Stories.
William Chapman has been named as the young man killed by the tiger(Image: Sky News)
Chapman, who is reportedly in his 20s, apparently filmed the moment he approached the animal, according to footage posted on an Instagram account that has since been deleted.
The short clip was filmed inside the tiger’s enclosure and the large animal can be seen lying on top of a wooden platform, a few metres in front of the camera.
In the audio, the person filming can be heard breathing heavily as distant voices shout “Oh my God” and “seriously”.
Chapman uploaded a video of him walking up to the tiger at the park(Image: Not known)
The park was evacuated and closed following the incident and will remain closed on Wednesday (October 14) for the fifth day.
Videos began circulating online appeared to show Chapman being pawed at and grappled by Altai in the tiger enclosure at the park.
In another clip, it appears to show the voice of Chapman asking people to take a photo of him with the tiger just minutes before the incident took place.
Clip from ITV show May Contain Nuts of character Alfie Chaplin, reportedly played by William Chapman(Image: YouTube)
Witnesses described how he appeared to “bow down” to the tiger and was reportedly seen “dancing” as to “hype” himself up before entering the site.
Some witnesses suggested it was clear the man had some kind of special needs or even deaf after he was spotted seemingly trying to use sign language to scold the beast.
While some have suggested the victim was pointing at the animal with his index finger as to scold the tiger by saying “no!”, others have speculated that he was actually pointing with his little finger. In Makaton sign language, this means “bad!”.
In a previous statement on social media, the wildlife park said “many, many people” had contacted them about Altai, the Amur tiger involved in the incident, and it confirmed he is “safe and well” and will not be euthanised.
It added that members of park staff were “deeply affected” by the incident and receiving specialist support.
Speaking on Monday (October 13), a woman who lives near the wildlife park said she was concerned over reports the victim may have had additional needs and that people “seemed to care more about the tiger”.
Chapman appeared in two shows as a child (Image: Not known)
Angela Seivewright, who went to lay flowers at the gate of the park, said she had previously seen adults with special needs in the park with carers who appeared to be “a bit distracted” and felt “sad” at much of the reaction to the man’s death.
Ms Seivewright said: “I believe that the person who was killed had additional needs. And, when I looked at social media over the weekend, when I said I hoped the person was OK, I got really bullied a lot – saying that he deserved to die.
“I have a special needs child and I think he was doing sign language to the tiger. So, it just felt it was really unfair that people were almost wishing him to die as opposed to not wanting anybody to be hurt.
“So it was really upsetting. My daughter goes to school next door and we live around the corner. And I just thought there would be way more flowers here.”
Yorkshire Wildlife Park has remained shut ever since the incident(Image: Charley Atkins / SWNS)
City of Doncaster Council, who are responsible for licensing the wildlife park, said it has launched a health and safety investigation into the incident.
Dan Swaine, executive director of place at City of Doncaster Council, said: “As the relevant licensing authority for the Yorkshire Wildlife Park, I can confirm that, in line with our statutory duties, the council has launched a health and safety investigation.
“We are also working with multiple agencies, including the police and health agencies, and are supporting the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in response to the incident.
“At this time, we won’t be commenting further on the individual or the investigation and we ask that the privacy of those involved is respected at this difficult time.”
