The ex-teacher of the William Chapman – who lost his life in a tiger attack at Yorkshire Wildlife Park – has spoken out and was worried for him when he left his extra-curricular dance and drama classes
William Chapman’s former teacher has stated she was worried the boy might fall into a gaming obsession after he strayed away from his acting lessons in his youth. The 24-year-old tragically lost his life last Saturday after entering a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park.
The young man was a successful child actor and stared in a number of productions for the likes of the BBC and ITV. As he grew older, he started to struggle with behavioural changes which led to significant mental health struggles.
He was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a mental health issue known to co-occur with schizophrenia. Marylyn Phillips, 76, who taught William for more than a decade has pulled back the lid on her relationship with Chapman and his interest in acting.
Phillips stated: “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.”
Speaking to the Mail she said: “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.”
Chapman appeared in numerous productions during his childhood as he featured 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.
Speaking on Chapman’s interest in acting Phillips stated: “He was very talented and very good, so this came across in all his auditions. He might have been fighting against everyone else for roles, but he always seemed to come out on top.
“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.”
Ms Virginia Burges, Chapman’s mother, penned a blog post when her son was 15, stating her child had stopped going to his lessons at stage school. She added her boy was slowly disappearing as he grew older.
In 2017 Burges wrote: “When my younger son, now 15, hit his early teens, my lovely, polite, happy and kind boy transformed into a being unrecognisable to me.”
The concerned mother posted the comment on a blog post named “Cure for troubled teenagers.”
Phillips has spoken of Chapman’s mental health as she knew the boy dealt with OCD and was worried when he stopped his extra-curricular dance and drama classes.
The woman stated: “It must have been hard, he had all that testosterone circulating round his still relatively childlike body and it made him angsty, aggressive and confused.
“At this time his OCD became a real problem and he stopped going to his extra-curricular dance and drama. I was worried. I didn’t want him to get stuck into a gaming obsession.”
Chapman was known to be an avid gamer as he enjoyed the The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a fantasy game during his life. The game sees players armed with mediaeval weaponry fighting various monsters, beasts and mythical creatures.
An anonymous neighbour who lived close to Chapman has said the man was shy yet polite and well-spoken.
Speaking to the Mail the neighbour said: “He was living there a long time. He was a lovely, lovely man.
“He was absolutely harmless but he would struggle to speak to more than two people. He was very shy when I first got to know him but he soon opened up and was always polite and well-spoken.
“For the past six months or so, he became very approachable and friendly. I usually saw him on a daily basis and I probably saw him about a week before he died. He did not seem his regular self when I last saw him.”
An inquest into Chapman’s death heard he had a history of mental illness and a diagnosis of schizophrenia, as well as sometimes suffering from psychosis.