William Chapman, the man fatally mauled after entering a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, was a former child actor who appeared in programmes on BBC and ITV, according to reports.
Emergency services were alerted shortly after 1.30pm on October 10 when Chapman, who police say was visiting the park by himself, entered the enclosure. He was declared dead at the scene.
Acting career revealed
As reported by the BBC and confirmed by IMDB, Chapman appeared in the ITV drama May Contain Nuts alongside Shirley Henderson, best recognised for her role as Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter films, and he played Edward Jenner as a youngster in the BBC series True Stories.
Chapman, believed to be in his 20s, reportedly recorded the moment he approached the creature, according to footage shared on an Instagram account that has since been removed. The brief clip was captured inside the tiger's enclosure and the large animal can be seen resting on top of a wooden platform, several metres in front of the camera, reports the Daily Star.
Incident details
In the audio, the person filming can be heard breathing heavily as distant voices cry out "Oh my God" and "seriously". In a separate clip, a voice believed to be Chapman's can be heard asking bystanders to photograph him with the tiger just minutes before the incident unfolded.
Eyewitnesses described how he appeared to "bow down" to the tiger and was reportedly seen "dancing" as if to "hype" himself up before entering the enclosure. Some witnesses suggested it was evident the man had some form of additional needs, or was possibly deaf, after he was spotted apparently attempting to use sign language to reprimand the animal.
While some have suggested the victim was pointing at the animal with his index finger as if to scold the tiger by saying "no!", others have speculated that he was in fact pointing with his little finger. In Makaton sign language, this means "bad!".
Park response and investigation
The park was evacuated and shut following the incident and will remain closed on Wednesday (October 14) for the fifth consecutive day. Videos that began circulating online appeared to show Chapman being grabbed and wrestled by Altai within the tiger enclosure at the park.
In an earlier statement posted on social media, the wildlife park said "many, many people" had been in touch regarding Altai, the Amur tiger involved in the incident, and confirmed he is "safe and well" and will not be put down. It further stated that members of park staff were "deeply affected" by the incident and are receiving specialist support.
Speaking on Monday (October 13), a woman residing near the wildlife park expressed concern over reports that the victim may have had additional needs, and that people "seemed to care more about the tiger". Angela Seivewright, who visited to lay flowers at the park's entrance, said she had previously observed adults with special needs at the park accompanied by carers who seemed "a bit distracted" and felt "sad" about much of the response 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."
City of Doncaster Council, which holds responsibility for licensing the wildlife park, confirmed it has initiated 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."
