William Chapman, the man mauled to death by a tiger at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, was a former child actor who appeared in shows on the BBC and ITV, the BBC has revealed. Chapman died on Saturday, October 10, after entering the tiger enclosure at the park. Emergency services were contacted shortly after 1.30pm that day, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Former child actor roles
Chapman appeared in the ITV production May Contain Nuts alongside Shirley Henderson, best known for playing Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter films. He also portrayed Edward Jenner as a young boy in the BBC series True Stories, according to the BBC and backed up by IMDB.
Chapman, reportedly in his 20s, was visiting the park alone, police said. Footage posted on an Instagram account that has since been deleted appears to show him filming himself as he approached the animal inside its enclosure.
Incident details
The short clip was filmed inside the tiger's enclosure, with the large animal visible lying on 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".
Other videos circulating online appeared to show Chapman being pawed at and grappled by Altai, the Amur tiger involved in the incident. In another clip, a voice that appears to be Chapman's asks people to take a photo of him with the tiger minutes before the incident.
Park response
The park was evacuated and closed following the incident and will remain closed on Wednesday, October 14, for the fifth day. In a previous statement on social media, the wildlife park said "many, many people" had contacted them about Altai, confirming he is "safe and well" and will not be euthanised. Park staff were "deeply affected" by the incident and are receiving specialist support.
