Tributes paid to tragic star

The series is set in a Tyneside youth club

Stars and producers of hit children's drama Byker Grove have paid tribute to teenage actor Duncan Ford who died in June.

As the BBC series, set on Tyneside, gets ready for its 14th season, tributes were paid to 16-year-old Duncan, who was found dead at the foot of a bridge in Sunderland.

Duncan, from Newcastle, played new character Alan, and had filmed several scenes before his death.

Byker Grover producer Edward Pugh said the loss of the promising young actor hit the show hard.

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Duncan, who was a pupil at Heaton Manor School in Newcastle, was seen falling from Wearmouth Bridge, in Sunderland, on 13 June.

Police said his death was not suspicious.

At a media launch for the new series, which begins on BBC One on 3 September, Mr Pugh said: "We were all incredibly shocked and devastated by Duncan's death.

"The great sadness for all of us is that he was a very outgoing lad, terribly extrovert and a joy to work with.

"The sadness is that as a potential actor for the future he gave a really good performance."

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One of the central characters of the new series, which features the lives and loves of youngsters who attend a youth club, is Ben, played by Andrew Hayden-Smith.

He said: "I'm a bit of a lad and early on in the series I cheat on my girlfriend."

Jade Turnbull, who plays Regina, said: "There has been a big revamp and there are lots of new characters.

"My character grows up very fast and discovers boys very quickly."

The programme, which first hit television screens in 1989, has proved a launching pad for the likes of Ant and Dec and Donna Air.