Todd Carty collapses during play

Former EastEnders star Todd Carty has been taken to hospital after he collapsed during a theatre performance in Hertfordshire.

The actor, who is best remembered for his role as Walford's Mark Fowler, fell ill as he starred in The Business of Murder at The Gordon Craig Theatre in Stevenage.

Carty's agent Derek Webster told the BBC that the actor had been "violently sick" during the performance yesterday afternoon, but the reason for the incident was unclear.

"It might have had something to do with an ear infection that Todd has been suffering from for a few days now - I can't actually confirm that," Webster explained. "He did collapse on stage, he was violently sick. The theatre staff brought the curtain down, rushed him to the Stevenage hospital.

"He's undergoing tests, there's not much more that we can say, other than that he's well, he's awake and he's conscious and his wife is with him."

Carty starred in EastEnders for twelve years before finally being written out in 2002. He then went on to star in The Bill as Gabriel Kent from 2003 to 2005.