Boyzone singer Stephen Gately, who died while on holiday in Spain on Saturday, is remembered as a decent and talented man by people who met him when he was in pantomime in Canterbury.

The 33-year-old had played the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz in the KM community pantomime in the spring of 2006.

City councillor Vince McMahan went to the show and met Stephen at The Marlowe Theatre bar afterwards.

He said: “He was an extremely pleasant young man, and very talented.

“We had a chat and hearing on Sunday that he had died was quite a shock. He was in the prime of his life and had so much to look forward to.”

Irishman Stephen died at the holiday apartment he shared with his partner in Majorca after a night out.

He is believed to have choked on his vomit.

Stephen married Andrew Cowles in a civil ceremony just a month before he came to Canterbury to perform.

Despite being impressed with the city when he first arrived, the Boyzone star revealed to the Kentish Gazette that he been on the receiving end of homophobic abuse from street louts.

He said in April 2006: “The place is beautiful and I love it and when I first got here I thought seriously about buying a second home here.

“But I have been abused by teenagers and people have been rude to me in the shops.

“This is one of the reasons I got out of Dublin and went to London which is more liberal, but apparently not down here.”

Emily Wood, whose father Kevin worked with Stephen in the Wizard of Oz and on a show in Bromley the year before, also got to know him during his time here.

She said: “I know some of the Press have been saying that he was drinking and so on, but he really was a very clean living guy and I’ll think they’ll find there was nothing untoward in his death.

“Stephen was a really lovely, genuine guy. It’s very sad.”

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