Todd Carty's on-stage heart attack

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By James Weatherup and Amanda Evans

Former EastEnders star Todd Carty collapsed on stage yesterday with a suspected heart attack.

The 44-year-old actor was starring in a play called The Business of Murder when he suddenly keeled over.

The star, who played Mark Fowler in the hit soap, was rushed to hopsital after slumping 15 minutes before the end of the performance at the Gordon Craig Theatre in Stevenage, Herts.

The incident happened when he was on stage with fellow actors Sally Ann Matthews and Aaron Bixley.

A member of the audience said:"He suddenly slipped onto the sofa, coughed twice and then his head just fell to one side -- it was very shocking."

Worried Sally Ann immediately called a halt to the perfomance telling the audience: "I'm sorry ladies and gentlemen, we cannot go on."