McBusted lead tributes after death of Lil Chris
- Published
McBusted have led tributes to singer and actor Lil Chris, who's died at the age of 24.
The performer, whose real name was Chris Hardman, was found dead at a house in Lowestoft in Suffolk on Monday.
Suffolk police said there were no suspicious circumstances.
Hardman found fame in TV show Rock School before going on to have a top ten hit in 2006 with Checkin' It Out.
At one point during his career, he supported McFly on tour.
Danny Jones tweeted that he was "devastated" while Dougie Poynter said he was "a genuinely sweet and funny guy".
More recently, Chris Hardman appeared in the London West End musical Loserville, written by McBusted's James Bourne.
Speaking to Newsbeat, Bourne told us Hardman had a "natural gift".
He said: "He was a great recording artist but when he went on stage he was with a lot of so-called 'theatre kids' and he really shone through.
"He stood out. He had a natural gift. He had a lot of charisma.
"He came round my house once and I started playing Checkin' It Out on the piano and he was singing it.
"We chose to hang out outside of our work stuff as friends. He's so young. It's such awful news."
Chris Hardman more recently starred in West End musical Loserville
In a statement, Suffolk police said: "Officers received a call on Monday 23 March and attended an address in Lowestoft following a sudden death of a 24-year-old man."
A post-mortem examination is due to take place.
On 3 March, Hardman tweeted: "Thinking about quitting music forever... there has to come a time eventually when I have to face reality. I'm just not good enough."
Back in 2006, the singer featured in Channel 4's Rock School which saw Gene Simmons from Kiss try to form a band out of a class of children who attended a school in Lowestoft.
Lil Chris's biggest hit was Checkin' It Out, which reached number three in the Official Chart
Hardman ended up being the frontman for the band.
Following that, he released a number of singles as a solo star, including a cover of Jermaine Stewart's We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off.
His highest chart hit was Checkin' It Out, which reached number three.
Chris Hardman continued to upload videos of him performing to his YouTube channel.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat, external on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat, external on Instagram and Radio1Newsbeat, external on YouTube