'Benefits Street' star Fungi found dead at the age of 50 after suffering heart attack

One of the stars of controversial documentary series Benefits Street has been found dead at the age of 50, just five years after the programme aired.

Fungi, whose real name was James Clarke, died in the early hours of Monday morning after suffering a heart attack caused by a suspected drug overdose, according to The Sun.

Read more: Ofcom probes Jeremy Kyle Show over lie detectors

Police and ambulance crews were called to a house for recovering drug addicts in the Kings Heath area of Birmingham, where Fungi was staying, at 2.45am.

Attempts were made to revive him, but he was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene.

Fungi appeared as one of the main participants in the Benefits Street documentary series, which first aired in January 2014.

Viewers saw his struggles with alcohol and drugs, which affected his relationship with his children and led him to experience a health scare after he found a lump on his chest.

The show prompted fierce political debate with regards to the welfare system and was criticised for being an exploitative example of “poverty porn”.

Broadcasting regulator Ofcom received more than 900 complaints about the show, but concluded that Channel 4 had not breached regulations.

Read more: Nigel Farage slams Channel 4 comedy

Clarke had experienced multiple hardships since the show aired and spent much of his life sleeping rough in Birmingham.

Birmingham-based political campaigner Izzy Knowles paid tribute to Clarke on Twitter, describing him as a “troubled but likeable” man.

Earlier this year, the star gave an interview to Birmingham Mail in which he said cuts to his benefits were putting him through “hell”.

He called universal credit “the worst thing in the world” after he claimed his benefits were cut from £500 a month to just £229.

Read more: Biggest Loser contestant dies as result of leukemia

A spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed they were called just before 3am to reports of a “patient in cardiac arrest”, who was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said the death is not being treated as suspicious.