Rapper Professor Green appears at Stoke by-election count

BBC Stoke's Emma Thomas with Pro Green at the by-election count

Rapper Professor Green caused a stir when he unexpectedly turned up at the Stoke-on-Trent by-election count.

When asked by BBC Stoke what he was up to, the songwriter said he had been out filming a documentary recently, and was seen speaking with Labour's Jack Dromey, MP for Erdington, at the count.

He said he could not be interviewed - he has a contract with the film makers.

Labour's Gareth Snell won the seat, with UKIP, whose leader Paul Nuttall had stood, coming second.

Pro Green - real name Stephen Manderson - did chat to BBC Stoke's Emma Thomas and stay for a selfie with her, which she said caused a bit of a stir among the press section.

"Of all the things I was expecting from last night's by-election count, meeting a music icon was not one of them," she said.

Mirror journalist Dan Bloom tweeted a picture

"He wouldn't give me many details on why he was in the Potteries, but did say he's in town making a documentary.

"He was doing pieces to camera and interviewing people like Jack Dromey. He chatted to some members of the press... He was relaxed."

His team did not let much detail out about the documentary. His cameraman however, had been filming with UKIP leader Paul Nuttall a few weeks ago when it emerged he falsely claimed he lost close friends in the Hillsborough tragedy.

After spending several hours at the count, the rapper, who has previously made documentaries with the BBC looking at homelessness and the murky world of illegal dogs, departed after the result came in at about 02:30 GMT.