Helen Flanagan dropped from Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? after gun tweet

Helen Flanagan on Daybreak this morning (Rex Features)

Actress Helen Flanagan was dropped from an appearance on a live TV quiz show to raise money for charity in the wake of her "stupid" gun pose.

The former Coronation Street star was supposed to be in the hotseat for ITV1's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? last night but was dropped shortly beforehand.

Yesterday she was in tears as she apologised for posting a picture of herself online in which she was holding a gun to her head. The image caused a furore when she posted the photo on Twitter following the mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

Her "postponed" appearance meant her chosen charity missed out on the winnings she could have collected with partner Rosemary Shrager, with whom she appeared on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!.

Instead her place was taken by Made In Chelsea star Hugo Taylor, who competed for another worthy cause.

Yesterday, Flanagan called her decision to post the picture on Twitter "the stupidest thing I have ever done in my life" and apologised to any of the victims' families who may have taken offence. She explained on ITV's Daybreak that she had placed it online because she had a hangover.

The image, in which she appeared in lingerie, was taken in a fashion shoot in October.

Explaining her withdrawal from last night's Millionaire, a spokeswoman for ITV said: "ITV and Helen Flanagan have both agreed to postpone her appearance."

Shrager and Taylor went on to win £20,000, but the programme's biggest winners were Des O'Connor and Lee Mack, who notched up £150,000.

JLS stars JB Gill and Oritse Williams won £50,000.

PA