A teenager who was stabbed during a row with a group of youths early today has been named as 16-year-old Ben Kinsella.

Friends who visited the murder scene in Islington, north London, said that he was the brother of former EastEnders actress Brooke Kinsella, who played Kelly Taylor in the BBC soap.

Mr Kinsella was stabbed in Islington around 2am during a row with a group of youths, police said. He is believed to have been at a party in a local pub, Shillibeers, when a row broke out.

He became the 17th teenager to die as a result of violence on the streets of London this year, and the 12th to be stabbed to death.

Miss Kinsella and her boyfriend, former EastEnders actor Ray Panthaki, paid their respects at the spot in York Way today. Linda Robson, the Birds of a Feather actress, also laid flowers at the scene.

One of Ben’s friends told today claimed today that he had made a desperate phone call for help minutes before he died.

“He called me on the phone and just said ’help’," said David Dugdale, 17. “He sounded really scared and then it just clicked off.”

Another friend described the dead teenager as a gentle boy. She said: “He wouldn’t hurt you, he wouldn’t even shout at anybody. He was the sort of boy that was a role model for everyone else. He was a good boy.”

Another friend, who did not want to be named, said: “He was a really bright kid. He has appeared in The Bill once and his sister Brooke was in EastEnders.”

After the stabbing, Ben was taken by ambulance to the Whittington hospital where he died, despite the efforts of hospital staff, police said.

One witness, who did not want to be named, said he saw the victim lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

“There were ambulancemen putting an oxygen mask on him and trying to help him. Somebody told me they resuscitated him a couple of times while he was lying on the floor.”

Scotland Yard said that two 16-year-old youths were arrested nearby and were taken to a north London police station where they remain. Officers were today hunting for a weapon near the scene and a spokesman said: “We are keeping an open mind regarding the motive.”

Bob Hamlyn, Ben's head teacher at Holloway School, today paid tribute to the teenager.

“They are a lovely family and they are very supportive at school. He was a bright kid, very high achieving academically and would have had some very good results to look forward to this summer.

“He was also very sporty and had everything to live for but that has been taken away from him now.

“They say there have been 17 teenagers killed this year and it’s 17 too many. People know what they have to do, they have to stop carrying the knives and put them away.”

The funeral was held last week of Robert Knox, 18, an actor who appeared in a Harry Potter movie, who was stabbed to death during a night out in Sidcup.

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