A Hackney hero scoops his first Bafta

The east London star of gritty low-budget dramas spoke of his thrill at officially hitting the big time as he beat acclaimed rivals including Old Etonians Tom Hiddleston and Eddie Redmayne to win his first Bafta.

Kidulthood star Adam Deacon, 28, swapped his council flat in Hackney to join George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Meryl Streep on the red carpet for the Orange British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Opera House.

Beating Hiddleston, of War Horse and Thor, and Redmayne, from My Week with Marilyn to win the rising star award voted for by the public, he said he hoped this would encourage other young people from ordinary backgrounds to aim high.

"Thank you to Bafta for this because it means acceptance and it's not just a win for me, it's a win for the underdog and it's a win for any young person out there who's got a dream to better themselves," he said.

"Ten years ago, I was sitting in a hostel with nowhere to live and it was a dream. You keep working and it keeps going one step better and better until this has happened and it is amazing."

But he admitted that he feared coming from his background had made it harder to get big breaks.

Kidulthood, made by previous rising star winner Noel Clarke, proved an immediate hit with audiences on release six years ago. "I used to walk around Hackney and the love I was getting from young people, it was phenomenal," Deacon said.

"At the same time, you go up for castings and the casting directors never watch these films because of a generation gap. It was very much two worlds."

He thought some believed he was really like Jay, his character in Kidulthood and its sequel Adulthood, instead of acting a part - which was why he had created the urban comedy, Anuvahood.

"I hoped that if we could say not everyone from a council estate is going to stab or kill you, hopefully people won't see me as much of a threat."

He plays a Premier League footballer from a council estate in his next film, Payback Season, out next month, and appears with Bob Hoskins in an Eighties drama, Outside Bet, in the spring. But despite his growing success he admitted: "This is surreal. I can't believe I'm in the same place as people like Brad Pitt."