He plays Ed Sheeran’s best friend in one of his music videos, but Ipswich teenager Jack Reddington never thought he would one day be calling the Grammy Award-winning singer a real “mate”.

Ipswich Star: The young Suffolk stars from Ed Sheeran's Castle on the Hill music video meet up with the singer at one of his concerts. Picture: JACK REDDINGTONThe young Suffolk stars from Ed Sheeran's Castle on the Hill music video meet up with the singer at one of his concerts. Picture: JACK REDDINGTON (Image: Archant)

Jack,18, featured in the video for Castle on the Hill alongside a group of students from Thomas Mills sixth from in Framlingham, and last week the four main characters were given free tickets to one of Ed’s gigs in Nottingham.

After posing for selfies with fans who recognised them from the footage, the young stars decided to try their luck and asked the stewards to get a message to Ed, who is from Framlingham, to see if they could go back stage to meet him.

To their delight, he said yes.

“It was brilliant,” said Jack, who lives in Copdock, just outside of Ipswich, and attends One sixth form.

“We were just talking to him. He is so normal and calm so it wasn’t anything massive, we saw him as a mate.

“We were asking him how everything was going after the video, and about his new music.”

Although he admitted it felt “weird” to be able to consider Ed a friend, Jack said the artist was easy to talk to and was “down to earth”.

Jack was joined at the show by Thomas Mills students Nicos Pantelli, Jack Whatling and Hugo Fairbanks Weston, who together play Ed and his closest pals in Castle on the Hill.

The video was filmed in Framlingham, with Ed describing Castle on the Hill as his “love song for Suffolk”.