British actor David Walliams thrilled students at a school in South Shields, north-east England on Friday (01Mar13) by showing up unannounced to join their lessons.

The Little Britain star visited Mortimer School and sat in on drama and English sessions with the pupils.

Several youngsters took to Twitter.com to discuss Walliams' visit, and the actor re-tweeted a picture of himself posing with a group of children. The photograph's caption read, "David Walliams has just been in my school, we had a silent debate and he give me a little hug. Can't believe it."

Walliams is in the region to give a speech at the 2013 South Shields Lecture on Friday, an event held in support of local Member of Parliament David Miliband.