Mrs Brown's Boys star Danny O’Carroll in tears over death of toddler he met days ago

Star says three-year-old Katie Rodgers who lost her battle with the rare mitochondrial disease was a "little princess"

Heartbroken Mrs Brown’s Boys star Danny O'Carroll has told of his sadness over the death of a sick girl he met just 12 days ago.

The 31-year-old, who plays Buster in the hit BBC One comedy, said three-year-old Katie Rodgers was “a little princess” and the news was simply “dreadful”.

Katie passed away in Dublin Temple Street Hospital after battling the rare mitochondrial diseasethat attacks vital cells in the body.

The tot, from Arranmore, Co Donegal, Ireland was with her parents when she passed away, reports the Irish Mirror.

Danny added: "I'm shocked, she was just gorgeous. It’s crazy to think I was with her just two weeks ago in Letterkenny and she took a bit of a shine to me and was hugging me and playing with me.

"To look at her you wouldn't think anything was wrong with her. Her movement was a little bit slower but that was it really."

The actor said the tragedy again highlights the need for more to be done to help those with the incurable condition.

He added: “These parents are essentially playing a waiting game and it’s not fair that there is not even hope for these families.

"The Government says there is not enough children here with mitochondrial disease to build research centres but when I was there two weeks ago there was five or six, that was in Donegal alone.

"How many kids do they need to have it before they take action?"

Parents of children in Donegal with the condition have also called for more money to be invested into research.

Ashling Nibbs, whose five-year-old son Oran is a sufferer, explained: “Mitochondria are the powerhouse of your body and once they begin to fail all basic functions no longer work.”

Campaign leader Regina Grant, whose own son has the degenerative condition, spoke of her shock after Katie’s funeral on Monday.

She said: “She had a few seizure episodes on Thursday so her parents brought her to Temple Street for tests and she just never recovered. It’s hard to think just a couple of weeks ago she was laughing and smiling.

"She was so healthy and fit, interacting."