A former young star of EastEnders who went on to become a youth worker faces jail for child sex abuse.

Joseph Shade played Peter Beale, the son of long-running character Ian Beale, in the BBC soap from 1998 to 2004 before working at a project for 'vulnerable' young people in Norfolk.

He had denied claims he abused his position of trust to incite teenage girls to engage in sexual activity.

But on what should have been the third day of his trial today, he dramatically changed his plea and admitted six offences.

A judge told him he could be jailed when he returns to court for sentencing.

Shade, 24, admitted five counts of causing or inciting a child under 18 to engage in sexual activity while in a position of trust.

He also pleaded guilty to one count of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust.

Prosecutor Chris Paxton told Norwich Crown Court that Shade was a youth worker at a project in Norfolk when he sent sexual text messages to girls and touched one on the bottom. The offences were against three girls aged between 14 and 17, and happened between 2012 and 2015.

'He himself attended that youth project as a young person and got help from them,' said Mr Paxton. 

'As he reached the age of 18 he became formally employed as a youth worker and in this capacity as a youth worker he then engaged with many young people who came from similar backgrounds and vulnerabilities as he had. The prosecutor added: 'During the course of his employment he accepts by his pleas that his relationships became too close to a number of attendees and he would engage with them by texting them messages asking them to have sex or to send sexual pictures of breasts and the like.

'On one occasion and only one occasion he touched one of them.'

Mr Paxton said Shade had no previous convictions and was 'tearful and expressed a degree of remorse' when he was interviewed by police.

Shade, of Sheringham, Norfolk, appeared unshaven in a blue shirt, dark blue tie and suit trousers and spoke only to enter his pleas.

The trial had been due to start on Monday and Shade denied 11 sexual offences against four girls, but on the fourth day of trial he admitted six sexual offences against three girls and the prosecution ordered that the remaining five counts lie on file.

Mr Paxton said: 'The Crown accepts those guilty pleas to deal in a satisfactory way with the entirety of the indictment, therefore we would not need to engage the services of the jury in relation to the other counts.