Hayden Panettiere's mother, Lesley Vogel, has broken her silence two days after the actress's death, publicly criticising her daughter's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, who was reportedly with her when she died. Vogel, who once managed Panettiere's career, singled out Hickerson as a troubling presence in her daughter's life, adding a fraught new dimension to the outpouring of grief that has followed the "Heroes" and "Nashville" star's sudden death at 36 on Sunday 16 August.

The intervention comes amid a wave of tributes from figures including Hilary Duff, Mariska Hargitay, Solange, Rosie O'Donnell, Jeremy Piven, Beverley Mitchell, Justin Chatwin and Panettiere's ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko, several recalling her warmth and work ethic during her years as a young Hollywood star. It also follows earlier reporting, including from the New York Times, that her fatal cardiac arrest followed an apparent drug overdose at her South Carolina home, where she could not be resuscitated; a preliminary autopsy has reportedly since been carried out, though full results are not yet public.