Internet forums and chat rooms in Vietnam are buzzing over a scandal involving the lead actress of a hit teen TV show, according to BBC and Vietnamese reports.

Last week, Vietnam Television cancelled its popular series Vang Anh's Diaries just days after blurry video footage began circulating online that purportedly showed star Hoang Thuy Linh in the midst of an intimate encounter with her ex-boyfriend.

"The show Vang Anh's Diary will stop broadcasting," the network said in a brief statement.

"It is the decision of the management of VTV as well as the proposal of Hoang Thuy Linh."

In the youth-oriented soap about Vietnamese secondary school students, Thuy Linh, who is 19, portrayed the titular schoolgirl, Vang Anh.

Many have criticized the actress, who they said had been considered a role model. Parents of viewers called for her dismissal.

A host of fans, however, have come to Thuy Linh's defence, with many expressing outrage about the intrusion into her personal life.

On the show's final episode, which aired Oct. 15 and during which Vietnam Television announced the program's cancellation, Thuy Linh offered a tearful apology and asked her fans for understanding.

The flurry of blogging and other internet commentary about the controversy is somewhat fitting, considering the show had offered an interactive element — viewers were invited to vote on and discuss the moral and lifestyle issues facing its teen characters via e-mail and text messaging each week.

While the show won praise for tackling teen issues, it had also garnered criticism for its focus on wealthy, middle-class urbanites.