Boyfriend of missing ex-EastEnders star may have fled abroad

The boyfriend of missing ex-EastEnders actress Sian Blake may have fled the Uk.

Murder squad detectives are urgently trying to find Arthur Simpson-Kent after three bodies were discovered by officers looking for Ms Blake and her two young sons.

Scotland Yard would not confirm a report in the Sun that the 48-year-old has fled to Africa, but a spokesman said: “Whether or not he is in the country is one line of inquiry.”

The force will refer its investigation into the disappearance of 43-year-old Ms Blake and her children to watchdog the Independent Police Complaints Commission today.

Three as yet unidentified bodies were found yesterday in the garden of the family home in Erith, Kent, that Ms Blake shared with her partner.

Scotland Yard is facing questions over why it took three weeks for homicide detectives to be called in, and the bodies to be found.

The force’s internal professional standards team is already looking at the way the investigation was handled.

A force spokesman said: “The Directorate of Professional Standards was informed on January 4 and is working with the investigation team to fully understand the timeline of police interaction with the family.”

Ms Blake vanished with her sons, Zachary, eight, and Amon, four, in east London on December 13.

Three days later, Mr Simpson-Kent was interviewed by police at the family home, before he also disappeared.

A family member reported the actress and her children missing on December 16, and two days later a missing persons inquiry was launched, but not classed as high risk.

The same day, December 18, officers went back to the home in Erith, and forced their way in when there was no answer at the property.

Scotland Yard could not provide details of how many other times police had searched or visited the house.

The investigation was classed as high risk at some point after Christmas, and on Monday the murder squad took over the inquiry.

Ms Blake had motor neurone disease – a fatal, rapidly progressing disease which affects the brain and spinal cord – and was reportedly looking “very frail” before she vanished.

She and her children were last seen in Waltham Forest, east London, and her silver-beige Renault Scenic was found in Calvert Avenue in Bethnal Green, east London, on January 3, but it is not known who parked it there.

Previously an unknown actress, Ms Blake’s big break came when she was introduced as soul singer Frankie in EastEnders in June 1996 by series producer Jane Harris.

She was in the BBC soap for 56 episodes, reportedly quitting in 1997 because of hostility from viewers towards her manipulative character.

The performer, who later worked as a sign language tutor, also appeared in episodes of The Bill, Casualty, Doctors and Skins, and was the voice of Yugiri in 2015 video game Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward.