Three bodies found in hunt for EastEnders actress and two children

Police are searching for Arthur Simpson-Kent after discovering three bodies in their search for missing actress Sian Blake and her two children.

Murder squad detectives are searching for the boyfriend of an ex-EastEnders actress after three bodies were found by police looking for the performer and her two children.

Shocked neighbours of Sian Blake, 43, who played Frankie Pierre in the hit soap, broke down in tears after the discovery in the garden of her home in Erith, Kent.

She vanished with her sons Zachary, eight, and Amon, four, in east London on December 13. Three days later, police interviewed her partner, the children's father Arthur Simpson-Kent, 48, at the family home, before he also disappeared.

Sian Blake's sons Zachary, eight, and Amon, four, disappeared on December 13.

Officers made the grim discovery on Tuesday and launched a murder inquiry. Post-mortem examinations will be carried out on Wednesday on the bodies, which have yet to be formally identified.

Speaking outside Scotland Yard, Detective Superintendent Paul Monk said: "Sadly today we found three bodies in the back garden of their home address and as such, this is now a murder investigation.

"Formal identification has yet to take place, it's too early to speculate but of course the family has been told and this is obviously a very difficult time for them.

"Our efforts are continuing to find Arthur Simpson-Kent. Our appeal is to anyone who may know his current whereabouts or can assist us in finding him - we do need to speak to him as a matter of urgency."

Sian Blake (right) pictured with fellow EastEnders actor Howard Antony. Blake is missing and police have launched a murder investigation. Photo / Supplied

Next-door neighbour Sam Sanni-Alashe was in tears over the news. He said: "I am in shock, I can't talk. It is really hurtful. I know the lady. I see the children playing at the back. I say hello all the time. We are not close but she was a very happy woman. "This is a disaster and it is awful for the community."

Ms Blake had motor neurone disease - a fatal, rapidly progressing disease that affects the brain and spinal cord - and was reportedly looking "very frail" before she vanished.

According to IMDB, Ms Blake was on the show for 56 episodes, reportedly quitting in 1997 because of hostility from viewers towards her manipulative character.

Ms Blake 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.

Police searching for ex-EastEnders actress Sian Blake and her two young children have found three bodies at her family home.

- AAP