Sian Blake murder: EastEnders star's partner Arthur Simpson-Kent charged with killing actress and her sons

Ms Blake and her sons Zachary, eight, and four-year-old Amon vanished on December 13

Sian Blake was last seen on 13 December (PA)

A man has been charged with the murders of ex-EastEnders actress Sian Blake and her two children.

Arthur Simpson-Kent, 48, was detained by Metropolitan Police officers at Heathrow Airport after arriving on a flight from Ghana.

The hairdresser was taken to a west London police station where he was formally charged with the murders.

Ms Blake and her sons Zachary, eight, and four-year-old Amon vanished on December 13 and were found buried in the garden of their family home in Erith, Kent, on January 5.

Sian Blake's children; Zachary,eight, and four-year-old Amon, whose bodies were also found (PA)

Simpson-Kent, Ms Blake's boyfriend, returned to the UK after agreeing to be extradited from the African country.

Scotland Yard is under investigation by the police watchdog for the way it handled the missing persons inquiry and why it took more than three weeks to find the bodies of Ms Blake and her sons.

The back garden of the house was only thoroughly searched in early January after murder squad detectives were called in.

Ms Blake played Frankie Pierre in 56 episodes of EastEnders between 1996 and 1997. She was suffering from motor neurone disease before she died.