Limbless torso in London canal was British soap actress

LONDON - Agence France-Presse

Archival photo. AFP Photo

British police confirmed on Friday that a headless and limbless body found in a London canal was a former actress in the BBC's top soap opera "EastEnders".
   
Gemma McCluskie, 29, went missing after attending the opening of a new hospital on Thursday last week.
   
Her limbless and headless torso was found on Tuesday when a member of the public reported a suspicious object floating close to a market in Hackney, east London.
   
Her 35-year-old brother Tony remains in police custody for questioning.
   
Officers are reviewing security camera footage of her attending the opening of the Royal London Hospital, in Whitechapel, east London, last Thursday.
   
Detective Superintendent Fiona Mallon, who is leading the police investigation, said: "It is important that we piece together Gemma's movements from Wednesday February 29 until the discovery in Regent's Canal in Hackney on Tuesday."
   
He said police were particularly interested to hear from anyone "who may have seen suspicious activity around her home".
   
Former EastEnders co-stars Natalie Cassidy and Brooke Kinsella had both made appeals on Twitter for help in finding her.
   
The actress played Kerry Skinner in 2001 in the BBC soap about the residents of a working-class district of east London.