Tragic EastEnders star died penniless after going missing for two days in heartbreaking case

An actor and soap star tragically took his own life at the age of 53 - just days after being declared bankrupt.

Paul Bhattacharjee played Masood's brother Inzamam in EastEnders from 2008 until 2010. He also played an MI6 Medical Officer in the blockbuster James Bond movie Casino Royale (2006) and appeared in films such as Dirty Pretty Things (2002) and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012).

He sadly took his own life back in July 2013 and went missing for two days before his body was found at the Splash Point cliffs in Seaford, East Sussex. East Sussex coroner Alan Craze ruled Paul's death a suicide, and the inquest into his death found that he killed himself by jumping off a cliff.

Bhattacharjee was said to be terrified of the thought of his recent bankruptcy being revealed to the public. His partner Emma McKie described him as a "proud" man, who had a "darkness inside him that was irreparable".

In a statement, she said that he was a "protective man and he couldn't have handled the bankruptcy becoming public knowledge". She added: "He would not have wanted to let me down or hurt me or his friends. The bankruptcy was the final straw after a life of major highs and lows."

When news spread that Paul had been missing, the likes of Stephen Fry, Kim Cattrall and Bend it Like Beckham star Parminder Nagra had posted on social media in an appeal for help finding him.

It emerged that he had messaged his partner on the night of his death telling her to "eat without him because he would be home very late," before sending his last message to her. This simply read: "I'm sorry".

The actor had been working and was in a production of the play Talk Show at the time of his death. His most high-profile film was Casino Royale, and his other TV show credits include BBC shows such as Waking the Dead and Spooks, and ITV hit The Bill.

Tributes flooded in for the star at the time, as his Much Ado About Nothing co-star Meera Syal who wrote: "Paul was an incredibly gifted, versatile and generous actor but also complex, deep thinking, engagingly opinionated and politically committed as a personality, truly wonderful to share a stage with."

Musician and composer Nitin Sawhney said: "The saddest day. My friend (cast as Tagore in my play) Paul Bhattacharjee was found dead yesterday."

Have you joined Threads? Follow Daily Star to keep up to date on all things showbiz here .

Want all the biggest Showbiz and TV news straight to your inbox? Sign up for our free Daily Star Showbiz newsletter.

[Google Preferred Source Badge]Follow Daily Star: