Adopting the stage name Syan Blake, she landed her first acting role in 1994, playing a bulimia patient in that year's Christmas episode of Casualty.

[7] After working as a telephone receptionist at a doctor's surgery, Blake landed her most notable role: soul singer Frankie Pierre, a character who appeared in EastEnders during 1996 and 1997.

Blake subsequently said that she left the series after receiving hate mail from viewers who found it difficult to separate fact from fiction.

[7] Blake lived in Erith, London,[10] with her partner, Arthur Simpson-Kent, and their two sons, Zachary and Amon, who were aged eight and four.

[4] Blake was diagnosed with terminal motor neurone disease on 11 December 2015 after first showing neurological symptoms in September 2013.

[4] On 9 January a Scotland Yard spokesman said that police in Ghana had arrested Simpson-Kent,[16][17] having travelled there on 19 December; he was remanded for two weeks.

[20] On 10 June, Simpson-Kent appeared at the Old Bailey where he formally entered guilty pleas to the murders of Blake and their two sons.

The Directorate of Professional Standards was informed on Monday, 4 January, and is working with the investigation team to fully understand the timeline of police interaction with the family.