Paul Bhattacharjee as Albert Einstein in The Physicist at the Donmar last year

London, July 17: The body of Paul Bhattacharjee, described as “one of the finest actors of his generation” and was reported missing since last week, has been found, Scotland Yard said late tonight.

“Officers investigating his disappearance were this morning, 17 July, contacted by Sussex Police and informed that the body of a man, matching his description, had been recovered from cliffs at Splash Point in Seaford, East Sussex on Friday, 12 July. This afternoon the body was identified in Sussex as that of Mr Bhattacharjee.

“Next of kin have been informed. His death is being treated as non-suspicious,” Scotland Yard said.

Relatives and friends of Bhattacharjee had grown deeply concerned about his wellbeing since he was reported “missing” after theatre rehearsals in London.

Before the formal announcement of his death, writer Tanika Gupta had said: “Paul is a fine actor and a good friend and colleague whom I’ve known for many years. His friends are all desperately anxious for his safety.”

In a brief chat with The Telegraph after he had played Albert Einstein in The Physicists at the Donmar Warehouse in the West End in June last year, Bhattacharjee had spoken proudly of his Bengali roots — his father was from Calcutta. Bhattacharjee recalled: “I was in Santiniketan for a while.”

Bhattacharjee, who is Jewish on his mother’s side, said he was born in Britain and that he went back to live in Calcutta for a few years.

He revealed there was just a chance that he would be in a play about the interaction between Einstein and Rabindranath Tagore, “but this time I will play Tagore”.

Given his enthusiasm for his work, Bhattacharjee’s disappearance was all the more inexplicable. He was rehearsing at the Royal Court in Sloane Square but was not seen since 6pm on Wednesday last week.

He was in the theatre’s company of 14 actors performing in the Weekly Rep series, which sees six plays staged in six weeks. A spokesperson for the Royal Court said: “He left on Wednesday in good spirits but didn’t make it to rehearsals the next day.”

Yesterday, Scotland Yard issued an appeal that summed up the basic facts behind Bhattacharjee’s uncharacteristic behaviour: “Paul Bhattacharjee, 53, of the Redbridge area was last seen at 18.16hrs last Wednesday as he left the Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, where he was appearing in a stage production.”

The statement emphasised: “This is totally out of character for Mr Bhattacharjee — who has appeared in numerous television and stage productions as well as films most recently in Dirty Pretty Things, Casino Royale and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Mr Bhattacharjee is an Asian male of slim build and 6ft tall with short grey hair.”

Actress Meera Syal, who played Beatrice opposite Bhattacharjee’s Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing at Stratford-upon-Avon last August and later in the West End, had said earlier: “I am completely shocked. This is so out of character as Paul has such an incredibly professional work ethic. I saw him a fortnight ago and he was very happy with the way things were going with work and about his relationship with his girlfriend.”

The actor’s son from his first marriage, Rahul Bhattacharjee-Prashar, a 24-year-old university graduate, had said before Scotland Yard issued the statement tonight: “Dad, wherever you are please, please get in contact. We want to know that you are okay and if anyone has seen or heard from him in the last few days please get in contact. Please, we are just worried sick. It’s completely out of character. He was doing well in his career and everything seemed to be going okay.”

Fellow actor Stephen Fry, who himself was missing for a week in 1995 after a nervous breakdown, had appealed to his six million Twitter followers for help in finding the actor.

In 1926, writer Agatha Christie disappeared on December 3 after a quarrel with her first husband, Archie Christie, over his mistress, Nancy Neele. On December 14, 1926, Agatha Christie was found at the Swan Hydropathic Hotel in Harrogate, Yorkshire, registered as “Mrs Teresa Neele” from Cape Town.