A man found hanged in a beauty spot in Richmond Park last month is believed to be an actor who starred in The Bill.

Police were called to Isabella Plantation at 8.10am on Monday, April 13, and the area was cordoned off while an investigation took place.

A man thought to be in his 40s was found hanged and police said the death was not being treated as suspicious.

It emerged yesterday, Sunday, May 17, that actor Joseph Bennett, 44, the husband of 49-year-old actress Julie Graham, was found hanged in the park on that date.

A Metropolitan Police Service spokesman said this morning they could not provide the identity of the man found in the park last month, but said a file had been passed to the coroner.

It is understood Mr Bennett, who starred in The Bill and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, lived in Brighton with his wife and two children and his funeral has already taken place.

An inquest is yet to be held.

Speaking on the day a body was discovered, Jim Phipps, who was at the royal park, said: "I was in Richmond Park this morning and there was a private black ambulance and it looked like they were carrying a body out.

"I didn’t know what was going on, whether someone had died or how it had happened.

"It is very sad indeed. It is so sad that should happen.

"I live in New Malden and use the park as much as I can. I was going to ask questions but thought I had better not.

"It looked as though someone had died as it was all covered up."

Richard Gray, from the Friends of Richmond Park, said "It is a dreadful shock and just awful. I am very saddened by it."

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