Gemma McCluskie funeral: Mourners arrive at church

Hundreds of mourners have arrived at the church where the funeral of former EastEnders actress Gemma McCluskie is to be held today.

A funeral procession, following a horse drawn carriage carrying Gemma’s coffin, set off from the home she shared with her mother Pauline in Pelter Street, Bethnal Green, shortly after 11.30am.

Mourners have made their way to St Monica’s Church, in Hoxton Square, and after the service will head to the City of London Crematorium. However, her mother Pauline, who has cancer, has been unable to attend the funeral due to her illness.

Gemma played Kerry Skinner in the BBC1 soap EastEnders from 2000 to 2001.

She went missing from her Bethnal Green home earlier this year and her dismembered body was found in Regent’s Canal.

Gemma’s brother Tony, 35, has accepted responsibility for the death of the 29-year-old. He is due to stand trial at the Old Bailey in January 2013, and the court will decide whether Gemma’s death was murder or manslaughter.