A pathologist is currently carrying out a postmortem examination on the human head found in the same river where the torso belonging to EastEnders actress Gemma McCluskie was recovered.

The postmortem is currently being carried out by the pathologist brought into to examine the head, stored at a mortuary at Poplar Coroners Court, according to a coroner’s officer.

It is not yet clear if DNA tests will need to be carried out to identify the head.

The head was recovered from the Regent’s Canal on Sunday after police were called by a member of the public who spotted the head in the water near Kingsland Road in Hackney.

Body parts belonging to Gemma McCluskie were found near Broadway Market earlier in the year and further up river.

Gemma McCluskie went missing from the Bethnal Green home she shared with her ill mother Pauline and brother Tony more than six months ago.

Her brother Tony Ms McCluskie, 35, is due to stand trial accused of her murder in November.