Former James Bond baddy Irvin Allen arrested over wife`s murder

A former James Bond villain was tonight being quizzed by Murder Squad detectives after his wife was found dead in an exclusive west London suburb.

Actor Irvin Allen, who played bad guy Che Che in Bond blockbuster On Her Majesty's Secret Service, was arrested shortly after the body of his wife Chamlong Allen was found in a lock-up garage in Notting Hill.

Mrs Allen, 48, ran a stall called Mr Tasty with her husband in trendy Portobello Market selling West Indian and Thai food - reports LSE.

Mrs Allen, who was born in north east Thailand, was known to regular customers and fellow stall holders on the market as Mrs Tasty.

The couple, who have been married for at least 15 years and have three children all under the age of 18, lived in a flat half-a-mile from the market in Ladbroke Grove.

Today market stallholders spoke of their shock following the arrest of six foot five inch Mr Allen who they described as a 'well known local character' who had been working on the market for at least 20 years.

Mr Allen, who played a baddie in two Bond movies, had retired from acting and was no longer working on the stall following hip replacement surgery which left him having to use a walking frame to get around.

Today the family's home remained sealed off as a police forensic team conducted a painstaking fingertip search.

One Portobello Market stallholder, who asked not to be named, said: "We are all in deep shock. Everyone around here knew Mrs Tasty. She was a lovely woman and was always really friendly and cheerful.

"We thought that she had been having some problems because she suddenly lost the van she served her food out of a couple of months ago and no-one knew what happened to it."

A family friend of the couple, now living in Thailand, said: "Irvin is a big face around the market. He's a huge fellow and is very well known to everyone.

"He started off the stall about 20 years ago, selling goat curry, and then his wife started selling Thai food. Before that he was an actor and starred in a couple of James Bond films. He also did plenty of work as a film extra."

The friend's Thai wife added: "We still can't believe she is dead. She was a lovely woman with three beautiful children. She would never harm a fly. I can't understand why anyone would want to harm her."

Another stallholder said: "Mrs Allen had been on the market for years and everyone would go to her to get their lunch everyday. But recently she has only been coming down to the market on Fridays and Saturdays.

"We hadn't seen her recently, but no-one had any idea that there were any problems with the marriage."

Gerry Collins, who lives in the flat above the Allens, said: "They seemed like a perfectly normal family who never had any problems with their relationship.

"They had lived in the flat for at least 10 years and their kids all went to school locally.

"We never heard them argue or fight. They kept themselves to themselves and would say 'hello' in passing."

Mrs Allen's body was found at around 10.30pm last night at a garage in Lonsdale Mews, Notting Hill.

Police say a man was arrested before being taken into custody at a central London police station.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "The death is being treated as murder."

Officers from the Met's Serious Crime Directorate are heading the murder investigation.

In On Her Majesty's Secret Service Allen's character fights with Bond, played by George Lazenby, in the spy's Monte Carlo bedroom.

Allen also played a henchman of Bond baddie Stromberg opposite Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me.

His first movie appearance was as a hospital attendant in Stanley Kubrick's 1962 controversial film version of Lolita and he also appeared in the 1978 movie Revenge Of The Pink Panther.

Allen also made guest appearances in popular 1960s TV series Z Cars, Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea and The Saint, again opposite Roger Moore.

Thanks to `Kyvan` for the alert.

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