EastEnders legend to return to acting to play cop & says ‘I’m more nervous now than on my first day on Albert Square’
ROSS KEMP is making a return to acting but his new role won’t go down well with the Mitchell brothers – as he is set to play a copper.
The former EastEnders favourite will star as Police Detective Tony Warden in new Channel 5 drama Blindspot.
Ross, who played Albert Square hardman Grant Mitchell, has focused on making documentaries and hosting game shows in recent years, but says the acting bug has never left him.
He told me: “My first day on set (at Blindspot) was Saturday evening and I was just as nervous as I was, in fact more nervous, than when I first walked on to the set of EastEnders in 1989.
“I was extremely nervous and didn’t sleep very much the night before.
“I was 24/25 then, I was confident and cocky and now I’m a wiser and older man.
“I was extremely nervous and didn’t sleep very much the night before.
“It is a wonderful cast but working with actors again has been quite a leap for me and I know I’m a very lucky man.”
The gritty four-parter is Ross’s first major acting role in 15 years, bar his brief return to Walford to film Barbara Windsor’s final scenes as Peggy Mitchell in 2016, and he says it was “important” to reconnect with that side of his career.
Ross explains: “For me going back to acting is so important.
“It is the first time in 15 years apart from going back to EastEnders for Barbara leaving.
“But by that time I privately knew she was not very well so I did that not because I wanted to be an actor but because she was someone I loved dearly.
“Ben Frow (Channel 5 boss) has played a blinder not asking me to make a documentary for them, not asking me to do a game show but maybe what a lot of people want me to do — go back to acting.”
Blindspot, which airs later this year, centres around a disabled woman called Hannah, played by newcomer Beth Alsbury, who believes she has witnessed the prelude to a murder while monitoring the CCTV on a rough estate.
When her story is dismissed by cops in charge of the case, she suspects they are corrupt and finds her life is in danger.
Ross describes his character as a “bit of a loser,” which he admits makes a refreshing change from the parts he is usually associated with.
He says: “It’s good because when I used to act, I’d play SAS sergeants or hard coppers and, in real life, I’ve made documentaries in conflict zones, so it’s good for me that he’s not tough, he is vulnerable.
“He has his own private battles to overcome. It’s about overcoming adversity.”
His return to acting will trigger inevitable speculation of an EastEnders comeback, particularly as the Mitchell family are still pivotal in the BBC1 soap.
Ross says: “In life, you never say never.”
Channel 5 has also announced a raft of other new shows.
Jay Blades presents a three-part docu about London’s East End, Alexander Armstrong is off on his travels again, this time to Sri Lanka, and astronaut Tim Peake will explain the mysteries of the universe.
Larry Lamb stars in drama The Inheritance.
He plays a dad whose death sparks chaos for his family.
Jezza: To infinity & beeyond
JEREMY CLARKSON is getting a real Buzz down on his farm.
The telly host looks the bee’s knees in this Buzz Lightyear-style outfit in scenes from the second series of Clarkson’s Farm.
Having the balls to wear this very modern beekeeper gear shows he’s still taking his new hobby seriously.
He also posed with a couple of cute puppies, as well as riding on a tractor through the fields of Diddly Squat Farm, Oxfordshire.
The new series is being released on Prime Video on February 10.
Rylan’s big love is trains
HE’S made some shocking confessions in his time.
But prepare to be truly astounded by Rylan Clark’s latest admission . . . he’s a secret trainspotter.
He said: “I’m an OG trainspotter, I absolutely love it.
“I’ve got my own train line.
“I’ve got an Underground station with a departure board.
“I’ve got a bus stop at my house – I’m that person.”
Poor Rylan has been forced to create his own public transport because he fame makes riding the tube tricky.
He added on the This City podcast: “I tell you what my issue is. I’m 6ft 4in. I cannot hide. And when you’re in a train carriage, there’s nowhere to go.
“You can’t just walk away and be polite and be like, ‘Take care guys, see you later!’
“You’re stuck and it actually was a little bit panicking, I’m not going to lie. Everyone was lovely but it was very claustrophobic and I just knew I couldn’t get out.”
AMAZON music subscribers can now listen to their playlists via Sky Glass, Sky Stream and Sky Q.
The app is now available on the platform, which contains over 100 million songs.