Real reason Ross Kemp halted Channel 5 show about world’s toughest prisons revealed

FORMER EastEnders hardman Ross Kemp has been forced to pause his Channel 5 series about the world’s toughest prisons – for a suitably gritty reason.

The documentary maker was due to fly to Ecuador to visit one of its most feared jails for Ross Kemp: 72 Hours In . . . 

But a coup broke out in May, forcing him to pull out.

It upset the tight filming schedule meaning producers had to call the whole thing off, having filmed just one episode in a lock-up in Colombia.

It’s Ross’s second lucky escape this year.

I exclusively revealed he was due to film a documentary inside the Titan submersible that imploded killing its five passengers in June.

Now I know why he started hosting BBC gameshow Bridge Of Lies – it means he’s safe for at least a few weeks.

The actor-turned-documentary maker recently recalled some of his most jaw-dropping experiences in his new book, Take Nothing For Granted: Tales From An Unexpected Life, often revealing how good humour and good luck has helped him get back to his loved ones.

He said: “The great thing is the dark sense of humour that comes with being someone who operates in those kinds of environments.

“We also use trauma risk management which means sitting down and talking through trauma with your colleagues.

“That can be being shot at, you can be in a road traffic accident or your son has been killed by drug dealers.

“What keeps me up now isn’t necessarily those events, it’s worrying about not being around for my kids.”