EastEnders legend Ross Kemp is set to RETURN to acting after 15 years

EastEnders star Ross Kemp has announced he’s returning to acting after a 15-year break… but his new role won’t make the Mitchell brothers very happy.

The soap star, best known for his role as Grant Mitchell on the BBC soap, will play a policeman in Channel 5’s new drama Blindspot, and admitted he was “extremely nervous” when he began filming last week.

Since making his debut as Grant in 1989, Ross has focused on filming crime documentaries and hosting game shows in recent years, briefly reprising his role in EastEnders in 2016 to coincide with the departure of Barbara Windsor.

speaking to Sun of his new role, Ross said: “My first day on set (in Blindspot) was Saturday night and I was just as nervous as I was, more nervous in fact, than when I first walked on the set of EastEnders in 1989. .

“It’s a wonderful cast, but working with actors again has been a huge leap for me and I know I’m a very lucky man.”

‘For me, getting back into acting is very important. It’s the first time in 15 years other than going back to EastEnders for Barbara to leave.

Iconic: The soap star, best known for his role as Grant Mitchell on the BBC soap opera (above right), will play a policeman in new Channel 5 drama Blindspot

Blindspot will air on Channel 5 later this year, focusing on a disabled woman named Hannah, to be played by newcomer Beth Alsbury.

Beth believes she has witnessed a prelude to a murder while monitoring CCTV at a dilapidated estate, but when the police dismiss her story, she suspects corruption might be involved and finds herself in grave danger.

Ross described his character as “a bit of a loser” but said it will be a nice change from the tougher roles he’s played in the past.

In 2016, Ross briefly returned to EastEnders with Ross adding that he only agreed to reprise his role because he knew the extent of Barbara’s battle with Alzheimer’s at the time.

Switching Up: Since making his debut as Grant in 1989, Ross has focused on filming crime documentaries and hosting game shows in recent years.

She recently said that she still feels the presence of her ex-mother on screen, who sadly passed away in 2020.

The documentarian also revealed that he has a photo of Barbara in his house that he “will always keep.”

He said Mirror: ‘There is always a bit of Barbara going around. I have a photo of Barbara at home in my house, which I will always keep.

‘He is very dear to me. She gave it to me when I met her. I will always keep it.

Exciting! In the drama, Ross plays a cop who is involved in dropping a corrupt case after a disabled woman witnesses the prelude to a murder.

Ross starred in EastEnders with the late, great Barbara from 1994 onwards, when she joined the cast as her on-screen mother, Peggy Mitchell.

He also said that he plans to honor his memory with a celebratory drink on the anniversary of his death.

I will remember Barbara. I’ll raise a glass to the lady.

Kemp, who played Grant Mitchell in Albert Square for over 25 years alongside Dame Barbara as his on-screen mother, did an ITV show called Living With Dementia.

Return: Briefly returned to EastEnders in 2016 to coincide with Barbara Windsor’s permanent departure, before her death from Alzheimer’s in 2020.