EastEnders star Ross Kemp has spoken about his upcoming return as Grant Mitchell, promising his short stint will be "impactful".
The actor will make his return to Albert Square on Thursday (February 13) as part of the pre-amble for the soap’s 40th anniversary celebrations, marking his first appearance on the show in nine years.
Ahead of the show’s major landmark, which is taking place next week, Kemp spoke to The Sun about his upcoming scenes, sharing that his guest stint would pack an emotional punch despite its brevity.
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"I’m only back for a short period of time but it’s pretty impactful," said the actor and documentarian, who first played Grant in 1990. "He certainly comes back with bang – they didn’t have time to drop me in gently.
"There’s no soft landing if you’ve been part of that inner circle on EastEnders. People said to me, 'Did you get a chance to catch up with people?' And I said, 'Not really', because you’re on a rollercoaster. From the moment you get on the set it’s like, you’re off!"
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Kemp, who originally departed in 1999 before making his first return in 2005, continued by sharing his feelings of gratitude to the soap, explaining that his later career – which has come in documentary filmmaking – wouldn’t have been possible without his breakthrough role.
"I always felt like I owed them," he said. "I always felt I wouldn’t have been able to have gone on and done all my other shows – the documentaries, going to Afghanistan and travelling the world – without EastEnders.
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"I wouldn’t have been able to get my foot in the door as a working class boy from Essex. I wouldn’t have gotten those opportunities if it hadn't been for my time spent on the soap. I joined the show just five years after it began, and then I stayed with it for almost ten years – that was life-changing for me."
In addition to his return as Grant, Kemp will also be fronting an hour-long documentary to commemorate the soap’s 40th anniversary, with other features of the celebration including a special live episode and an interactive storyline involving a love triangle.
EastEnders airs on Mondays-Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.
