Former EastEnders star Ross Kemp's upcoming documentary series on dangerous prisons has been cancelled by Channel 5.
According to Deadline, the actor and presenter's new show Ross Kemp: 72 Hours In... has been shelved due to several production issues, including budget constraints and a political coup in Ecuador.
Confirming the news in a statement, a Channel 5 spokesperson told the outlet: "Filming had begun on the series, but due to unforeseen production challenges, we made the practical decision to halt filming and will not be progressing further."
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Announced last summer, Ross Kemp: 72 Hours In... would see the presenter spend time in various high-security prisons to see what it's like to live alongside "gang leaders, serial killers, violent criminals, drug lords and mass murderers."
Work on the series had previously been halted back in October 2023 due to "unforeseen production challenges" as crew were preparing to head out on location for filming (via Deadline).
A coup then broke out in Ecuador shortly before production was set to restart, which caused a "massive" issue and Kemp and the team were forced to abandon filming. Talks took place to revive the series this year but production was ultimately shelved.
Related: Former EastEnders star Ross Kemp hints Grant Mitchell could return again
Known for his role as Grant Mitchell in BBC's EastEnders – which he played between 1990 and 1999, and again in 2005 and 2016 – Kemp has gone on to front various documentaries, which include Ross Kemp: Extreme World, Ross Kemp Behind Bars and the BAFTA Award-winning series Ross Kemp on Gangs.
Kemp had also made his return to acting in 2023, appearing in the four-part series Blindspot for Channel 5.
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Brenna Cooper is a freelance journalist, who currently specialises in entertainment reporting. She joined Digital Spy in 2022, writing TV and movies stories for the site. After graduating with an NCTJ accredited Journalism Masters from the University of Sheffield in 2020 she has since embarked on a freelance career.
Brenna previously produced lifestyle content for Checklists.co.uk and has a specific interest in music, reviewing live acts and interviewing bands such as Confidence Man and Amyl and the Sniffers.
