Actor and documentary presenter Ross Kemp made a triumphant return to EastEnders in celebration of the show’s 40th anniversary year and it certainly doesn’t look like it will be the last we’ll be seeing of his character Grant Mitchell.
Ross, 60 hinted at a more long term return to the soap in an exclusive interview with The Mirror, particularly as he feels he is great shape to reprise the hardman role after recently losing a stone. He says: “Getting older, I am trying live more cleanly and I’ve got a sports watch which is connected to my phone. I monitor my sleep and my diet as I am trying lose weight.”
It has worked, as he reveals: “I’ve lost six kilos (around a stone) When I was filming Eastenders in November and December. No-one was more surprised than me that I could still fit into Grant’s leather jacket!”
The star admits he has to make more effort to look after himself now he’s in his sixties. And especially as a dad to four kids. Ross has three children with his lawyer wife Renee: Leo, nine and seven year old twins Ava and Kitty. He also has a 13 year old son with former partner, makeup artist Nicole Coleman.
Ross Kemp and sons Oliver and Leo attend a special screening of Space Jam: A New Legacy in 2016 (Image: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images for Warner Bros)
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Speaking to the Mail Online in 2019, Ross said: “I’m very happy I’ve got my children and wouldn’t have it any other way. I could have done it about a decade earlier though, I should’ve done. I was old, I was in my 40s, I was quite selfish before, in terms of you put yourself first, you look at what’s going to be best for you and that totally goes out the window when you have children, you put your children way in front of everything you do.”
But these days he sees the benefits of having young kids as ensuring he has a regimented lifestyle. “I’m an old dad, and I think that comes with its benefits, but also comes with its negatives.,” he says. “Having said that, it keeps me on the straight and narrow as well. Its helped me be more regimented in my old age. I used to go out a lot, I used to drink a lot. I don’t anymore.
Ross is working with Smart Energy GB on encouraging everyone to look into getting a smart meter to help manage their energy use. He says of the campaign: ” I think its important to note your energy usage especially with a cost of living crisis. It saves money and it’s a green way of going about energy, and you realise when you’re wasting it. My kids have put the the towel rack on by mistake in the summer. It all adds up.”
Born in Barking, Essex. Ross’ mum Jean was a hairdresser and father John was a detective in the Met Police: “I take after both my parents – I can grill you then I can ask where you’re going on your holiday,” he jokes.
On his dad’s work he says “I didn’t really realize he was a copper until I was a bit older. He just went to work in a suit but I realized soon enough when I saw him come home with a gun under his armpit.
Rather than follow his dad into police work, Ross dreamed of being an actor and after three years training at the Douglas Webber Academy of Acting won the role of Graham Lodsworth in Emmerdale an army deserter and tearaway; ” That seems to be a theme for me” he laughs.
After a six month stint on the Dales, acting work dried up and he became a labourer in Yorkshire. “I remember doing that for £10 a day.” Thankfully after failing an audition to play a policeman in The Bill, he impressed EastEnders bosses and won the role of Grant Mitchell in 1990 – making him a household name.
Ross is currently working with Smart Energy GB on encouraging everyone to look into getting a smart meter to help manage their energy use and investigating where the most trustworthy reviews come from. He says of Smart Energy GB’s myth busting campaign: “I think it’s important to note your energy usage especially with a cost of living crisis. It saves money and it’s a green way of going about energy. With a smart meter, you realise when you’re wasting it. I can tell when my kids have put the the towel rack on by mistake in the summer.It all adds up.”
