EastEnders’ Ross Kemp has opened up about his real-life friendship with co-star Steve McFadden, sharing they are now “more in touch”.

Kemp returned to the BBC soap last month for a brief stint as part of the show’s 40th anniversary, marking the first time he had played Grant Mitchell in nine years.

Following the emotional storyline, which saw Grant eventually reach common ground with his brother Phil (McFadden), Kemp told The Mirror that the siblings weren’t the only ones who grew closer together.

“We’ve [McFadden and I] always remained friends, but, yeah, we are more in touch since I’ve gone back for the 40th anniversary,” said Kemp. “Steve is a fine actor and I don’t think soap actors get recognised for how good they are.

“Acclaim and recognition is reserved for people doing films and big one off dramas but Steve is absolutely fantastic. I have great respect for him, in terms of his ability to maintain that energy for 35 years… It was really good working with Steve – I would love to work with him again.

“When I finished, we said we’d keep in touch and we have. I mean we are not phoning each other every day but I think we had a good ten years working virtually every day with each other. I think, when you get older, that becomes more important than it was at the time.”

“We both have families and we saw enough of each other for ten years, but I wouldn’t rule out a social catch up soon. We both love seafood so [we] will probably go for a nice dinner,” added Kemp, who first played Grant in 1990.

The actor, who has also had a successful career as a documentary filmmaker, added that he and McFadden “picked up where [they] left off” when it came to filming, quipping that his return as Grant “paid for Christmas”.