Ross James Kemp is an English actor, author and BAFTA award-winning investigative journalist
who rose to prominence in the role of Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.
Since 2006, Kemp has received international recognition as an investigative journalist
for his critically acclaimed and award-winning documentary series Ross Kemp on Gangs.
Acting career Early career
Kemp first came to notice in a TV commercial for Kellogg's Fruit 'n Fibre breakfast cereal.
Other roles included, for example, in 1986, playing Graham Lodsworth in the ITV soap opera
Emmerdale Farm.
He then made guest appearances in episodes of London's Burning and Birds of a Feather.
He was in a film called Playing Away in 1987 in a minor role alongside Neil Morrissey.
EastEnders His most famous role to date is that of hardman
Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.
Kemp made his debut in February 1990.
On-screen, Kemp, as Grant, was often at the centre of EastEnders' plots, amongst them
abusive marriages to Sharon Watts and Tiffany Mitchell, and the "Sharongate" storyline,
that saw Grant's brother Phil Mitchell conduct an affair with his wife.
Kemp announced his departure from the show in April 1999, his last appearance being aired
in October 1999 when his character moved to Brazil.
Kemp refused to rule out an eventual return to EastEnders, and various media reports over
the next few years speculated that he would be returning to the series.
In early 2005, the BBC confirmed that Kemp would be returning to EastEnders later that
year after six years away.
Kemp joked that he originally auditioned to play the part of Wellard the dog.
It was co-star Barbara Windsor who convinced him to go back for a brief period.
His first comeback lasted just a few weeks in 2005, but he returned for a period of three
months in 2006, before departing once again in June that year.
BBC bosses have left Kemp's role open for a possible future return.
Kemp has won various awards for his portrayal of Grant.
In December 2008, Barbara Windsor, Kemp's onscreen mother Peggy publicly called for
Kemp to return to the role of Grant.
In September 2009, Steve McFadden and Danniella Westbrook, Kemp's onscreen siblings, also
expressed their desire to have him back on the show.
Kemp has not ruled out returning to the soap again, but he said a return would not be any
time soon.
Other roles Following his initial departure from EastEnders,
Kemp moved from the BBC to ITV for a reported £1.2 million.
Kemp's first role for ITV was in Hero of the Hour.
During its filming, on 27 October 1999, Kemp required hospital treatment after being shot
in the face when a stunt went wrong.
He suffered cuts to his chest and face after safety glass shattered, and was also hit in
the face by the discharge from a blank round.
He was treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to Barnet Hospital in north
London, but made a full recovery.
although he was facing 2–5 months of recovery after the incident
He also starred as the lead in ITV's Christmas edition of A Christmas Carol.
He took the lead roles in the television series, Without Motive and In Defence in 2000, and
in 2002's Ultimate Force, where he took the role of Army Staff sergeant Henry Garvie from
the British Special Air Service.
He continued to appear in this role until 2006.
He also gained the role of "Cirra" in the 2004 TV film, Spartacus.
Gerald Seymour's A Line in the Sand in which he starred as a businessman at danger from
an Iranian hit-man, was due to be aired in September 2001, but was considered too sensitive
because it dealt with Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program and was not shown until 2004.
In 2005, Kemp appeared in an episode of BBC's Extras and in a two-part adaptation of the
Gerald Seymour novel A Line in the Sand for ITV, and he has also presented, on The Friday
Night Project and as a stand in host on The Paul O'Grady Show.
Kemp appeared in the 4th episode of Series 14 of BBC's motoring show Top Gear.
He was the "Man in Boot" of a Renault Twingo Sport being tested by Jeremy Clarkson.
The test ended with Clarkson driving the car off the quayside of Belfast Harbour, after
which Clarkson joked that Kemp was killed.
Investigative journalism Ross Kemp on Gangs
The award-winning TV series Ross Kemp on Gangs, in which Kemp interviewed gang members around
the world, was first broadcast in 2006.
The first series featured gangs and police corruption in Brazil, Māori gangs in New
Zealand, neo-Nazi skinheads in California and gangsters in London.
Kemp's success in infiltrating such notorious gangs is often accredited to his appearance
as a generic bald man and tough exterior.
The second series featured "MS13" from El Salvador, neo-Nazis in Russia, football hooligans
in Poland, American "Bloods" and "Crips" gangs in St. Louis, and the Numbers gang in South
Africa.
In May 2007, Ross Kemp on Gangs was awarded a BAFTA award for factual programming.
. The show returned in September 2008 for four
more episodes, starting in the Los Angeles district of Compton.
A famously hazardous scene was filmed in Compton when gangland junior Matt 'Malicious' Ward
misfired his gun in a rival gang's neighbourhood.
The show has also been released on DVD.
In early 2007 Kemp published his experiences from the TV programme in book form, in 'Ross
Kemp.
Gangs'.
In early 2009, Ross Kemp on Gangs began airing in the United States on the Investigation
Discovery channel under the title "Gang Nation."
Ross Kemp in Afghanistan
On 21 January 2008, Sky broadcast the first episode of a five-part series Ross Kemp in
Afghanistan, which entails Kemp following the 1st Battalion of the British Army's Royal
Anglian Regiment during their deployment to Afghanistan's Helmand Province from March
to August 2007.
In preparation for the assignment, Kemp had to participate in military training for personal
defence, including use of the SA80 assault rifle.
Kemp has a personal interest in the Royal Anglians, as he is from their recruiting area,
and his father served with one of the predecessor regiments of the 1st Battalion, the Royal
Norfolk Regiment, in Cyprus.
He has since returned to Afghanistan to film a second series of Ross Kemp in Afghanistan,
which began its broadcast on Sky One on 1 February 2009, titled Ross Kemp Return to
Afghanistan.
Ross Kemp: In Search of Pirates
In June 2009 his new series Ross Kemp: In Search of Pirates, debuted on Sky 1.
Kemp investigates the boom in piracy on the world's oceans, travelling to some of the
planet's biggest trouble spots to discover the problems faced by potential targets and
those trying to protect them.
He begins in London, where he discovers the economic impact of hijackings on global trade,
before joining a Royal Navy anti-piracy ship in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia.
Then he explores the impact of piracy in Nigeria, where more people are killed in raids than
anywhere else in the world.
He discovers the devastating effects that pirates are having on the area's fishing fleet,
with almost 300 workers killed over the past few years, and how attacks on oil tankers
at the port of Lagos are threatening the country's economy.
Ross Kemp: Middle East In January and February 2010, Sky broadcast
a 2-part documentary on the situation in Gaza and Israel.
Ross Kemp follows Hamas to try and get a glimpse at what is sparking the violence between the
two nations in some of the most politically fraught places in the world.
He also examines the black market importation from Egypt into Gaza.
Ross Kemp: Battle for the Amazon
In April 2010 Kemp's documentary, Battle for the Amazon, was shown on Sky 1, Kemp travelled
to areas of the Amazon basin in Brazil and Ecuador, filming the practices of cattle farming,
soya bean farming and oil exploration that are causing rapid de-forestation in the region.
Ross Kemp: Extreme World
In February 2011 Ross Kemp: Extreme World debuted on Sky 1.
In January 2014 Ross Kemp: Extreme World debuted on Sky 1 HD.
A new series of Extreme World is in production and is scheduled for release in 2015.
Ross Kemp: Back on the Frontline
Kemp returned to Afghanistan 10 years after the War in Afghanistan started.
The show aired on Sky1 during winter 2011.
Other documentaries Sky and Kemp have collaborated on various
other documentaries.
These include Ross Kemp: A Kenya Special and Ross Kemp Meets the Glue Kids of Kenya.
Kemp signed a new two-year contract with Sky to produce and present 12 hour-long factual
programmes for the channel, split over the July 2009 to July 2011 period.
Writing Kemp has written several books.
Initially focusing on tie-ins to his various TV documentaries, 2011 saw the publication
of his first fictional story, 'Devil to Pay'.
A new novel, 'Moving Target', was released in summer 2012.
Personal life His mother Jean was a hairdresser and his
father John was a Detective Chief Inspector in the police force.
He has one brother, Darren, who is a filmmaker for the BBC.
He attended Shenfield High School and the Webber Douglas Academy.
On 11 June 2002 Kemp married Rebekah Wade, the then editor of The Sun.
In November 2005 Wade was arrested following an alleged assault on her husband.
Kemp refused medical attention for a swollen lip and no action was taken.
In March 2009 Kemp and Wade divorced, and in October 2010, Kemp became a father to a
baby boy by ex-partner Nicola Coleman.
In August 2014, Kemp was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to
The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on
that issue.
Glasgow University association In 1999 he was elected as Rector of the University
of Glasgow as the candidate of the Glasgow University Labour Club, but resigned in 2001
after the Glasgow University Students' Representative Council passed a motion requesting him to
do so.
Kemp was succeeded by Greg Hemphill.
Awards Filmography
TV Films
Bibliography Gangs ISBN 9780718153281
Gangs II ISBN 9780718154417 Pirates ISBN 9780718154431
Ross Kemp on Afghanistan ISBN 9780141040882 Warriors: British Fighting Heroes ISBN 9781846057991
Raiders: World War Two True Stories ISBN 9780099574774 A-Z of Hell: Ross Kemp's How Not to Travel
the World ISBN 9781780891910 References
External links Ross Kemp at the Internet Movie Database