EastEnders legend Ross Kemp has admitted that his latest stint left him ‘slightly fried’ – but would return, on one condition.
The actor, 60, reprised his Grant Mitchell role earlier this year to coincide with the BBC soap’s 40th anniversary.
Prior to that, he had been absent for almost a decade, having last appeared at on-screen mum Peggy’s (Barbara Windsor) funeral.
His returned coincided with Phil’s (Steve McFadden) mental health crisis, and before long the pair were at loggerheads again.
With his brother being admitted into a psychiatric ward and shutting him off, he sought comfort from ex-wife Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), and they promptly slept together.
This was despite the growing feelings between Phil and Sharon.
They then feared that their behaviour would only cause his condition to spiral further, and Grant quickly fled back to Portugal – wanting to take best pal Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley) with him.
Nige refused the offer, even though it seemed like Grant might’ve needed the support just as much.
He said that he was in a broken relationship, and his relationship with daughter Courtney was in tatters.
In true soap fashion, his night of passion with Sharon was soon exposed. Despite no longer being around, Grant has left a trail of destruction and Phil is devastated.
There’s definitely room for a comeback!
Weeks on from his exit, Ross has addressed his latest stories, confessing that he felt a little bit burnt out by the continuing drama machine.
‘It was wonderful, but you come away from it slightly fried’ he admitted.
‘Grant comes back and within a minute he’s fighting, he’s crying, he’s making love, then he’s crying about it, then he’s fighting again.
‘He’s never just sat in the launderette.’
He continued to RadioTimes: ‘The first scene in the anniversary was me breaking into the Arches and wrestling a Beretta 9mm off my brother, so it wasn’t like going to the café and saying, “Can I have a bacon roll, please?”
‘I think a part of me is Grant, and part of Grant is me.
‘It was great to put the leather jacket on again, and also a relief that I could still get in it!’
Ross also took time to join the millions of EastEnders viewers who have praised Steve McFadden’s recent performance, and has revealed that he would return in future, but only if Steve asked him to.
‘He’s my friend, we’ve worked closely together,’ he said.
‘Working on EastEnders, if you’re in the major storylines it’s a very long day. You use a lot of energy. The hours are long.
‘It’s a tough old gig and I have take my hat off to Steve for maintaining such a high level of performance for 35 years.
‘It’s an incredible achievement.’
