EastEnders legend Ross Kemp reveals "alternate reality" after overnight Grant Mitchell fame – and the advice his dad gave him
The star first appeared on the soap in 1990.
Grant Mitchell is one of EastEnders' most iconic characters, and whenever actor Ross Kemp makes a return to the BBC One soap, drama is guaranteed.
His latest stint coincided with the show's 40th anniversary, and a troubling time for brother Phil (Steve McFadden) amid a mental health battle. Having been called on by Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley), he prevented his sibling from taking his own life.
In the aftermath, he rekindled his romance with Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) – something which sent his sibling spiralling.
She was seeing Teddy Mitchell (Roland Manookian) at the time, and was well aware that Phil was showing interest in reconnecting. Despite that, she fell for Grant's advances and they slept together.
He left Walford without facing any consequences for his actions, but it's inevitable that old wounds will be reopened if and when he comes back next.
The experience of joining a show as mammoth as EastEnders can be quite a daunting one. Kemp appeared in Emmerdale Farm four years earlier, but hadn't experienced the same magnitude of overnight success until stepping foot in Albert Square.
Speaking with Jeremy Lynch on Pluto TV's chat show Yellow Couch, he explained that his father had warned him the role would be life-changing.
"You may not be paid like a footballer, but you’re treated like one," Kemp said.
"I went out and took my nan, mum, brother and girlfriend at the time, and I literally got about 50 people come up to me. It was before mobile phones and selfies, people wanted signatures in those days.
"I came back and thought, 'That was freaky.'"
Noticing his son visibly spooked by the experience, his dad John uttered: “It was what you always wanted." But for Kemp, he'd viewed the situation through rose-tinted spectacles.
"He was teaching me to be careful what you wish for as it sometimes doesn’t turn up in the way you wanted it."
Over eight million people were tuning in each night in 1990, Kemp often had to deal with bizarre interactions with those who only knew him as hard-man Grant.
"I would be on the M25 or the A41, and people would draw up against me and either give me the finger or blow kisses at me. That’s a difficult thing to deal with.
"It was bizarre. You spent more time with your fake family than your real family. They’re not fakes – they’re friends, you hope. It’s an alternate reality."
Ross's full interview on Yellow Couch with Jeremy Lynch can be streamed for free on Pluto TV from 9.30am on Thursday.
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Authors
Michael Adams is the Soaps Editor at Radio Times, covering all of the hot gossip and spoilers from Weatherfield to Walford, Emmerdale to Hollyoaks and everywhere in-between. He joined the team from Metro, where he spent two years as a Soaps Reporter and previously worked on the sets of both Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
