Ross Kemp has confirmed he won't appear in the live EastEnders 40th anniversary episode as he's wrapped up filming for the soap. The actor, known for his role as Grant Mitchell in the BBC drama, made a comeback to mark four decades of the enduring series after nearly a 10-year hiatus. Tuesday's episode featured a dramatic explosion at the Queen Vic when Sonia Fowler's ex-partner Reiss Colwell (Jonny Freeman) rammed his car into the Albert Square pub while on the run after committing murder and abducting Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer).
The latest episode also unveiled Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) as the culprit who assaulted her former daughter-in-law Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) on Christmas Day. On ITV's This Morning, a clip was aired showing Grant and Bianca having a heated argument in the street post-fire.
Kemp revealed that an "unlikely friendship is forged at that point" between Bianca and Grant as they form an "unlikely coupling". When asked about his presence in Thursday's live episode, he clarified: "I'm not doing the live, I'm no longer there, I've departed – not in a hearse, I hasten to add.".
It's speculated that he will still appear on screen in the soap, but has ceased filming his episodes. The presenter and actor, renowned for hosting documentaries like Ross Kemp On Gangs, and Ross Kemp: Extreme World, hosted the anniversary special programme which aired over the weekend.
EastEnders: 40 Years On The Square featured interviews with Pam St Clement (Pat Butcher) and Taylforth among others. Tuesday's episode saw a dramatic turn of events as Grant interrupted his troubled brother Phil (Steve McFadden), who appeared on the brink of taking his own life with a gun, following a downward spiral into depression and psychosis. The soap, set in East London, first aired on February 19, 1985.
Thursday's episode will reveal whether viewers' votes lead to Denise Fox (Diane Parish) reuniting with her estranged husband Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) or her secret lover Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara). Kemp joined the soap in 1990, and his last appearance in 2016 coincided with Dame Barbara Windsor's final episode as Peggy Mitchell.
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