Actor and documentary maker Ross Kemp has said his decision to reprise his role as hardman Grant Mitchell on EastEnders may have been part of a midlife crisis.
The 52-year-old has been back in Albert Square in recent months following the death of onscreen mother Peggy (Barbara Windsor). But his return to the BBC soap after more than 10 years away has coincided with the filming of the new series of Ross Kemp: Extreme World.
"I was in Colombia, back for two weeks over Christmas, then Syria and Iraq for three weeks. Then back for two weeks, then Mozambique, then three days in EastEnders where they worked me like a Trojan," Kemp told the Press Association.
"I woke up on the second day, left home at 5am, got there for 6 or 7am, in make-up and on set for 8am, went to sleep at 12.30 in my little pod and looked up at the old strip lighting, and thought, 'No, it hasn't all been a dream. I have had 12 years of making documentaries around the world and I have got my own company. I haven't just been here and suddenly woken up'."
Kemp explained it was a "conscious decision" to reprise his role as Grant because he wasn't receiving any acting offers and wanted to raise the profile of his documentaries.
"I knew this would be an extraordinary year and I thought, 'I've just turned 50' and maybe this was my midlife crisis," he said. "I didn't go and buy a Ferrari or a Harley Davidson."
Kemp then returned to the EastEnders set after more documentary work in the US and Mongolia.
"I went back and did three weeks and by the end I was shredded," he admitted.
"They were both difficult in different ways - they are both disciplines but nothing is worse than thinking you are not going to see the end of the day and that doesn't happen in EastEnders unless they kill your character off. You're going home in a car."
Kemp has already started filming the next series of Extreme World but said he may appear in EastEnders again in the future.
"You shouldn't rule anything out," he said. "I don't think they have plans to bring me back but you should never say never."
The new series of Ross Kemp: Extreme World begins on Sky 1 tonight at 9pm.
