Ross James Kemp (born 21 July 1964) is an English actor, author, reporter and television presenter. He rose to prominence in the role of Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. His other roles include Graham Lodsworth in Emmerdale and Detective Inspector Monk in Birds of a Feather. Kemp presented the BAFTA Award–winning documentary television series Ross Kemp on Gangs (2004–2009).
Early life Kemp was born on 21 July 1964 in Barking, Essex. His mother Jean was a hairdresser and his father John was a detective superintendent in the Metropolitan Police. He grew up in Rainham, London with his parents and younger brother.
Kemp attended Shenfield High School in Essex and the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.
Career Acting
Early career After leaving drama school, Kemp received his Equity card when appearing alongside John Thaw and Richard Wilson at the Palace Theatre, Westcliff-on-Sea.
Kemp went on to feature in training films for the Ministry of Defence and the ITV soap opera Emmerdale Farm (now Emmerdale) as Graham Lodsworth. Guest appearances in London's Burning and Birds of a Feather followed, before he had a minor role in the 1987 film Playing Away alongside Neil Morrissey.
In 1990, Kemp appeared in an edition of the Anglia Television police drama The Chief. The episode, entitled "Call Sign Bravo", saw Kemp play the role of Police Constable Dennis Scovell. Around the same time he also starred in a golf-themed advert for Kellogg's Fruit & Fibre cereal.Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine:
EastEnders Kemp's best-known role is that of hard man Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Making his debut in February 1990, his character quickly became part of the soap's key storylines during the 1990s, particularly troubled marriages to Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) and then Tiffany Mitchell (Martine McCutcheon), as well as the "Sharongate" storyline, which saw brother Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) having an affair with Grant's wife, which was uncovered two years after it began.
Kemp announced on 24 March 1999 that he would be leaving the soap later that year after nearly 10 years. His exit was aired in October 1999 when his character moved to Brazil after surviving a car crash. Kemp refused to rule out an eventual return to EastEnders, and various media reports over the next few years speculated that he would return to the series at some stage. In early 2005, the BBC confirmed that Kemp would be returning to EastEnders in the autumn of that year after six years away. It was co-star Barbara Windsor who convinced him to return, even though his comeback would only be a relatively brief one. His first comeback lasted just a few weeks from October 2005, but he returned again in March 2006, before departing once again in June that year.
In January 2016, it was confirmed that Kemp would make a brief return to the show for the death of Grant's on-screen mother, Peggy Mitchell (played by Windsor), appearing in three episodes during May of that year. He later filmed a further three weeks and returned again for brief stints from 4 July to 9 September 2016.
It was confirmed on 1 January 2025 that Kemp will reprise his role as Grant again in honour of the show's upcoming 40th anniversary. He returned on 13 February and departed on 27 February.
It was announced on 14 February 2026, that Kemp would be returning to EastEnders later in the year for a longer stint. Kemp's return aired on 27 April.
Other roles Following his initial departure from EastEnders, Kemp moved from the BBC to ITV for a reported £1.2 million two-year deal. 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 and made a full recovery.
In 2000, Kemp starred in ITV's 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 played Army Staff sergeant Henry Garvie from the British Special Air Service. He continued to appear in this role until 2006. He also played "Cinna", the lanista (gladiators' combat instructor), in the 2004 TV film, Spartacus.
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. He has also presented on The Friday Night Project and appeared as a stand in host on The Paul O'Grady Show (2007, 2008).
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 had been killed. Kemp also appeared in Series 1, where he did 1 minute 54 seconds (wet) in the "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" segment.
In 2022, Kemp began presenting the game show Bridge of Lies, airing on weekdays on BBC One, as well as a series of celebrity specials broadcast on Saturday evenings. Kemp told The Sunday Post: "I am the last person that should be hosting a game show, but it seems to work [...] the landscape of TV has changed significantly in the last six, seven years. Actors once upon a time didn't do commercials, now A-listers do them. If you worked in television, you couldn't be in movies or if you were in movies you'd never touch TV [...] that snobbery I would suggest is dissolving. And that's got to be a good thing I guess."
Kemp is appearing on the second series of The Celebrity Traitors, which began in October 2026.
Documentary presenter In 2004, Kemp filmed Ross Kemp on Gangs. He followed this up with the documentaries Ross Kemp in Afghanistan, Ross Kemp in Search of Pirates, Ross Kemp: Battle for the Amazon and Ross Kemp: Extreme World.
In 2022 Kemp, who had previously taken part in deep sea dives for the television channel Sky History, had planned to mark the 110th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic by recording a documentary in which he would undertake a dive to the wreckage using the submersible Titan. The project was shelved after production company Atlantic Productions deemed the submersible to be unsafe and not "fit for purpose".
In September 2024 Kemp launched a new documentary series titled Mafia and Britain.
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 novel, Moving Target, was released in summer 2012. In September 2023, Kemp released Take Nothing for Granted: Tales from an Unexpected Life; a retrospective look back at his career.
Political views In 1999, Kemp was elected as Rector of the University of Glasgow as the candidate of the Glasgow University Labour Club but did not attend local meetings. In October 2000 the Glasgow University Students' Representative Council passed a motion requesting him to resign, and within weeks he did. Kemp was the first rector in 50 years to leave the position prematurely and was succeeded by Scottish actor Greg Hemphill.
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.
In June 2017, Kemp endorsed the Labour Party at the 2017 general election, and took part in campaigning for Labour candidates.
In 2022, Kemp declared his support for a "National Thank You Day" to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II.
In 2023, Kemp publicly endorsed Keir Mather of the Labour Party in the 2023 Selby and Ainsty by-election, where he formerly resided. Mather won the by-election and was elected to Parliament.
At the 2024 general election, Kemp publicly endorsed Rayleigh and Wickford Conservative Party MP Mark Francois. Francois, described by Kemp as a "fantastic MP", kept his seat.
Personal life 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 Kemp. 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 fathered a boy with his partner, Nicola Coleman, who was his make-up artist.
Kemp married the Australian Renee O'Brien in 2012. They have three children, a boy and twin girls.
In May 2025, Kemp appeared on the BBC television series Who Do You Think You Are? He discovered that his maternal grandfather survived the sinking of the SS Duchess of York during World War II at the age of 50.
Filmography Year Show Role Notes 1986–1987 Emmerdale Graham Lodsworth 32 episodes 1987 The Moneymen Dealer Television film Playing Away Sonny 1988 London's Burning Liver Salts Episode: "Series 1, Episode 3"1989 Birds of a Feather Detective Inspector Monk Episode: "Shift" Screen Two Police Officer Episode: "The Picnic"1990 The Chief PC Dennis Scovell Episodes: "Daydreamer" & "Call Sign Bravo" The Manageress Defender Episode: "A Match for Anyone" 1990–1999, 2005–2006, 2016, 2025–2026 EastEndersGrant Mitchell 1,098 episodes 1993 Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time Part Two 1998 EastEnders: The Mitchells – Naked Truths VHS special City Central Dilly Dally Episode: "Nothing Like a Dame" 1999 Ross Kemp: Alive in Alaska Presenter 2000 Hero of the Hour Richie Liddle Television film In Defence Sam Lucas 4 episodes A Christmas Carol Eddie Scrooge Television film 2000–2001 Without Motive DC Jack Mowbray 12 episodes 2002–2006 Ultimate Force Staff Sgt. Henry 'Henno' Garvie 21 episodes 2003 The Crooked Man Harry Fielding Television film2004 Spartacus Cinna A Line in the Sand Gavin Hughes / Frank Parry 2 episodes 2004–2009Ross Kemp on Gangs Presenter 20 episodes 2005 Extras Himself Episode: "Ross Kemp & Vinnie Jones" 2007 Robbie the Reindeer Trooper No. 2 Episode: "Close Encounters of the Herd Kind" 2008–2012Ross Kemp in Afghanistan Presenter 18 episodes2009 10 Minute Tales Liam Episode: "The Running of the Deer"Top Gear Man in Boot Episode: "Series 14, Episode 4"Ross Kemp in Search of Pirates Presenter 3 episodes Ross Kemp: Behind the Story 2010Ross Kemp: Battle for the Amazon 2 episodes 2011 Quick Slip Me a Bride Trevor That Sunday Night Show Himself 2011–2017Ross Kemp: Extreme World Presenter 37 episodes2016Ross Kemp's Britain Presenter 3 episodesRoss Kemp: The Fight Against ISIS 2017 All Round to Mrs Brown's HimselfRoss Kemp Behind Bars: Inside Barlinnie Presenter 2018Ross Kemp & the Armed Police 2019Welcome to HMP Belmarsh with Ross Kemp 2 episodes 2020Ross Kemp: On the NHS Frontline2 episodesThe Millennium Dome Heist with Ross Kemp2021Britain's Tiger Kings - On The Trail With Ross Kemp2 episodes2022Searching for Michael Jackson's Zoo with Ross KempDocumentary 2022–2023Ross Kemp: Shipwreck Treasure Hunter2 series 2022–present Bridge of Lies Host BBC quiz show2023BlindspotTonyFour-part series2024Ross Kemp: Mafia and BritainPresenterFive-part series2025EastEnders: 40 Years on The SquarePresenterEastEnders’ 40th anniversary documentaryWho Do You Think You Are?HimselfOne episode2026Ross Kemp: Lost Boys, Deadly MenPresenterUpcoming five-part series The Celebrity Traitors Himself / Contestant Series 2
Stage Year Title Role Notes 2018 Ross Kemp Extreme Tales Live Himself Dates: 6, 10 and 14 February
Awards and nominations