EastEnders legend Ross Kemp is being tipped to return for the soap’s 40th anniversary celebrations.
The BBC announced earlier this month that there would be a special live EastEnders episode to celebrate the landmark, though plot specifics are currently under wraps.
As per The Sun, Kemp – who played Grant Mitchell on the soap – is being mooted for a return, though not in the capacity one might expect.
Instead of reprising his role as Grant, Kemp will reportedly host a special one-off documentary as part of the celebrations, with the programme set to feature interviews with current and past stars of the soap.
Whilst Kemp’s role will be outside of the core soap, Diane Parish and Scott Maslen will appear as Denise Fox and Jack Branning.
At the National Television Awards on Wednesday (September 11), the pair spoke to Digital Spy about their feelings ahead of the 40th-anniversary live episode.
“First, I was a bit terrified,” Parish said. “I’m getting no younger. When I first did that, I had a few more of my faculties about me. We’ve done them before… We know how it works. Most people [in the cast] have done theatre and have that live experience as well.”
Maslen added: “It’s a different thing for us because we do a recorded format.”
Kemp first appeared on EastEnders in 1990 and left the show after nearly a decade in 1990. He returned to Walford for brief stints in 2005, 2006 and later in 2016.
EastEnders airs on Mondays-Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.
