Sky1 today announced details of ROSS KEMP IN THE MIDDLE EAST at the Sheffield International Documentary Festival. A two-part documentary looking into the political situation in Israel and Gaza.

Following the success of his BAFTA-nominated report on the violence following Kenya’s disputed election, ROSS KEMP travels to Israel and Gaza to explore a conflict which defines our world yet remains largely misunderstood. With unprecedented access to all sides, the two-part series will offer incredible insight into life under military occupation and living under the threat of terrorist attack. It also explores the mindset of the men behind the violence, and highlights the experiences of those trapped in the middle.

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Actor Ross Kemp has said that he may return to ‘EastEnders’ in the future, but not in the near future.

Speaking at the GQ Men of the Year Awards, he said: “I don’t know yet – you never know, do you?”

“It depends if I’m employed, if they ask me and where I am in terms of work.”

“But not at the moment. They seem to be doing quite well without me.”

Former EastEnders star Ross Kemp has revealed that he found it difficult to adjust to life when he returned from filming in Afghanistan.

He told Zoo magazine: “I was driving through London on my way home, and people were just on their way to work… And suddenly I felt furious – all I could think was that the guys out there were going to get shot at today, and these people didn’t give a f**k.!

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Sky 1 have agreed a deal with BAFTA award winning documentary maker Ross Kemp to produce and present 12 all new factual programmes for the Channel over the next two years.

Ross Kemp comments: “I’m very happy to be signing this exclusive deal with Sky1 and Sky1 HD. I’m fortunate to have had a great working relationship with the channel over the last few years and I look forward to this continuing for the next two. The audience and press reaction to all the shows we have made has been testament to the relationship between Sky1 and myself. Sky1 have always been very approachable and receptive to the ideas Mongoose, Tiger Aspect and I have brought to the table. They have also allowed us a level of creative freedom to develop programmes which I believe has contributed massively to their overall success. Stuart Murphy has a very clear and bold idea of how he wants Sky1 to develop in the future and I’m proud to be part of his vision.”

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Ross Kemp is today announced as the host of the banquet for this year’s finale of Great British Menu.

The special one-hour documentary, on BBC Two on Tuesday 16 June at 8.00pm, follows the remaining four chefs, after eight weeks of intense national and regional rounds, as they cook and serve their winning dishes to the troops returning from Afghanistan.

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What’s not to love about Ross Kemp? Quite aside from the fact that he’s an absolute fantasy type bloke – for me anyway – he’s managed to make a career out of the persona of a character he played, and that’s got to be fairly unique!

So to celebrate the beginning of Ross’s new series, In Search of Pirates, which starts next Monday at 9pm on Sky1, here’s our own tribute to the ‘ardman of TV… Read more & comment »

Former Eastenders actor Ross Kemp has admitted that he doesn’t see himself as a great actor, despite the wealth of TV roles he has enjoyed to date.

He revealed that he hasn’t been as picky as he could have been about his past roles and said that his 2006 return to Eastenders was driven more by a lack of work than a great script.

“I wasn’t working at the time,” he told Q magazine.

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In this new series Ross Kemp investigates how the situation in Afghanistan has developed as he rejoins the frontline in the war-torn Helmand Province with Delta Company. He finds out how British and coalition forces are combating the changing tactics of the Taliban and the progress being made in the reconstruction of the country

Sunday 1st February 10:00pm – Sky1

The murder of an 11-year-old boy in a Liverpool suburb last year alerted the country to the city’s escalating gang culture. Rhys Jones was an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire of gang war. Ross goes in search of the youth gangs said to be causing mayhem on Liverpool’s streets and asks whether this year’s capital of culture deserves its reputation as a hub of gun and gang crime.

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In this 30-minute special, Ross Kemp and his BAFTA winning documentary team return to Eldoret to ask how Sky1 viewers and Save the Children can make a difference to the street children of Kenya.

Whilst filming Ross Kemp: A Kenya Special Ross visited the town of Eldoret, the scene of some of the most vicious fighting in the post election violence that rocked Kenya in early 2008. It was here Ross witnessed scenes of unimaginable poverty and brutal violence and where he received his biggest shock when making the film. Ross discovered a community of children orphaned by the violence who are forced to scratch a living on a rubbish dump. These are the forgotten victims, forced to live a life of constant danger and hunger, dulled only by solvent abuse. Read more & comment »

Belize is the smallest country in the whole of the Americas with a population of just over 300,000, but since becoming a major transit point for cocaine trafficked from Colombia to the US in the late 1980s, it’s developed a serious gang problem and become one of the most dangerous places on the planet.

Until recently, guns and cocaine were practically unheard of in Belize. Today the country is facing a massive crack cocaine problem, there are hundreds of semi-automatic weapons in the hands of gangs and the country has a per capita murder rate 5 times higher than the US, 98% of it gang-related.

Ross meets reformed gangsters who introduce him to the dangerous streets of Belize City and the gangs that control them. Ross gets to see a fraction of the weapons that make this city so violent, including grenades and high explosives, the new weapon of choice for the dozens of gangs which
control Belize City.

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With an estimated population of 12 million, the Roma gypsies are the biggest ethnic minority in Europe. The poorest of the poor they’re an often marginalized minority reportedly involved in drug trafficking, pick pocketing and human traffic.

Ross travels to Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital, to uncover the truth about one of the most despised ethnic groups in Europe. He is there to find out if the allegations against them are true, and if they are true, what impact the gypsy gangs are having on the streets of Britain.

Ross’ journey starts in London. When Bulgaria joined the EU in January 2007 London saw an increase in crimes across the capital with 250 gypsy crimes per week. The popular press was filled with horror stories predicting thousands of benefit-hungry gypsies arriving in Britain and bringing a crime wave with them.

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In this 90-minute special, Ross Kemp and his BAFTA winning documentary team travel to Kenya to investigate the Mungiki, an outfit labelled as the most dangerous ‘gang’ in Africa.

A disputed election in December 2007 sparked a spate of violence that left 1,500 dead and over 250,000 as refugees, leaving Kenya, once considered the jewel of Africa, on the brink of civil war. It is widely believed that the Mungiki were responsible for the reign of terror.

Ross comments, “I’ve always liked Africa and I loved Kenya when I was there, but I saw it from a totally different point of view from being a tourist to the way I saw it this time. Kenya has the perception of being a leader in Africa in terms of industry and infrastructure, but actually there’s extreme poverty and unrest there.” Read more & comment »

Antonio Villaraigosa, the mayor of Los Angeles, describes his city as the “gang capital of the world”. In the Los Angeles Times in January 2007 he stated “We agreed that Los Angeles is the epicenter of the nation’s gang crisis and an effective assault on gang crime will require increased suppression, intervention and prevention measures,”

In March 2008 the LA International Chiefs of Police held a summit on Gangs.

“Though violent crime is down in Los Angeles, the notorious birthplace of many gangs, the city is under siege by the constant threat of gangs, many of whose membership has grown to global proportions,” said Salvador Hernandez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles.

“We in law enforcement are committed locally and internationally to suppressing violence in all its forms,” said Sheriff of Los Angeles County, Leroy Baca. “The high number of deaths from gang activity has reached a crisis point. Over the last decade, in Los Angeles County, we’ve lost more than 5,800 people to gang violence in comparison to less than 500 people to natural disasters.

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In this sequel to the bestselling “Gangs”, Ross Kemp once again infiltrates groups of the deadliest criminals in countries as varied and far-reaching as Los Angeles, Bulgaria and Kenya. In Poland, while investigating Neo-Nazi football hooligans, Ross is tear-gassed at a football match as he shadows an elite police riot squad.

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