Ross Kemp says the late Dame Barbara Windsor is “by no means far-off”.
The legendary actress – who performed Ross’ on-screen mum Peggy Mitchell in EastEnders – died aged 83 in 2020 after an extended battle with Alzheimer’s, and she or he is survived by her 62-year-old widower Scott Mitchell.
And Ross – who performed Peggy’s youngest son Grant Mitchell within the hit BBC cleaning soap – has a “image” of the late star in his “workplace” and retains in “frequent” contact with Scott.
The 61-year-old actor advised the newest challenge of New! journal: “Oh, Barbara’s by no means far-off.
“I’ve received an image of her in my workplace, and I communicate to Scott, her widower, on a reasonably frequent foundation.
“I had a really shut relationship along with her. I wrote her a eulogy and spoke it at her funeral. She was a really particular individual.
“And it is fascinating that there is lots of people who usually fade away.
“She does not appear to have pale away that a lot, does she? That is testomony to what number of years that she was within the public eye – and she or he all the time had time for the general public.”
Again in February, Ross reprised his alter ego Grant – which he has performed on-and-off since 1990 – for EastEnders’ fortieth anniversary, and he was reunited together with his on-screen brother Phil Mitchell, performed by 66-year-old actor Steve McFadden.
And Ross – who first left EastEnders in 1999 and went on to entrance gritty documentaries – would like to do extra performing sooner or later.
Requested what’s subsequent for him, career-wise, the star – who additionally made returns to the cleaning soap in 2005 and 2016 – mentioned: “I would love to do a bit extra performing, to be trustworthy.
“It is all the time the identical, so final 12 months, I did two docs, a sport present, and I did EastEnders. , selection is the spice of life.
“I am lucky to have the ability to transfer between genres and make programmes about topics that I discover fascinating.
“I do not rule out something. I believe there are some individuals who do soaps, after which they go away them and need to fake they had been by no means in them as a result of they discover themselves profitable somewhere else.
“That is their choice, and there is nothing improper with that in any respect.
“What I’ll say is, if I’ve received the chance to behave in one thing I believe is nice and so they need me, I am going to take the job.”
