ACTOR Ross Kemp told how he broke down during filming his latest documentary – when he met young carers. The former EastEnders star told Chris Evans about his latest venture into lifting the lid on traumatic subjects – and it was this that made him ‘crack’. The 55-year-old hardman has a new ITV series, Living […]
ACTOR Ross Kemp told how he broke down during filming his latest documentary – when he met young carers.
The former EastEnders star told Chris Evans about his latest venture into lifting the lid on traumatic subjects – and it was this that made him ‘crack’.
The 55-year-old hardman has a new ITV series, Living With… which is a brand new four-part series which sees him travelling across the country to meet people living with some of the biggest issues affecting Britain.
Talking about young carers, he told Chris: “This is the when I actually cracked. The average age of a carer in the country is 12 years old. Some as young as four.
“I have a four year old, I can’t see him looking after me, my job is to look after him. Ali, in the film, is five years old and helps look after his sister…
“You have to ask in 2019, how is that allowed to happen?”
The documentary presenter told the Virgin Radio host how he met people who have spent years on the streets.
The screen veteran spent the night with homeless people, set up a tent and experienced what it was like to live on the streets.
The former Albert Square favourite said: “We spent the night out with Gemma and Connor, the interesting thing about it for me is they rather sleep rough.
“They could have gone to the Huggard centre and slept on the floor or an emergency shelter, but they chose not to.
“There is a growing number of people choosing to sleep rough rather than in a shelter, as they feel safer on the streets.
“Even though on average three rough sleepers get attacked every night in the UK…”
The investigative journalist continued: “I found it difficult – Huggard is full of amazing people, but they can’t be expected to be social workers, drug rehabilitation people, nurses, mental health doctors.
“The need is so great at the moment and I think the need to make this (documentary) is because over the last three years we have seen Brexit dominate everything.
“We have taken the eye off the ball, while we are waiting and discussing our future, our future is happening and it is not pretty.
“If you want to see what is happening please watch these four new shows.
“What has been shoved under the carpet we have put a little magnifying glass on it and it isn’t pretty.”
The BAFTA-award winner also spoke about knife crime in young people.
He said: “It took me a while to work out the consequences of my actions, I think I was 30 at least.
“How can you understand the consequences of your actions when you’re nine or ten, 11, 12, 14 etc.
“I’m in a prison meeting young men who are serving twenty-five before even parole for murder or a joint venture in a murder.
“So not only their own lives are destroyed and their families, also their victim’s and their family.
“Of course Brexit is important but we have been taking our eye off the ball.”
The Essex-born figure has a passion and enthusiasm to make the UK a better place.
He said: “We have to start been a bit more honest with ourselves and be more concerned about other people and been a little less self-centred.
“And I’m just as guilty as anyone else. I walk out of Holborn tube station, on my phone, late for my meeting and I just started seeing more and more people sleeping in bags.
“How can the homeless minister say there are less people sleeping rough?”
The award-winner will also be doing a documentary in honour of former on-screen EastEnders mum Barbara Windsor and her battle with Alzheimer’s.
The Chris Evans Virgin Radio Breakfast show with Sky, weekdays from 6:30am
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