Kemp welcomes Dean's soap return

Ross Kemp has welcomed Letitia Dean's return to EastEnders and hasn't ruled out going back to the soap himself.

Letitia and Ross worked together on the BBC1 show playing warring husband and wife Sharon and Grant Mitchell.

And with Letitia back filming scenes in Albert Square, Ross said he wished her all the best.

"I didn't know she was coming back! Good for her. I've always liked Letitia, she's a lovely girl," he said.

The TV hard man has restyled himself as a documentary presenter, reporting from conflict areas around the world.

But he said he couldn't rule out a return to his most famous role.

"This is my new direction without a doubt, but never say never because you never know where you're going to go, do you?" Ross said.

"Don't underestimate how hard people in soaps work, and I say this as someone who's done nearly a year in Afghanistan... It takes a lot out of you doing that job. Maybe it's different now but when I was in it, particularly if you were a main character, I shouldn't say this but I'd get in my car and drive back to Battersea from Elstree, which is a drive, and I'd learn 25 pages of dialogue at the lights."

Ross has two films in the pipeline for Sky1 HD - Ross Kemp: Extreme World and Ross Kemp: Invisible Wounded, which is about the effects of mental illness on those who have served in the military.