Ross Kemp landed his ‘EastEnders’ role after messing up his audition for ‘The Bill’.
The 55-year-old actor – who played Grant Mitchell on and off from 1990 to 2016 – was caught playing around with a pair of handcuffs and ruined his chances of appearing on the ITV police drama, which led to his most memorable role on the BBC soap.
Appearing on ‘The One Show’ on Tuesday night (30.06.20), he said: "Basically, I was up for a part in ‘The Bill’, and I didn’t get it. Part of the reason I didn’t get it was because I was playing with the handcuffs, and whipping them across my fingers.
"Then, I whipped it across my wrist and I couldn’t carry on filming! The props guys didn’t have the key so I didn’t get the part. But the two guys who were in charge of ‘The Bill’ at the time went across to the BBC to start producing ‘EastEnders’.
"And I was picked as one of the guys as a possible Mitchell brother. I got a little work out of the BBC for 10 years – though I never screen-tested with Steve [McFadden], funny enough."
Back in 1986 – before he first appeared in Albert Square – Ross actually started a run of 22 episodes as Graham Lodsworth in ‘Emmerdale Farm’.
And although he’s now more focused on making hard-hitting documentaries, the star hasn’t ruled out a return to his roots.
He previously said: "I would never ever rule out ‘EastEnders’ – nor would I rule out a return to ‘Emmerdale Farm’.
"I don’t think you can ever rule out anything in life to be honest with you, having been around the world and seeing how incredibly short some people’s lives are.
"I think while you’re on the planet, you should enjoy as much as you can, as long as you’re not harming other people while doing so."