Ross Kemp was heartbroken to meet a five-year-old Syrian boy who survived by robbing dead bodies while he was making his new documentary ‘Ross Kemp: The Fight Against ISIS’.
The 51-year-old investigative journalist travelled to war-torn Syria and Iraq to make the Sky1 TV programme and was shocked to meet the kid – who is the same age as Kemp’s oldest son – and learn how he made money money to feed himself.
Speaking to Digital Spy, Kemp said: "This lad – he was five years old, so the same age as my eldest son – and this little kid survives by going through the rubble of Kobani and pulling the rings and the watches from the corpses.
"He was so sweet, as well. We tried to give him money – not to buy his rings, just so he could survive – but he didn’t want it. He was very proud. Lovely kid. Heartbreaking."
Since his departure from his role as Grant Mitchell in ‘EastEnders’ in 2006, Kemp has earned acclaim as a documentary maker and has been applauded for his hard-hitting shows on topics such as gang warfare, the Afghanistan conflict and modern day piracy.
His latest programme sees the star get targeted by ISIS shooters as he follows Kurdish soldiers in their fight against the Islamic terrorist organisation.
Kemp – who is married Renee O’Brien, with whom he has a second son with – admits it is a scary experience to be shot at but says it’s "part of the job".
He said: "You hear the snap as they (the bullets) break the sound barrier and the snap as they hit the wall. You can feel the air pressure changing – you can feel the whoosh, the whip of the wind around the bullet. You can feel it. It’s part of the job. If you’re going to go on the front line, you should be under no illusions that there’s a good chance you’re going to get shot at."
‘Ross Kemp: The Fight Against ISIS’ airs on Thursday (14.07.16) at 9pm on Sky 1.
Ross Kemp shocked by Syrian boy’s fight for survival
