Scott Maslen wants to start his own youth club to tackle knife crime.
The ‘EastEnders’ actor – who plays Jack Branning on the BBC show – is looking to find ways to tackle the sensitive issue, and he insisted the way forward is through action to help those in need as he lays out his plans for his local area.
Speaking on the ‘Pound For Pound’ podcast, he said: "We’ve got to find a way to stop knife crime, we do, and it’s got to be collectively. It’s not just about mentality it’s about people actually putting their hearts and their mouths into action.
"I’m gonna try and do something for Camden, which is my council, create a space like the old youth clubs – like what I used to have when I was a kid – where you get people from all different areas and someone can come there and get a bit of inspiration from someone and get some ideas.
"A lot of the kids don’t have any ideas at the minute they’re being told by the people around them what to do rather than going somewhere and feeling something in their stomach – not in their brain – that makes them want to go and experience something. "
The 48-year-old soap star – who reveled that he needed to ask for help at drama school – suggested that the important thing was to get people away from "the streets" and into other environments.
He explained: "At this moment in time everything is so dark and everything is so depressing, I just hope more kids get into things like boxing and fishing, things that will help them out.
"The streets with everything that’s going on is a bad vibe for them, it’s a bad time to be a young kid where no one is thinking about them and there’s hate and fear everywhere."
Scott Maslen wants Camden youth club to tackle knife crime
