Ross Kemp: Drunk fans try and test me
Former 'EastEnders' actor Ross Kemp says drunk fans either want to fight him or hug him when they meet.
The 57-year-old star is regularly recognised when he goes out by fans who love him for his hard-hitting documentaries and for his role as Grant Mitchell in the BBC One soap and some guys when they are under the influence want to prove to him how tough they are.
Ross - who is hosting new BBC game show 'Bridge Of Lies' - said: “If they’ve been in the pub all day they want to give you a hug or they may want to give you a little bit of a tap.
“I went out to watch some rugby on a Friday night and there were blokes out there who were up for showing me how tough they were and there were also ones who wanted to give me a big hug and cry on my shoulder.
“In that particular environment where alcohol has been taken it can manifest itself in two very different forms of affection.”
Ross always has time for his fans, even when they can be over-zealous, and he can recall only ever refusing one selfie request and that's because the guy was rude and swore at him.
He is quoted by the Daily Star newspaper as saying: "Generally, most people are really nice. I’ve only ever turned down one selfie and that was because somebody went, ‘Oh, you, give me a f***ing selfie.’ I went, ‘Not today, my friend.’
“In general it’s just a wave, a nod and a smile. If you don’t know someone you don’t want to be getting into a 20-minute conversation when you’ve got to get the shopping before the kids need to be put in the bath.”
Despite his extensive TV career, Ross recently admitted that hosting new game show 'Bridge of Lies' was a challenge because he couldn't "hide" behind a character.
Ross - who played hard man Grant Mitchell on 'EastEnders' on-and-off from 1990 until 2016 - said: "You can't be like somebody else.
"If you play a character like Grant Mitchell you can hide behind the leather jacket, the Neanderthal-type walk, but as a host you have to be yourself.
"It’s not necessarily where I thought I’d be but you know what? I loved it. It was very different from the rest of the year.
"At my age, rule everything in, rule nothing out.”
