Ross Kemp comes back to Afghanistan

12:37am Monday 8th September 2008

Former EastEnders hardman Ross Kemp has returned to Afghanistan to film a follow up to a documentary series screened earlier this year.

The actor spent time with the 1st Battalion of the British Army's Royal Anglian Regiment in Afghanistan's Helmand Province from March to August last year and has been back to see how things have changed in the year since, Sky1 said.

The two-part series, Ross Kemp: Return to Afghanistan, follows the actor as he joins up with Canterbury-based Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (5 Scots) to look into the coalition forces' continuing battle with Taliban fighters as well as the conditions the soldiers face.

He revisits Musa Qala for the programme, an area that was under Taliban control when he was in the country last year.

Kemp said: "I've been in Afghanistan with 5 Scots for a month and it's a very different war since I was here a year ago but the fighting with the Taliban is as intense as ever.

"The war's changed in that the Taliban are using far more IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and anti-personnel mines. You don't have to feed an anti-personnel mine; you don't have to feed an IED".

The first series, Ross Kemp in Afghanistan, gained critical acclaim for its frontline position but was also criticised for not offering the opposition point of view.

Kemp told The Independent newspaper: "We did not go to make a so-called traditional documentary. What we tried to show was what the ordinary soldiers are facing, what they are going through.

"I have seen incredible bravery from very young guys, the young generation that people write off".

The two hour-long programmes of Ross Kemp: Return to Afghanistan will be broadcast on Sky1 and Sky1 HD later this year.