Ross Kemp has revealed he became "heavily reliant" on alcohol and used it to "self-medicate" in a frank admission about his unhealthy relationship with booze. The EastEnders star, 62, said that having children helped him rein in the habit but he has not given up alcohol completely.
Alcohol as a coping mechanism
"I've always used alcohol as my main way of relaxing," Ross said. "Luckily these days, because of kids, I don't do it like I used to." The dad of four, who has played Walford's hardman Grant Mitchell on and off since 1990, added: "I think I was heavily reliant on it for a period of time - self-medicating, if you will. That's something that has disappeared from my life, but I still like it, and of all the alternatives out there, that's the easiest and more socially accessible."
Fatherhood's impact
Asked on the Joe Marler Will See You Now podcast if he has managed to bring his drinking under control without going fully sober, Ross replied: "I like to think so, yeah, but who knows? I don't think anybody should sit here and say just because I limited myself I'm not necessarily relying on it."
Ross shares his eldest son Oliver, 15, with his former partner, make-up artist Nicola Coleman. He also has three children - Leo, 11, and eight-year-old twins Ava and Kitty - with his wife, Australian lawyer Renee O'Brien, whom he married in 2012. The TV favourite, who will star in the new series of the BBC's Celebrity Traitors this autumn, has previously admitted to behaving "quite badly" during his younger years.
Priorities changed
Recalling the early days of his relationship with wife Renee, Ross has said he "used to go on a bit of a bender with some of the guys" before she "straightened" him out. He credited fatherhood with transforming his priorities, admitting he had been "quite selfish" before having children and that becoming a dad meant putting them first. Ross also said he was "very happy" with his family and "wouldn't have it any other way", although he wished he had started "about a decade earlier".
Documentary work on addiction
Alcohol and addiction are subjects Ross has also examined in his documentaries. He fronted a 2016 episode of Ross Kemp's Britain exploring the country's drinking habits, while an instalment of Extreme World saw him meet a Glasgow man who had lost several toes because of alcoholism. "That was just shocking," Ross said at the time. "A lot of us could end up in such a situation for making mistakes." In 2020, he presented Ross Kemp: Living With Painkiller Addiction for ITV, investigating the hundreds of thousands of people in Britain believed to be dependent on prescription opioids.
Ross rose to fame as Grant in EastEnders before leaving the BBC for a reported £1.2million ITV deal and building a second career as a BAFTA-winning documentary maker. He returned to Albert Square for the soap's 40th anniversary in February 2025 and has since reprised the role again, with Grant becoming involved in Nigel Bates' dementia storyline.
