Ross Kemp is set to return to 'EastEnders.'

Ross Kemp

Ross Kemp

The 51-year-old actor, who last appeared in the programme nine years ago, is being persuaded by show executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins to reprise his role as hardman Grant Mitchell in the BBC One Soap next year.

The tough-talking thug will storm onto Albert Square in a bid to save his recovering alcoholic brother Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) from hitting the bottle again following his spat with psycho gangster Gavin Sullivan (Paul Nicholas).

A show insider told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "Dominic has put out discreet feelers and has been quite encouraged by the response. Storylines don't get much bigger than getting the Mitchell brothers back together."

Dominic is keen to reunite the programme's "big four" characters - Grant, Phil, Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) and Sharon Mitchell (Letitia Dean) - for one final time.

The producer said: "I think the fact that you've got Phil, Kathy, Sharon - there's a person missing, isn't there?

"To get all four on screen at the same time is a dream. As an 'EastEnders' fan, you want to watch that."

Meanwhile, Ross - who originally starred as Grant from 1990 until 1999 and then returned for two short stints in 2005 and 2006 - recently admitted he would be up for reprising his role but only when the "time is right."

He said: "I've got no problems with going back there. It was 10 years of my life; some of it was happy, some of it wasn't so happy but I enjoyed most of it, or I wouldn't have stayed there so long. Yeah, if the opportunity comes along and it's the right time, definitely, why not."

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