TV’sKempheadstoBar-L for a look at life inside jail
Crime Reporter TV FAVOURITE Ross Kemp has spent a week inside Glasgow’s most notorious prison, Barlinnie.
The actor turned investigative journalist was in the East End prison as part of the new ITV/STV show, Ross Kemp in Jail – Inside Barlinnie.
Kemp, who rose to fame playing Grant Mitchell in the BBC1 soap Eastenders, was given unprecedented access to the Riddrie-based prison, which mainly houses prisoners who are either on remand or serving a sentence of less than four years.
The programme will show Kemp meeting both prisoners and prison officers.
He will explore the history of the prison and its dark past which included the execution of 10 men, as featured in the current Evening Times series, Hanged at Barlinnie, which is published every Friday and Saturday.
Kemp, 53, also joins lifers as they prepare for freedom, works in the jail’s kitchen and meets repeat offenders who struggle to end their life of crime.
He said: “I’m delighted to be working with ITV and STV Productions on a documentary about HMP Barlinnie in Glasgow.
“I’m looking forward to spending time not only with the inmates but also with the prison officers and attempting to get to the heart of what makes this iconic prison tick and trying to understand why so many who leave prison, often return.”
The new programme is expected to be show later this autumn.
Kemp’s popularity has grown since leaving Eastenders, thanks to several documentary series.
He produced a series called Ross Kemp on Gangs which explored the impact of gang culture in the UK and around the world.
He followed that up with documentaries including in Afghanistan, in Search of Pirates, Battle for the Amazon and Ross Kemp: Extreme World.
In 2012, he filmed Extreme World in Glasgow and reportedly said the city was one of the toughest he has ever been to.