Ross Kemp: Extreme World
documentary Sky1 HD, 9pm/ Sky1+1, 10pm
The presenter tackles more dangerous topics.
NEW DOCUMENTARY Ross Kemp: extreme World Sunday, Sky1 HD, 9pm
IN HIS13 YEARS of documentary-making, Ross Kemp has reported from some of the most dangerous places on the planet. But as he meets Tv & satellite Week to talk about his latest series of Extreme World, he’s still visibly shaken by the events he encountered in Texas for this week’s first episode.
During filming, Kemp, 52, found himself trapped between armed white supremacists and a mass of furious anti-racism protesters during a march in Austin. With the National Guard struggling to keep order and police snipers lining the rooftops, things rapidly escalated.
‘Being in the centre of that riot was just as dangerous as being in Afghanistan,’ he says. ‘The white nationalists were all carrying loaded weapons, as were the National Guard. No one pulled a trigger and thank goodness they didn’t.’
The first film of this final six-part series follows Kemp as he heads to Texas in the final months of 2016. With the divisive US Presidential election campaign coming to a head, and the murder of five police officers in Dallas, racial tensions in Texas had reached boiling point.
RACE WAR
As well as speaking to black power groups who were arming themselves in anticipation of a race war, Kemp met the Imperial Wizard of the Dallas Ku Klux Klan, who goes by the name of Rowdy.
‘There are a lot of people joining us now,’ says Rowdy in the episode, after setting a swastika ablaze to welcome Kemp. ‘Donald Trump woke up a lot of people. We are the invisible army. We have doctors, lawyers – more people than the authorities think. There’s a race war coming.’
Kemp believes the racial tension has escalated dramatically in the past year.
‘The election of President Trump has exacerbated the problem,’ he says. ‘If you have a President who is expressing controversial views it allows extremists to justify themselves. Dallas feels like a bit of a powder keg at the moment.’
In order to meet with Rowdy, Kemp and his camera crew had to surrender their vehicle and agree to be transported to a secret location in the dead of night. It is a method of intimidation the documentarymaker has become used to.
‘A similar thing happens on every film we do,’ he says. ‘You’re on their turf and their terms, so you’re incredibly vulnerable and if you show fear they’ll bully you. You’ve got to stand firm. That’s how you get out of these places in one piece.’
After six series, this year’s run will be the show’s swansong. ‘This year’s films couldn’t be more diverse,’ says Kemp. ‘We explore issues few people even knew existed.’
While this might be the end of Extreme World, Kemp and his team are determined to continue making hardhitting documentaries. ‘I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved,’ he says. ‘And we don’t want to stop.’
‘This year’s films couldn’t be more diverse. We explore issues few people even knew existed’ ROSS KEMP