EastEnders icon Ross Kemp has refused to rule out the possibility of returning to the soap in the future.

The actor and documentarian reprised his role as Grant Mitchell for the BBC soap’s 40th anniversary celebrations back in February, with the character returning to Walford after a nine-year absence.

After a storyline which saw him reconnect with his brother Phil, Grant once again left Albert Square as he returned to his home in Portugal, though Kemp expressed optimism that it wouldn’t be the last time we see the character.

“You just don’t know, do you?” he teased during an appearance on Loose Women. “You don’t know what’s in the minds of the people who work on it. I’ve also known that without it, I wouldn’t have had the career that I’ve had.

“I’ve always owed it a great debt – it was very good to me, and hopefully I was good to it, [so] why not keep it that way? I’ve always believed that you should leave doors swinging rather than shut them.”

Kemp, who debuted on the soap in 1990 before departing nine years later, continued by expressing his joy at his latest comeback, sharing: “It was so wonderful to jump into Grant’s leather jacket again, which I can still get in.

“I’m talking about the past, and they’re really busy doing their own thing. I just parachute in and exit generally by the tube station. But they’ve [co-stars] got to be welcoming, because it’s like a high-speed train – you’ve got to jump on it at the right time or you miss it.

“So luckily, Steve McFadden (who plays Phil), Paul Bradley (who plays Nigel Bates) and Letitia Dean (who plays Sharon Watts) opened the door for me. It was like going back home – it was great.”

Kemp’s latest comments come after he admitted that his most recent stint had left him “fried”, with the actor explaining: “Grant comes back and within a minute he’s fighting, crying, making love. Then he’s crying about it [and] fighting again – he’s never just sat in the launderette.”