EastEnders star Ross Kemp has opened up about his return to the soap for its 40th anniversary celebrations, recalling his first day on set.

Earlier this year, the soap confirmed that EastEnders legend Kemp would be reprising his role as Grant Mitchell for its anniversary celebrations, which will include an hour-long special as well as a 30-minute live episode.

Grant, who was last seen in Walford in 2016, finally made his return to the soap during yesterday’s special flashback episode where he interrupted Phil who was preparing to take his own life.

Viewers will know that Phil has struggled with his mental health recently and yesterday’s special flashback episode saw Phil hallucinate scenes from 1985.

Appearing on tonight’s The Graham Norton Show, Kemp opened up about returning to the show, saying his first day on set was an eventful one which included “wrestling a gun” off his co-star Steve McFadden, who plays his on-screen brother Phil.

“My first day on set was wrestling a nine millimetre Beretta pistol off somebody as they tried to shoot themselves in their head and they [the scripts] just carried on like that for three more weeks. So when I left, I was in a very good mood.”

On filming the soap’s 40th anniversary documentary EastEnders: 40 Years on the Square, Kemp said he realised “what an impact the show had had” over the years.

Describing the way the soap dealt with difficult issues such as domestic violence and HIV, Kemp said: “I realised how proud I was of what it’s achieved, and it’s continued to entertain people as well, but it’s taken on some very, very heavy topics and made them digestible and entertaining.”

Kemp previously said of his return: “I’m delighted to be returning to EastEnders as the show heads towards its 40th anniversary.”