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Ross Kemp petrified as he’s brought into a cage with a 55-stone lion

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Not much rattles Ross Kemp – but a massive lion has managed to get the better of him in his new documentary.

In the new ITV special, which sees the documentary film maker ‘meet Britain’s Tiger Kings’, Ross is brought to a German circus, where a lion tamer brings him into a cage with one of the majestic creatures.

As the lion stood on a plinth high above them, Ross admitted he was unnerved to see the predator so close up without any safety.

‘Despite how well trained it appeared, being this close to a lion felt uncomfortable,’ he explains in a voiceover.

‘I was scared and I just didn’t get the appeal.’

However, the handler treated it more like a typical pet cat – feeding it food on a stick and then even giving it tummy rubs later.

Lion
The lion was standing above them on a plinth (Picture: ITV)
ROSS KEMP
Ross was clearly not sold on the lion (Picture: ITV)

Discovering the animal weighed 350kg (55 stone), Ross questioned: ‘If he decided to leave there now [from his plinth] and landed, there wouldn’t be a lot left anyway – he’d squash us.’

‘I wouldn’t bring you in here for that,’ he was reassured.

Having enough, Ross quickly jumped back out of the cage and left the trainer to it.

The new two-part series sees Ross try and discover Britain’s answer to Joe Exotic – the ‘Tiger King’ that became world famous after a Netflix documentary on his life.

During Ross’s investigation, he meets Oliver, who keeps a collection of legally purchased big cats at his home, much to the annoyance of his neighbours.

Britain’s Tiger Kings – On The Trail with Ross Kemp is available on ITV Player.

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