Entertainment
Ross Kemp tears up over Afghanistan crisis and reveals he would ‘go back in a heartbeat’
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
Ross Kemp broke down during Monday’s Lorraine remembering his experiences while in Afghanistan as he weighed in on the current crisis.
The actor shared his thoughts on the Taliban regaining control over the country 20 years after being removed following the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan.
Ross has filmed several TV programmes in the region, including Ross Kemp in Afghanistan in 2008 and Back on the Frontline in 2011.
Speaking to Christine Lampard, who is filling in for Lorraine Kelly, the former soap star choked up as he recalled witnessing children ‘suffer’ in the conflict.
He said: ‘I am not one of the 457 personnel from British Forces that died out there or the 2448 Americans and think of the people who lost limbs, lost their eyesight. But the children are always the ones that suffer, sadly.’
Struggling to talk he went on: ‘Unfortunately I saw enough of that in the time that I was out there. That will always be the thing that will stay with me during my time out there.’
Christine later asked him: ‘Would you go back potentially to highlight what’s going on? Would you go there again?’
‘Of course,’ Ross replied.
The actor made a series of documentaries following British troops in Afghanistan (Picture: Sky)
The former soap star struggled to speak as he recalled his time in the country (Picture: ITV)
‘It was nearly six years of my life going back and forth there. I made lots of friends, particularly Afghan friends.
‘They are some of the kindest, warmest, trusting people you could ever meet. It’s a stunning country, it’s just different from the one I live in.
‘They don’t have taps, children are brought up to carry an AK-47 and herd goats down on the south. They don’t have ipads, they don’t have cooked breakfasts, it’s a very different society.
More: Lorraine Kelly
‘It’s difficult, unless you’ve been there, to understand that. But yes, I would go back in a heartbeat.’
In recent days, Taliban leaders have sought to present a more moderate and conciliatory face, at odds with the brutal regime they oversaw in the mid-1990s.
Several reports of human rights abuses and retaliatory violence against people who worked with the West have emerged in recent days, throwing into doubt any insistence the group has changed its ways.
US President Joe Biden has been criticised for his decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, with former British prime minister Tony Blair describing the move as ‘tragic, dangerous and unnecessary’.
Lorraine airs weekdays from 9am on ITV.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
