Celebrity Traitors’ Ross Kemp was an Emmerdale star long before he became Grant Mitchell

| Soaps Reporter Published October 9, 2026 11:02am Updated October 9, 2026 11:02am He was in Yorkshire before Walford (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock) Ross Kemp is best known for his role as Grant Mitchell in EastEnders, a man who could turn a trip to the Queen Vic into a full-blown crisis. Now, he’s swapped Albert Square for the Scottish Highlands in BBC One’s The Celebrity Traitors, where he’s overthinking every conversation, suspicious glance, and wondering if wearing a hat is going to get him killed. But, before Ross donned Grant’s leather jacket, he had a stint in another soap altogether. I’m talking about Emmerdale. If you’ve forgotten all about his time in the village, don’t worry – I’m here to remind you. Graham Lodsworth was the son of Dolly Skilbeck and a complete troublemaker. Given up for adoption in 1968, Graham made his way to the village in the 80s and began stalking his mum. After following her into the woods, Graham revealed his identity. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Before Grant, there was Graham (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock) He stayed in the village for two months and bonded with Seth Armstrong, but left the village when he was sent back to the army. A few years later, Ross headed to Walford after being cast as Grant Mitchell in EastEnders. Playing this character ultimately changed his life. Away from the world of soapland, we know Ross as an investigative journalist who has been at the centre of hard-hitting and award winning documentaries that explore social issues, global conflict and organised crime. As the drama in Celebrity Traitors continues, Ross previously admitted the psychological pressure of the show was more stressful than dodging bullets from the Taliban while filming war-zone documentaries. Ask Metro Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about – powered by Metro and trusted publications. Spoilers from last night’s episode of Celebrity Traitors follow. Ross Kemp’s been overthinking everything in the castle (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert/Cody Burridge/BBC Creative) After Hannah Fry was recruited by traitors Maya Jama and James Acaster, the contestants got to work on their latest mission. They had to work together to use a battering ram to smash a number of crypts open. In each of them, treasure and shields. When Myha’la took a shield and then handed it back right at the end of the game in order to secure more money, this ultimately proved to be her downfall, as the star was banished from the castle. Arrow MORE: Celebrity Traitors fans convinced the Faithful made a mistake banishing Richard E Grant Arrow MORE: Celebrity Traitors bosses forced to scrap huge cliffhanger plans after ‘unthinkable’ incident Arrow MORE: Amol Rajan: I wonder if Richard E Grant might survive Celebrity Traitors tonight The Soaps Newsletter – Weekly Sign up for exclusive spoilers and interviews, handpicked by our Soaps Editor.