{"id":98506,"date":"2023-10-01T09:02:14","date_gmt":"2023-10-01T09:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/turbocelebrity.com\/?p=98506"},"modified":"2023-10-01T09:02:14","modified_gmt":"2023-10-01T09:02:14","slug":"ross-kemp-says-it-took-him-five-tough-days-to-write-barbara-windsors-eulogy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/turbocelebrity.com\/celebrities\/ross-kemp-says-it-took-him-five-tough-days-to-write-barbara-windsors-eulogy\/","title":{"rendered":"Ross Kemp says it took him five \u2018tough\u2019 days to write Barbara Windsor\u2019s eulogy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ross Kemp has revealed that it took him five days to write Dame Barbara Windsor\u2019s eulogy and said the experience was \u201cvery tough\u201d for him.<\/p>\n

The actor and documentarian, 59, used to play Grant Mitchell in BBC soap EastEnders \u2013 son of landlady Peggy Mitchell, played by Dame Barbara.<\/p>\n

Dame Barbara died at the age of 83 in 2020, and had been made a dame in the 2016 New Year\u2019s Honours list for her services to charity and entertainment.<\/p>\n

Speaking about his new book at Henley Literary Festival on Saturday, Ross said \u201cOne of the hardest things I\u2019ve ever had to do was write her eulogy \u2013 and Scott, her husband, came up he said \u2018what you gonna call it?\u2019<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cI said \u2018I haven\u2019t got a clue\u2019\u2026 Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere, maybe we call it that or Conversations With Kemp After Three Pints? And he said, \u2018no there\u2019s only one thing you can call, isn\u2019t there?\u2019 Take Nothing For Granted, and I went \u2018oh yeah, okay mate\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cBarbara\u2019s eulogy was very tough for me, and it took me five days to write it, and I hope I did her service.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I use certain kinds of pens when I\u2019m writing, and I keep them out of reach of my children because they get destroyed, so I reached up on top of the Welsh dresser in the kitchen to get some pens down, finish writing it, and I\u2019m fingering because I can\u2019t reach the top of it and I\u2019m (thinking) \u2018what the hell\u2019s that?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it was a piece of card, and I brought it down, and remember five days I\u2019ve been sat in the office writing, and it was \u2018To my darling Ross, love Barbara.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd literally I went \u2018wow\u2019. I don\u2019t believe in mumbo jumbo, I\u2019ve done enough programmes about witchcraft around the world to think that it\u2019s absolute rubbish, unless you want to believe in it, but there was just a real weird moment in your life and you go \u2018you up there?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyway, I\u2019ve put it back it\u2019s still there. She was an incredible influence on my life\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had completely different, opposing political views, she was far more right than I am, but it didn\u2019t matter, because I just loved her.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

"I absolutely adored her, and she\u2019s a very, very special person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ross was speaking at Henley Literary Festival about his new book Take Nothing For Granted: Tales from an Unexpected Life, which traces his life, from a young boy growing up in Essex to a documentarian adventuring in some of the most dangerous places in the world.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n