Actor and presenter Ross Kemp has fired back at reports which claimed the hard-man compared filming in crime-hit Birmingham for a documentary was 'more terrifying and shocking' than when he was in Afghanistan.
The clearly furious former EastEnders star took to Twitter today to attack the reports as 'fake news'.
The star gave an interview to The Metro, where he revealed he had to wear the same body armour working with armed police in the city as when he was filming in Afghanistan.
The former EastEnders actor is famous for his behind-the-scenes, gritty looks on warfare and gangs but said the new two-part documentary in Birmingham was one of the toughest he has ever made.
He tweeted: " Saying I wore the same body armour working with armed police in Bham as I did in Afghanistan has been turned into headlines saying it was more terrifying and shocking filming in Bham than in Afghanistan?! This is fake news &, I think, insulting to those who served in Afghanistan."
"I am making a documentary about our armed response units and counter terrorist units – armed police across the UK – [and asking] do we have enough to meet the threat that is now posed to us?.
"Not only by terrorists but also by the increase in the use of hand guns by drugs gangs."
He then admitted to 'having to wear the same body armour that I wore in Syria on the streets of Birmingham'.
Kemp caused a stir in Brum when passers-by spotted him at a Northfield branch of McDonald's and at a burglary while filming with West Midlands Police’s armed response unit in December.
The presenter also happily posed for photos with officers during a raid in the city.
He was also seen after a raid at a Solihull post-office. The post-mistress Maria Ahmed posed for a picture with the celebrity.
The one-time soap star and documentary TV maker joined members of the Operational Support Unit of West Midlands Police in the operation in Billesley.
Ross has been working with the West Midlands Police force on the documentary as well as the British Transport Police , Northumberland police and South Yorkshire police.
It will air later this year.
Crime-hit Birmingham has seen almost 100 shootings so far this year, according to figures.
The city has been in the midst of a deadly gangs war for the past 18 months.
The Office Of National Statistics confirmed in 2017 that the West Midlands had the highest rate of non-air firearm offences per 1100,000 population across the country.
