Ross Kemp to host BBC show celebrating coronavirus volunteers after documentary backlash

Former soap star was forced to defend his recent ITV programme On The NHS Frontline this month

Ross Kemp is set to front a new programme celebrating Britain’s “volunteer army” who are looking after those in need and keeping the country going amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

BBC One programme Ross Kemp: Britain’s Volunteer Army will celebrate the “heroic efforts of the country’s 750,000 volunteers during the coronavirus crisis”, according to the broadcaster.

The programme will see the presenter volunteering in his own community and meeting people who are trying to make a difference across the country.

“It makes me immensely proud to see the British public mobilising in their thousands to come to the assistance of the vulnerable in our society, and the NHS, in their time of need,” Kemp said.

“This pandemic has produced all sorts of unlikely heroes and it will be a real privilege to meet some of them and celebrate their selfless work.”

The announcement of the new programme comes after Kemp defended his ITV show On The NHS Frontline, which saw the former soap star film in a hospital where families had been unable to visit their ill loved ones.

He told Good Morning Britain last week that he was trying to show what “sterling work” is being done by the NHS and the challenges they are facing.

The BBC has also commissioned new factual programmes including Our Finest Hours, which will look at other times that the nation has pulled together during a crisis.

HealthCheckUK will also offer guidance on the mental and physical challenges presented by the lockdown.

Carla-Maria Lawson, head of daytime and early peak at the BBC, said: “Viewers look to BBC One daytime programming to offer reassurance and trustworthy content which also entertains, especially in times of heightened uncertainty.

“We can bring the nation together through storytelling with integrity, heart and humanity at its core.”

PA