Inside Belmarsh Prison with Ross Kemp on ITV - Everything you need to know
Your guide to the documentary fronted by the ex EastEnder
Over the years, former EastEnder Ross Kemp has built a fearsome reputation as a documentary maker, travelling across the country and the world making films in dangerous and unexplored locations. In this two-part ITV show, he goes behind the scenes at one of Britain's most notorious prisons.
Here's everything you need to know...
What is Inside Belmarsh Prison with Ross Kemp about?
The documentary maker goes inside the walls of HMP Belmarsh, the country's most notorious maximum-security jail, which has housed the country's most dangerous - and infamous - convicts, including Ian Huntley, Ronnie Biggs and Charles Bronson. Ross explores how staff cope with high-profile inmates, extremists and common criminals living side-by-side and goes inside the High Security Unit, where he meets Muhammad Asif Hafeez, known as Sultan, the alleged mastermind of a drug-smuggling empire.
In episode two, Ross Kemp's report from inside the maximum-security jail takes him to Belmarsh's jail-within-a-jail, where anti-Islamic inmates have to be separated from Islamic prisoners for fear of violence. He also heads to the prison healthcare unit, and meets transgender prisoner Claire Darbyshire, who was given one of the lowest minimum terms for murder in British legal history after killing her father. Here's a clip of Ross speaking to Claire, but beware of strong language and references to suicide:
Do you have a review?
Yes, here's what Radio Times's David Butcher had to say about the first episode of programme:
"When it opened in 1991, HMP Belmarsh was the first prison for men to have been built in London for over a century. A new breed of “supermax” jail, it was designed to take criminals considered a threat to national security, including IRA terrorists.
For this two-part series, cameras follow Ross Kemp as he explores Belmarsh over a period of six months to see how staff cope with high-profile inmates, extremists and common criminals living side by side.
Kemp witnesses the effect of drugs on prisoners, gets an insight into rehabilitation efforts and visits a special unit that has housed notorious offenders including Soham killer Ian Huntley, hate preacher Anjem Choudary and black-cab rapist John Worboys."
What time is Inside Belmarsh Prison with Ross Kemp on TV?
The second episode of Inside Belmarsh Prison is on ITV at 9pm on Thursday 16th January 2020.
The first part is available to watch on ITV Hub now.
Is there a trailer?
Yes, here it is...
