Channel 5 Pulls Plug On Ross Kemp Dangerous Prisons Series That Was Beset By Budget Problems & An Ecuadorian Coup

deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: Channel 5 has pulled the plug on Ross Kemp‘s doc series in which the former EastEnders star was spending time in the world’s most dangerous prisons, with factors ranging from budget difficulties to an Ecuadorian coup to blame.

Deadline revealed that Ross Kemp: 72 Hours In … had been paused in October. After a period during which the Paramount UK network and producers attempted to revive the show, Channel 5 confirmed to us yesterday that it has now been scotched. “Filming had begun on the series, but due to unforeseen production challenges, we made the practical decision to halt filming and will not be progressing further,” said a spokeswoman.

The series was announced with fanfare as one of Channel 5’s most premium doc series of all time last summer, with the network saying Kemp, who is well known for his … On Gangs TV franchise, would “spend time in high-security prisons, mixing with gang leaders, serial killers, violent criminals, drug lords and mass murderers to see first-hand what it is like to live among society’s most dangerous people.” But Deadline understands problems set in relatively quickly.

Kemp locked down one episode, in Colombia, but tensions began to rise between the producers at Kemp’s Freshwater Films and Chalkboard TV, and the network, over how much it would cost to shoot the expansive series, and how much time Kemp would require in each country.