Ross Kemp defends controversial coronavirus documentary at Milton Keynes Hospital which airs tonight

He and his film crew were allowed to enter MK Hospital last week and talk to staff and patients.

The move prompted outrage from local families, who questioned why Ross should be allowed in intensive care to see their loved ones when all other visitors were banned due to the risk of spreading coronavirus.

Many demanded the documentary be axed.

Speaking on today's Good Morning Britain show, Ross said it was "understandable" that families were upset.

He said: “They are being separated for the reason the NHS don’t want to spread the virus any further than they can possibly help it.

"At no point were we a drain on resources, and only myself and the cameraman actually went in to the ICU. We were there for a very short time – under half an hour."

“We went in there with the NHS’s blessing and with the blessing of the hospital staff because they want to tell their story, and hopefully by telling that story we will reassure the public, particularly those who are suffering at the moment because their loved ones are in hospital.”

Ross added: “The film is about trying to show in just 48 hours how all the staff of the NHS are doing such sterling work on our behalf, how they are saving lives, but it’s also an opportunity for them to talk to us, to tell us what their concerns are, what their fears are, and how they are overcoming them, and also to say what we can do to help them do their job better and also what we should be doing to help beat it.”

"In terms of the PPE, we used one set, and we brought more than that, and we left it behind, and it's exactly the same standard... So they were happy with what we did.

“There are some really important pieces of information that only frontline staff can really explain properly, and that is the point of the film – it’s to reassure people who are understandably concerned and worried and slightly angry about what is going on at the moment.”

Asked how it compared to his experiences in war zones, Kemp said: “Heroism takes many shapes and forms and what I witnessed in the ICU and across that hospital were heroes, anyone

The hospital last week published a length statement defending the filming of the documentary, saying they believed it was in the public interest.

'Ross Kemp: On the NHS Frontline' airs tonight (Thursday) at 8.30pm on ITV.