Eastenders actor Kristian Kiehling is in Malta to participate in the Moas search and rescue mission in the Mediterranean.

His connection with Moas came about not only because he was a migrant in real life and a migrant in a TV series, but the 38-year-old also lost his father at sea.

He first read about Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) , which sets out on its mission today, while carrying out background research about migrants to help him with his role in the series.

“My parents are both refugees and I lost my father 20 years ago when he drowned in the South China Sea while on work aboard an oil tanker,” the German-Latvian actor told this newspaper yesterday, as the crew was loading the boat for today’s launch.

Mr Kiehling, who moved to the UK to film the British soap opera, said the character he played in EastEnders, Aleks Shirovs, was the first Eastern European immigrant character on British prime-time TV.

“I think it’s a crime that our politicians don’t do enough to help stop people from drowning.

“I feel ashamed to be European and angry at the thousands of deaths in the Mediterranean Sea. I get to play heroes on screen, but I’m not a hero in real life, so all I can do is raise awareness through the media, and hopefully help raise the much-needed funds to run this operation,” he added.

Mr Kiehling is also in talks with warzone icon Robert Young Pelton to tell the story of thousands of people who risk crossing the deadly Mediterranean Sea to get a second chance at life.

“I hope that with my humble contribution, this mission, which has already saved thousands of lives, can continue.”