Ten Things You Never Knew About Larry Lamb

Playing the loveable Michael 'Mick' Shipman in Gavin & Stacey and the shifty, Machiavellian Archie Mitchell in EastEnders, Larry Lamb has won himself a whole new generation of TV fans in recent years. However, the London-born thespian has been doing the rounds since the late '70s, when he starred in shows such as The Professionals and The New Avengers. Keep reading to find out more about the 62-year-old soap star.

1. Lawrence 'Larry' Douglas Lamb was born on October 10, 1947 in Edmonton, London.

2. Name a crime drama or cop show and Larry has probably starred in it! His TV credits include Frost, Taggart, Boon, Kavanagh QC, Midsomer Murders, The Bill and Silent Witness. Phew - he must have seen quite a few murders in his time!

3. Larry's early career in the oil industry led him to working around the world in Libya and Canada. It was during his time in Canada, where he studied at St. Francis Xavier University, that he developed his passion for performing arts.

4. Most people know by now that Larry's son is the infamous BBC 6 Music DJ and Big Brother's Little Brother host George. What you probably don't know, however, is that the duo are currently working on a TV show together. The programme will be about "fathers and sons", according to Larry. He is also developing a new one-man show, which he will tour in 2010.

5. George is apparently very tired of people believing that his father is as evil as his EastEnders character Archie Mitchell. "I get in cabs in the morning and people are like, 'Oi! You better tell your old man he's evil'. I'm like guys, 'He's not evil, he's acting!'" George told DS.

6. He may not be one of the longest-running roles in the soap's history, but Larry has loved playing an EastEnders bad guy. The 62-year-old says that Dot (June Brown) and Peggy (Barbara Windsor) are his favourite characters and he has close friendships with co-stars Samantha Womack (Ronnie Mitchell), Rita Simons (Roxy Mitchell) and Jim Branning (John Bardon).

7. Before Gavin & Stacey, Larry's biggest TV stint was arguably the 1981 to 1983 nautical North Sea soap Triangle. Lamb starred alongside Kate O'Mara in the show, which was generally mocked for its dodgy scripts and clichéd plots. In 1992, the BBC included the programme in an evening dedicated to the worst series ever made, titled TV Hell.

8. Larry did briefly break into Hollywood in the late '70s and early '80s with minor roles in two Superman films. In Superman III, he was even granted a speaking part as Miner #2.

9. Where does Larry get his inspiration to play the twisted Archie Mitchell? His own father of course. "My dad was a very screwed-up man and emotionally damaged from his childhood," he says. "He had a terrible relationship with his own father and I imagine it was the same for the generations before that. Just like Archie, my dad was absolutely convinced of his rightness and his sanity and thought he was completely justified in everything he did. Everybody else is at fault, but he's fine. Archie is the same. As far as he's concerned, he's perfectly sane. But the truth is, he's twisted."

10. Before his acting career took off, what did Larry do to keep himself in pocket? Well, his jobs ranged from selling encyclopaedias to American soldiers in Germany to working as a corrosion control technician for Esso in the US.