After more than 35 years’ acting Larry Lamb gets a feeling about new jobs. And the good news for ITV bosses is that he’s got the same feeling about his new series as he did about Gavin And Stacey.
Comedy drama Love And Marriage starts this week and sees former EastEnder Larry reunited with Alison Steadman, his missus from the popular BBC sitcom.
“You’ve got to learn to judge a script or else you’re going to be in trouble,” Larry told The Sunday Post.
“When this came along I felt right away that it was special.
“And the good thing is that everybody who has seen it says they really like it.
“It’s an absolute joy.
“It’s like when we all sat down to read Gavin And Stacey in a room together and knew right away what it could be.
“We all lived in a hotel in Cardiff for that and because we were eating and drinking together we became like a family.
“That same thing has happened on this. We were all staying in Coventry with no one going home at night, so relationships form.”
The six-part series follows three generations of the Paradise family as they deal with the decision of Alison’s Pauline to walk out the day she retires from her lollipop lady job.
Celia Imrie, Ashley Jensen and former Corrie baddie Graeme Hawley are among the starry cast.
Despite his lengthy acting career, 65-year-old Larry says it’s Gavin And Stacey he’s most recognised for these days, more so than even EastEnders’ Archie.
The Walford baddie was finally bumped off in the Queen Vic in the Christmas Day special of 2009, with Lacey Turner’s Stacey eventually revealed as the killer.
“Archie was one of those guys that people loved to hate,” admits Larry. “He was a very effective villain. People loved his evil ways. He was a great character, really well written.
“You understood there was more to him than just the bad things.
“I went for six months originally and stayed for two years.
“Archie was condemned to death the moment I signed the contract. They knew he was going to be a goner, they just stretched it out.
“It was sad to go in the end. It was a gift of a part.”
Enjoy the convenience of having The Sunday Post delivered as a digital ePaper straight to your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Subscribe for only £5.49 a month and enjoy all the benefits of the printed paper as a digital replica.
Subscribe