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Actor

1947-10-10 · Edmonton, London, England, UK · Male

43 series in the catalog

Lawrence Douglas Lamb (born 1 October 1947) is an English actor and radio presenter. He played Archie Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, Michael Shipman in the BBC comedy series Gavin & Stacey and Ted Case in the final series of the BBC drama New Tricks. He also appeared on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2016.

Early life

Lamb was born in Edmonton, Middlesex, to Jessie White and Ronald Douglas Lamb, the eldest of four including his brother, Wesley, and a sister Penelope. Lamb had a turbulent childhood; he was verbally abused by his father and often had to keep his parents from fighting.

In 2011, Lamb participated in the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are? and discovered that he is descended from a line of proprietors of a well-known travelling menagerie, Day's Menagerie, and a lion tamer named Martini Bartlett.

Lamb attended Edmonton County School and on leaving school he worked as a lorry driver's mate (assistant) for, at that time, the UK's largest Waste Paper Merchant, J & J Maybank. Later, he worked as an encyclopaedia salesman, before joining the oil industry, which resulted in his working in Libya and Canada, where he attended St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. This developed his amateur interest in acting to a professional level, and he performed at Canada's Stratford Festival in 1975–1976. Lamb is distantly related to Edward Buckton Lamb (1806–1869), a Victorian architect who designed St Martin's Gospel Oak and St Mary Magdalene Church in Addiscombe.

Acting

After returning to Britain from Canada, Lamb became a regular cast member, along with Kate O'Mara, in the BBC's North Sea ferry-based soap Triangle (1981–83), in which he played Matt Taylor, the ship's chief engineer.

Other credits include The New Avengers, The Professionals, Fox, Minder, Lovejoy, Get Back, A Touch of Frost, Our Friends in the North, Taggart, Casualty, Kavanagh QC, Spooks, Midsomer Murders, and The Bill.

Between 2007 and 2010, Lamb appeared in Gavin & Stacey playing Gavin's father, Michael "Mick" Shipman. He returned to the role for a Christmas special in 2019 and again for the show finale in 2024.

In 2008, Lamb began playing Archie Mitchell, the father of Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell in EastEnders. He based his portrayal of Archie on his own father. He left the show in April 2009, but returned in July the same year, around the same time that Danniella Westbrook returned to her role of Archie's niece, Sam Mitchell. Archie was killed off in a murder story line at Christmas, 2009. In 2009, Lamb starred alongside Liam Cunningham in Blood: The Last Vampire, in the role of General McKee. On 19 February 2010, Lamb appeared with his son, George Lamb, in EastEnders Live: The Aftermath, after Stacey Slater was revealed to be Archie's killer in the closing moments of the 25th-anniversary live episode.

In April 2011, BBC Learning launched "Off By Heart Shakespeare", a school-recital contest for secondary school pupils. For the project, Larry took on the role of Jaques from the play As You Like It, and delivered the speech: "All the world's a stage".

It was announced that Lamb would join the cast of New Tricks as Ted Case in series 12.

Lamb's films include Buster and Essex Boys. In 1983, he had a small speaking role in Superman III.

In September 2023, Lamb appeared in the Channel 5 drama series The Inheritance, appearing alongside Samantha Bond, Jemima Rooper, Gaynor Faye, Robert James-Collier and Adil Ray.

Theatre

Theatre work includes:

Other work

In 2013, Lamb began presenting a regular Sunday morning show on LBC. He is an occasional reporter for the BBC programme The One Show. Lamb took part in Gareth's All Star Choir in 2014, as part of the BBC's Children in Need appeal.

In 2016, he appeared in the sixteenth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. He became the 6th celebrity to be voted out of the jungle in the 2016 series.

Personal life

Lamb's first marriage was to Anita Wisbey, with whom he had a daughter, Vanessa Lamb (born 1969). Lamb stated on I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! that Vanessa has a daughter. Lamb's second marriage was to Linda Martin, with whom he has a son, radio DJ and television presenter George Lamb (born 1979).

Lamb was in a relationship with Clare Burt from 1996 to 2014. They had two daughters, Eloise Alexandra (born 1998), and Eva-Mathilde (born 2003). As of 2017, Lamb resided in Cornwall, and was in a relationship with artist Marie Hugo.

Lamb's autobiography Mummy's Boy was published in 2011. In 2025 he published his debut novel All Wrapped Up.

Awards and nominations

Lamb won the award for Best Villain at the 2010 British Soap Awards.

Bibliography

—— (2011). Mummy's Boy (autobiography). Coronet Books. ISBN 978-1444715279.

—— (2025). All Wrapped Up (novel). Softwood Books. ISBN 9781838173562.

Larry Lamb at Biogs.com