12 things really worth knowing about I’m a Celebrity’s Larry Lamb

An instant hero on I’m a Celebrity… ex-Eastender and Gavin and Stacey actor Larry Lamb has had quite the life, starting ‘work’ at five and still going strong 65 years later. Here are 12 things you should know about Larry…

01Larry and Superman
Larry has appeared in not one, but two Superman films, and not the rubbish remakes either, the original, good ones with Christopher Reeve He played a journalist at the Daily Planet in Superman and then a miner in Superman III
Watch him here, from around the 55-second mark.
02A great train robber
The Superman movies weren’t his only foray onto the big screen, his film credits include Phil Collins’ Buster, where he played great train robbery mastermind Bruce Reynolds. Randomly, he also appeared in Blood: The Last Vampire, based on the 2000 anime film of the same name about a half-vampire, half-human girl.
03Encyclopedia salesman
Acting wasn’t always on his mind. He left London for Germany, aged 20, to sell encyclopedias for a living (who hasn’t done that?), but inspired by the cultured acting types he met, he returned to the UK, aged 27, as an actor.
04Boon and the Bill
Over his almost 40-year acting career, aside from Eastenders and Gavin and Stacey, Larry has appeared in what seems like almost every classic British show, including: Frost, Taggart, Boon, Lovejoy, Kavanagh QC, Midsomer Murders, Minder, Spooks, The Bill and Silent Witness, The New Avengers and The Professionals.
05A man of many languages
As a man who’s seen a bit of the world, it should be of little surprise that Larry speaks four languages: French, German, Spanish and Italian. So, whoever he meets in the jungle, he’s bound to be able to talk to them. Not sure if he speaks crocodile though.
06Larry the lion tamer
Well, it’s in his blood. The BBC Series Who Do You Think You Are revealed that Larry is descended from a family of circus performers who worked with lions. Specifically, his great-great uncle – Martini Bartlett – was renowned as the best lion tamer in Britain.
07He’s battled malaria
On a charity trip to Senegal, Larry contracted the disease through a mosquito bite and, upon his return to the UK, he suffered what he described as ‘the worst hangover in the world’ for six weeks. The disease also impacted permanently on his hearing.
08Larry and George trek Nepal
You probably know his son is DJ and presenter George Lamb, but you may not know that the pair trekked the foothills of Nepal’s Annapurna mountains in the Himalayas for Larry’s 60th birthday. The father and son are close and try to holiday together at least once a year.
09He started work at five
Larry’s parents owned a fish and chip shop, so he was put to work early, aged five – making the tea. By the age of seven, he could cut and fillet a fish. As well as the encyclopedia work (above), he’s also been a truck driver’s mate, and worked in ‘corrosion control’ in the oil industry, a job that took him to Libya, USA and Canada.
10Larry nearly wasn’t Gavin’s dad
Famed for his role in Gavin and Stacey as Mick Shipman, Larry didn’t impress the director at first, but proved he was perfect for it during a second audience with his soon-to-be onscreen wife Alison Steadman.
11He’s the voice of an alien called eric
A much sought-after voiceover artist, Larry’s latest work includes a short animation about an alien called eric.
You can view it here.

12Larry and Action for Children
Larry has been a committed supporter of Action for Children for more than five years, helping the charity (www.actionforchildren.org.uk) give vulnerable children a brighter future. He’s also a supporter of Macmillan Cancer (www.macmillan.org.uk/) and Balls to Cancer (ballstocancer.co.uk)

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