Larry Lamb Q&A: 'Playing Mick Shipman has made me a better man'

New Statesman​

30-04-2025

Illustration by Kristian Hammerstad
Larry Lamb was born in Edmonton in 1947. He is an actor and radio presenter, known for his role of Mick Shipman in Gavin & Stacey. He appeared on I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in 2016.
What's your earliest memory?
One steady thing, among all the chaos of my childhood: all the wider family would gather together at the Rose and Crown pub and we kids would sit around eating crisps and drinking what we called kids' cocktails.
Who are your heroes?
In childhood probably Desperate Dan from the Dandy because he could eat a whole cow pie while holding the horns. As an adult, Barack Obama. He comes across as an admirable, honest person who did his best to do as much good as he could.
What book last changed your thinking?
I was listening to a podcast about espionage, and the CIA man being interviewed happened to mention a book by a colleague of his, David McCloskey. He said that if you ever want to know what that world is like, read David's book Damascus Station – and so I did. And it quashed any interest in becoming a spy I ever had!
What would be your Mastermind specialist subject?
Perhaps geography and world capitals. I've travelled the lot in my decades-long career, and I love looking at maps, so I think this would be my best chance.
Who would paint your portrait?
My two daughters, Eva and Eloise, to draw their version of me. That would be interesting, to see how your children perceive you.
In which time and place, other than your own, would you like to live?
I don't think there's any better time than where we are now! You can look back on other periods with interest – and I do – but our living conditions are so much better now. I wouldn't want to be living at any time other than the present.
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What TV show could you not live without?
Gavin & Stacey – it's been a pivotal moment in my life and a real pleasure to play Mick Shipman, who is so loved by so many. Playing him has made me a better man too.
What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?
My son's mother telling me that under no circumstances must I ever bully or dominate our son, unless I wanted to have a relationship with him like the one I had with my father. That was without a doubt the most important piece of advice I was ever given, and I followed it to the letter.
What's currently bugging you?
I'm 77, and I hope to live to 100. But I know it's going to bug me that, when it's my time to go, I still won't know everything.
What single thing would make your life better?
Winning the lottery – I'm just a regular sort of a guy!
When were you happiest?
Right now. The older I get, the more I love life. I understand it more than I ever did, I appreciate it more than I ever did, and I appreciate those around me more than I ever did.
In another life, what job might you have chosen?
Being a lumberjack. It's my favourite job, cutting a log in pieces, and when they've matured and dried out, taking a big axe and splitting them.
Are we all doomed?
It's too easy to say yes, but I don't believe that. Sometimes, reading the news, it might appear that we are all doomed – but there are always forces for good and who come out of the chaos. The world is a big place. Something's got to go pretty black for all eight billion people to be doomed.
Larry Lamb will be at the Fleet Street Quarter Festival of Words on 17 May; click here to find out more. His novel 'All Wrapped Up' is published by Softwood Books
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