Larry Lamb: 'My dad was like Archie'

Larry Lamb has revealed that his father is the inspiration for his villainous EastEnders performances.

The 66-year-old actor told The Mirror that he regularly thought back to his childhood experiences when he filmed scenes as scheming Archie Mitchell on the BBC soap.

Viewers have seen Archie's sinister presence causing chaos for his family since his arrival last year. His current storyline sees him plotting to take over the Queen Vic with co-conspirator Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks).

Lamb explained: "From the start I based Archie Mitchell on my father. My dad was a very screwed up man and emotionally damaged from his childhood. 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. That twisted, dark, nasty side of me comes from my father. He was a skilled psychological bully. He would loom over me and threaten, threaten, threaten. I lived in fear of him. He was a crazy man."

The star's parents split up when he was nine years old. When his dad Ronald died in 2008, Lamb had not spoken to him for more than 15 years and chose not to attend his funeral.

He added: "Our relationship got worse and worse, year after year. It got to the point where things were never put right between us. I could never take him seriously."

Lamb filmed his final scenes on EastEnders last week. His character will bow out on screen later this year as part of a shock Christmas storyline.