Lamb: 'EastEnders has made me reflect'

Larry Lamb has revealed that playing Archie Mitchell on EastEnders has caused him to reconsider his troubled childhood.

The 62-year-old actor had previously spoken about how he based the villainous character on his late father, who he described as a "skilled psychological bully" and a "crazy man".

However, discussing the comparison in an exclusive chat with DS, Lamb commented: "When I've been doing interviews recently, I've said that I've drawn the character on my father, which is right. But it's since made me reflect. My father wasn't entirely dark - he was a very, very funny man and could be riotously comical. But it could all turn ugly and he could become a horrifying, terrifying demon.

"That's what Archie's all about. You didn't see so much of his lighter side, though. Now and again a little of something else came through, though."

Meanwhile, the star also announced that he would now like to explore his family history for BBC genealogy show Who Do You Think You Are?.

He said: "I'd love to do one of those because my family is a bit spooky! There's darkness from both sides. You don't really know what you'd unravel, though.

"I've been writing my autobiography and I've been trying to find out more about my family. I've spoken to so many people who know where they're from but my family are a bit more transient than that. I don't really know much about them once it gets back about two generations."

Lamb's final EastEnders scenes, which see Archie murdered by a mystery attacker at The Queen Vic, will air on Christmas Day.

> Click here to read our exclusive interview with Larry Lamb
> Click here to read more from Larry Lamb in Soap Scoop