Lamb: 'I'd have stayed on EastEnders'

Larry Lamb has admitted that he would have continued working on EastEnders if he was asked by producers before his exit from the show last December.

The actor played Archie Mitchell from July 2008 until his character's death at Christmas, with his killer Stacey Slater being revealed last month.

Lamb told The Guardian: "I had settled in to EastEnders, because it becomes your job. I think if they'd asked me, I'd have stayed on, but I don't think that would have been a wise decision.

"When you're off that rollercoaster, you're in your own world again. It's an amazing show to be involved with, but now it feels natural for me to go back to what led me there."

Comparing his time on the soap to his current work on a stage production of Educating Rita, he added: "The turnover, the scene after scene after scene in that [EastEnders] factory.

"You're churning that stuff out, some of which can be really testing. So yes, it's interesting to come back to something like this that you can really focus on."