Actor Larry Lamb, 78, is best known for his roles on the TV shows Gavin & Stacey, EastEnders and New Tricks, writes Peter Robertson. He has also appeared in the Superman movies and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here.
A twice-divorced father of four, including the presenter George Lamb, Larry lives in north London with actress Clare Burt, his former partner and the mother of his two youngest daughters.
What did your parents teach you about money?
Absolutely nothing, because nobody had ever taught them. My father Ronald had various occupations and finished up making models of industrial processing plants.
My mother Jessie was a housewife and worked in social care on the side.
The nine years I spent with them as a couple was hellish, and then fortunately they split and my brother and I went to live with our paternal nan. Money was something you earned and spent on living.
What was your first pay packet?
My father paid me to peel potatoes in the machine at the back of the fish and chip shop he was running when I was about seven.
Smart moves: Larry Lamb admits to being a spender – but not in any flamboyant, excessive way
Every time I peeled a hundredweight of potatoes, I earned about enough to buy a Mars bar. When I left school, my first pay packet was for being a lorry driver’s mate. My first real salary was £20 a week as a corrosion control technician in North Africa. That was good.
Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?
In 1969/70, when I was working in Germany as a correspondence course and encyclopaedia salesman, I was on commission but wasn’t very good at selling.
The ends were far apart and didn’t want to meet. I was living hand to mouth. But that was the only time I found myself financially stretched. In the end I gave it up and went back to what I knew I could do – working as a labourer on a building site.
Have you ever been paid silly money?
I’ve certainly done jobs where I’ve earned what I’d consider to be a good wage, but I’ve never done one of those things where they pay you to turn up at a party.
The jobs have come through my agents and they’ve been for acting or appearing at something.
What was the best year of your financial life?
It might well be when I’d just come out of EastEnders and Gavin & Stacey, and then got boosted by doing I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2016.
All my money has come from what I’ve earned in entertainment.
Gavin & Stacey was an experiment, so we were always on a very low salary.
Nobody knew how it was going to work, so a low budget was applied to it from the start. Everyone was in the same boat. You certainly weren’t doing it for the money – you were doing it because you loved the project and the people.
Are you a spender or saver?
I’m definitely a spender. Not in any flamboyant, excessive way. I don’t drive a fancy car. Yet I’ve always managed to get through everything I’ve earned.
I like going to nice restaurants if somebody else is paying.
I like to buy good food and cook at home. Not holidays – I get around in what I do.
I go to the theatre now and then if there’s a friend doing something. But I write, I read and I’m busy.
Family ties: Larry pictured with Mathew Horne and Alison Steadman – the Shipmans from Gavin & Stacey
What’s the most expensive thing you bought for fun?
I don’t buy things for fun. I’ve never had a new car. A car is a function thing for me. I drive a Honda Jazz which, if you’re in London, is a joy because you can squeeze it in and find somewhere to park.
I once invested in a proper dinner suit, but most of the time, if you’re working on contemporary stuff, they’ll often let you have a good deal or sometimes even give you the gear you’re wearing.
I’ve got loads of clothes, most of which I never wear.
What has been your biggest money mistake?
I bought a share in the first Holmes Place health club in Fulham, west London.
Unfortunately I did not hold on to it – and cashed in my investment too soon, and it was eventually purchased by Virgin.
I never made anything out of it and do not really want to figure out how much I lost out by not keeping the share longer.
The best money decision you’ve made?
The first time I bought a house was when I was living in Canada – from 1973 to 1975. That was a pretty good investment then.
I was in Canada because I’d worked for an engineering company in the oil business in Philadelphia, and they transferred me to Nova Scotia to run their business there.
I was making good money and needed a place to live, so I bought myself a newly-built two-bedroom ranch-style house on the edge of a little village that happened to be called Enfield – same as the area of north London that I came from.
I love Canada, and that was one of the best times of my life.
Do you have a pension?
I have a tiny one, and a state pension. I keep working because I have to.
Do you own any property?
For years I’ve had a little place in Normandy and, before Brexit, the idea was that I’d retire there. I try to nip over when I can. Fortunately I speak French – I went to grammar school and it was the only thing I was good at.
What would you have done if acting hadn’t worked out?
I might have gone back to something I did before acting, like working in the oil business.
Somebody said to me ‘you should be an actor’, and took me along to a local amateur theatre company. I started to get interested in it and it became a hobby.
The hobby followed me around the world – wherever I was working, I would join a group or club.
Then, when I was doing plays with theatre groups in Nova Scotia, an opportunity came up to audition for professional theatre.
Early acting work included being a hired help in the background of Superman films – I’d got to know Christopher Reeve at the health club and he recommended me. He was a really lovely guy. It’s tragic what happened to him.
If you were Chancellor, what would you do?
Make sure nobody like me ever got to run the country’s finances! At a celebration of all things Welsh at 10 Downing Street on St David’s Day this year, I met Sir Keir Starmer – nice guy, interesting man. I wouldn’t have his job for all the tea in China!
What is your No.1 financial priority?
Earning a living. Always has been. I’m not renowned for my savings. I’ve not got acting work lined up at the moment, but I’ve published a novel, All Wrapped Up, and I’m writing poetry again.
- Larry and his son George have partnered with Ecover and Tetris on a campaign to break the cycle of wasteful dishwashing habits (ecover.com).
