Larry Lamb revealed he gave up drinking alcohol as his hangovers got worse with age.
The former EastEnders actor opened up about his past habits in a new interview as the on-screen star admitted he had to «knock it on the head».
«I gave it up because the hangovers started to get so intense. I thought, ‘I’m not doing this any more.’ That was it. I just knocked it on the head,» he told Radio Times. «It was no big deal – I wouldn’t have considered myself a problem drinker.»
He added: «As I got older, the effects it had on me got stronger and stronger. It was just obvious – ‘I’ve got to stop doing this’.»
After decades of heavy drinking and partying, Larry gave up alcohol in 2008 and admitted he feels “really great” for it.
He previously told The Sun: “I just drank too much when I was younger. It was just something you did.
“I got into my sixties and I went, ‘You know, I’ve had enough of this. I can’t deal with these nine-day hangovers’.
“It’s just unbearable and I knew I had to stop.”
The on-screen star also addresses his decision to give up drinking in a new documentary about the much-beloved show Gavin & Stacey.
While the 75-year-old revealed there are no plans for a reboot of the comedy favourite, he has reunited with his co-star Alison Steadman in a new travel series.
Alison & Larry: Billericay to Barry is a new series that will see the pair, known to many as Pam and Mick, take a trip down memory lane as they visit famous locations that featured on Gavin & Stacey, including Barry in Wales and Billericay in Essex.
The three-part series will see the pair make the 210 mile journey and will air on Gold this year.
Speaking about the show, Larry mused: «It felt like unfinished business, particularly going to Billericay. In Gavin & Stacey, Barry got lots of attention, and Billericay was the poor relation.
«Both have become such famous places. I thought it was a great idea, and I couldn’t think of anybody other than Alison I’d like to do the trip with… well, probably one or two!
Alison added to the same publication: «It didn’t feel like work.
«We were on a road trip together, we didn’t have lines to learn and there were no tiffs. Every day was an adventure.»
You can read the full interview in this week’s Radio Times out now.
