'You've only got one body and you better look after it'

Larry Lamb talks to Lauren Taylor about health in later life, writing poetry and living alone

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ACTOR and writer Larry Lamb says he's learned the importance of taking care of his body later in life, saying: “You've really got to respect the fact you've only got one of them and you better look after it.”

Eight or nine years ago he underwent surgery to correct nerve damage of 20 years before by “doing up houses, building stuff, being active but not taking care of my body”, the 78-year-old says. “If you're doing heavy lifting and carrying and all the rest of it, you better do something about the way you lift and carry. And put a protective belt on so your lower back is guarded. I didn’t do any of that.

“It’s a very slow process for the nerve system to pick up and get going the way that it then should.”

The Gavin & Stacey star, who played Mick Shipman in the hit BBC series by James Corden and Ruth Jones, exercises every day. “I get on my bike, I swim every day, I do a bit of yoga. The buoyancy factor is enormous with water [when swimming], so your body’s not taking the strain that it is when you're walking.

“I try and keep myself as fit and active as I possibly can, because that’s the only chance you get. I eat carefully, I don’t drink anymore, I want to live a long time.”

The actor, who only started his TV career in his late 20s, became best known for his iconic role as Archie Mitchell in EastEnders until the character was dramatically killed off on Christmas Day 2009.

Being in his 70s, “you're confronted” by the realities of health and how you've looked after it throughout life, he notes. “Everything takes much longer the older you get.