Larry Lamb says the Gavin and Stacey return is like a family reunion

Larry Lamb says filming the ‘Gavin and Stacey’ special has been like being reunited with a long lost "family".
The 71-year-old actor – who plays Mick Shipman in the hit BBC comedy series – admits being back with his cast mates 10 years after the last episode of the show aired has been "lovely" and insisted that while shooting three seasons in a "family situation" the stars all formed an "intense" bond with one another which is still there.
Speaking on ‘Loose Women’, he said: "It’s always funny when you go and do something that you’ve done with a load of actors before because the thing is that with a family situation with actors, you do actually become a family.
"It’s so intense and you’re together a lot and you become a family and there we were all together again in the room together for the first time in 10 years it was lovely."
James Corden and Ruth Jones – who created the sitcom and play Smithy and Nessa Jenkins, alongside Mathew Horne and Joanna Page in the title roles – announced earlier this year that they would be bringing the much-loved show back for a one-off Christmas special.
Former ‘EastEnders’ star Larry admitted it was very hard for him to not let the surprise slip that the programme was returning as he knew about it months in advance to the announcement.
Although he is staying tight-lipped on what happens, Larry has promised fans they will get "everything they want" from the reunion.
He said: "As far as I’m concerned the one thing that they’ve managed to do is very clever – because everybody’s waiting for it.
"Everybody’s been going on about it for 10 years, it was just at the point I was going to have a tattoo on my forehead saying ‘I don’t know, don’t ask!’ And then I get a phone call from James Corden. And then I have to carry it around for two months until it all finally came through and then I got to read the script and really in the end what they’ve managed to do, they’ve not tried to turn it into a great big circus or something. They’ve rolled it on and there you are 10 years down the line, everything you want is gonna be there."