Family of telly favourite Larry Lamb fear demands of I’m A Celebrity jungle will be too much for the aging star
LARRY LAMB is one of the oldest contestants ever to go into the I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here jungle.
And that mixed with a long line of illnesses means the 69-year-old had to get his family's permission to sign up at all.
The telly veteran - famous for his stints as Archie Mitchell in Eastenders and Mick Shipman in Gavin and Stacey - has chronic knee and hip pain, and nearly lost his hearing due to a bout of malaria.
It means viewers have his kids - including fellow telly host GEORGE LAMB - to thank for him agreeing to fly to Oz.
Talking as he arrived at Brisbane airport yesterday, the actor said: "It's a family business. Everybody had to agree that it was ok for the old boy to do it. We had a family meeting."
Last year's surprise contestant was LADY C, who Larry dated in the Seventies after she split from husband LORD COLIN CAMPBELL.
But he hasn't had her on the phone for words of advice. He said: "We've not spoken about it to tell the truth. We were friends back in the Seventies and Eighties so it was a bit of a coincidence.
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"I've known plenty of other people that have been on it over the years. To be perfectly honest it is always fascinating to watch. Most of these people I've met at some time."
But he ruled out any soap style drama, and said he won't put the younger contestants in their place if there's a disagreement.
He added: "It won't be anything to do with me. It's not my part. It's bad enough being the old one."
Let's see if he sticks to that after three weeks of basic rations.