Geroge Lamb Interview - Big Brother 10

Big Brother is ten years old this year. Have you always been a fan of the show?
I was a fan at the beginning, but I’ve not been a fan of anything for a full 10 years, to be honest! So I didn’t always watch every episode of every series, but it’s kind of omnipresent – you’re always aware of what’s going on, and the last few weeks can draw you in. It’s a phenomenal beast, really.

The show’s always evolving, isn’t it?
When it first started, it was more of a social experiment – that’s what it felt like – it was like watching research in a science lab, and watching the way people reacted. Then I think there was a point where people were going in with game plans and it all became a bit contrived. So I think the answer to that is that Big Brother has to up its game. There were a couple of years in the middle where maybe they didn’t know how to respond to the people coming in with game plans, but now they’ve figured out how to do that. Certainly the last few years, they’ve got it right back on track. When I came in last year, people were saying “Oh, Big Brother’s over,” and the production team certainly showed that it’s not over. They put it back on the map a bit. I think that was down to the tasks and the people they picked.

And of course it was down to the new presenter of BBLB, as well!
Yeah, that’s what a lot of people were saying, of course! No, I don’t think I had anything to do with the success of the show last year, but BBLB was a lot of fun and we had a nice time doing it. It was always going to be tough taking over from Dermot, it was definitely his show. As a presenter, I’ve found over the years that the longer you do a show the better it becomes. You have to get into the psyche of the people watching the show, and they don’t like anything that’s unfamiliar. But every time I get into a taxi now or I’m in a café or whatever, someone will say “I really enjoyed it. I wasn’t sure about you at the beginning, but I really like you now.” So I’m really looking forward to doing it again, for sure.

You mentioned Dermot. BBLB was his baby, for a long time. It must be quite a difficult balance for you to strike, wanting to put your own stamp on it, but also wanting to keep a sense of continuity.
I think the format dictates that continuity. Ultimately you have to come out all guns blazing and do it your way. There were two of us doing it when we started out last time, and we were always going to be finding our feet a little bit, but I certainly feel like in the latter part of the summer, and then during Celebrity Big Brother.

I felt like I was on it, and I got it, and I knew it inside out. It’s that familiarity with the show and the format that allows you to feel comfortable and do whatever you want with it. You’re not going to try anything out of the ordinary at the beginning, because people are waiting for you to fall flat on your face.

Do you get involved in coming up with a lot of the different ideas for the show?
Not that much. You help fine-tune the ideas, but it moves too quickly, there’s too much to do. We’ve got four teams on Little Brother alone, and they’re working days in advance. They’re absolutely glued to what’s going on in the Big Brother house. I might chip in the odd idea, but I certainly can’t take the credit for all the good work that they do.

Who have been the best guests that you’ve had on the show?
I know he’s almost like a regular contributor, but I love Iain Lee. I had a really good rap with him, he came back every week and we built a really nice relationship, so that was a lot of fun. Tito Jackson was quite interesting – it’s a bit odd to be talking to one of the Jacksons, but I’ve always been a fan. What else? Lisa from last year – man that was a weird experience! Most people when they come on to the show you have five or ten minutes, you have nice exchanges, you may not have each other in absolute stitches or get to know each other that well, but there’s always a pleasant vibe. But Lisa was a very peculiar lady. She was kind of in awe of the whole set up. “I can’t believe I’m on BBLB.” “Well, you are on BBLB, and now you need to talk to me!” I’d ask her a question, and she’d just be totally spaced out. It was really surreal.

How do you stay on top of what’s going on in the house?
I watch it. A lot.

Every night?
I watch it in the day, just before we do our dress rehearsal.

I imagine you don’t have a lot of time in the summer, what with BBLB and your 6 Music radio show.
I have no free time. None!

How did that go last summer? You must have been shattered.
I didn’t know I was getting Big Brother, so I’d already signed up for a fashion show with ITV. I was doing Monday to Friday Big Brother and the radio, Saturdays on the fashion show, and then Sunday on Big Brother again. I was in bits. I had three days off all summer. It was horrible. I’m not doing that again. I’ve got every Saturday off. You’ve got to be fit to do it all. I was hiking in Nepal just before last summer. This time I’m trying to sign up to the New York marathon, so I’ve got a real impetus to get fit and get in good shape. I should be okay, I’m a young boy. There are guys out there breaking roads for 14-hours-a-day. I think I should be alright.

You get to stamp your own personality on BBLB. Is that one of the things you like about the show?
Yeah, definitely. When you first start, you’re just another of these presenters who comes out and says the words at the right time and smiles at the right points. Then gradually you feel like you can be stupid and beckon the camera over where you want it to go and stuff. The guys who do BBLB have been doing it for ever, so they’re totally cool to free-form and wing it a little bit. To be a presenter, I think you have to be as you are in your own living room. The kind of presenter I want to be is like that, a lot more open and genuine. And when you first start, if you trip up, you freeze. Now, if I trip up, I just make it a gag, its part of the show. You just have to roll with it.

Your dad is Larry Lamb, who plays Archie in EastEnders and Mick in Gavin & Stacey. When you’re out together, who gets more people coming up to them?
Oh, dad, in a heartbeat! Archie Mitchell is royalty. I was at the airport a few weeks ago, and there were two young lads, and one of them said “Hello, George, how are you doing?” and we had a chat. And his mate said “Who’s that?” And he said “Oh, it’s George Lamb, he does Big Brother and Radio 6...” he named half my resume, basically, and his mate went “Nah. No idea.” And he said “You know, he’s Archie Mitchell’s son.” And the guy went “Oh my GOD, you’re Archie Mitchell’s son, oh my GOD!” So Archie’s winning hands down, for sure.

I read your dad cried when he heard you’d got the BBLB job. Is that true?
Chances are, yeah. He cries quite easily. He just gets hyped about watching his son go off and do well, as any parent does. He was massively happy. I’m sure he did cry, actually.

Does he watch the show?
Yeah, a bit. He watches it to critique me more than anything. My mum always says ‘It’s too fast paced, there’s too much jumping around’. But it’s not really geared for a 60+ audience. But they watch it to support me, and they come down and watch me. He films just round the corner at the BBC, so he pops in and says hello.

Your outfits on the show got a fair amount of attention. You’ve got a fine line in tailoring, don’t you?
Yes. All my own work! No, it’s all down to that fellow over there, Sauvage [points to a dapper-looking gentleman leaning against a wall] who’s my stylist. What happened recently was that he went down to my agent’s to talk about another one of his clients, and a bunch of people who work there saw him leave. And they told me later “This really stylish black guy came in, he had to bow tie, he had the trousers rolled up, he was properly on your style.” And I thought “Yeah, he’ll love that!” It’s his doing, not mine! He’s all over fashion, and thinking about ways to push it forward a little bit. When I first wore the bow ties there was a whole hoo-ha about it. But this year, all of the windows have got bow ties and braces in them. People like Sauvage can always spot the trends really early. And I’m fortunate enough to be able to benefit from his knowledge. It’s good to do something a bit different. There’s nothing wrong with just a great suit and looking smart, but not every day. You’ve got to put a little bit of a twist on it.

What are your hopes for BBLB this summer?
I hope it’s as much fun as the last six or eight weeks of last summer were, and as fun as Celebrity was. I loved going into work and doing that stuff. I love the buzz of doing live television. I stand in the same place every day, and the same dude counts me down, ‘Five, four, three, two, one, you’re live!’ and you just launch into it. I hope everybody enjoys it, I hope it’s not too contrived in the house, I hope everybody has fun. You can’t really do much if they’re not doing much. So more than anything I hope they’re having a nice time in the house. If they’re having a nice time, we’re going to have a great time.

Or, alternatively, if they’re not having a nice time, we can enjoy that too.
Yeah, that’s true. Whatever. Just as long as they’re having a time. But a boring time is no good. So long as they’re having fun or rucking a lot, we’ll have a great time.