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Gavin and Stacey star reveals personal heartbreak over death of brother

The actor appeared on Friday's This Morning to share the story


gavin and stacey xmas© Photo: BBC
Francesca Shillcock
Senior Features Writer
August 20, 2021
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Gavin and Stacey fan-favourite Larry Lamb has opened up about his personal heartbreak following the sad passing of brother, Wes.

Appearing on Friday's This Morning, the actor, best known for playing Michael Shipman in the popular BBC sitcom, was keen to raise awareness on behalf of Macmillan Cancer Support and their upcoming coffee morning fundraiser, when he detailed the devastating few days he spent with his younger sibling before his death in 2019.

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Larry told Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford how it was a nurse from the charity who convinced the actor to reunite with Wes. 

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"When we were younger we were inseparable, but as we got older we drifted apart," he began, adding: "We went months and months and maybe a year or two when we didn't speak."

He continued: "It was a Macmillan nurse who said 'I think it'd be a very good idea if you do some bridge building.' I went in [to the hospice] and there he was, and he couldn't talk but he'd write little messages and they made me laugh. Then one day lead into another and there was a little bed in the corner and I spent the last seven days there.

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larry lamb this morning© Photo: Rex

The actor told the sad story on Friday's This Morning 

"What he wanted was support, to feel family. In the midst of one of these conversations, I was over him and he went [gestures] and I said, 'You want a kiss?', just like when we were boys."

The ex-EastEnders star also detailed the sad moment he was informed of his brother's death, and how he was not able to be present. "[The hospice] knew that the problem was I had another close friend in London, very close to the same point and I was sort of trying to do the two. They said, 'We'll hold the fort and keep in touch' and then when I went I got the call to say 'He's gone.'"

Larry then went on to express how the sad time had changed his attitude towards life. "It really changed my life. It changed my attitude to the whole thing of making amends and healing wounds that have festered for years. I'm just so grateful that [the nurses] did what they did, we hadn't spent time like that since we were boys." 

Macmillan Cancer Support's Coffee Morning is back on Friday 24th September. For information on how to get involved and to sign up search Macmillan Coffee Morning or click here

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