Larry Lamb has compared joining the cast of ‘New Tricks’ just before it was axed to "gatecrashing your own wake".
The former ‘EastEnders’ actor – who plays detective Ted Case in the upcoming 12th and final series – has admitted he had no idea the BBC comedy drama was going to be axed when he signed up for the role.
He said: "It wasn’t the last series when I signed up. All of a sudden off it went. It was a bit weird because it was like gate-crashing your own wake.
"You’ve just go to do it anyway without a view to this being the end. You just have to get on with it."
The 67-year-old star enjoyed taking on a different type of role to his usual parts and admits he took inspiration from policeman he knows in real life.
He told ITV’s ‘This Morning’: "He’s a quirky character, he’s quite a hard-nosed individual. He doesn’t really suffer characters.
"You’re sponging all the time picking up bits."
However, the ‘Gavin & Stacey’ funnyman insists he’s not too bitter about the long-running series coming to an end just after joining because it means he can concentrate on presenting.
He added: "That’s become a number one part of my life now, I just love doing it."
Larry Lamb didn’t know it was the final New Tricks series
