Larry Lamb has revealed that he based his portrayal of evil Archie Mitchell on his own dad.

The 66 year old actor described his own father as a screwed up and emotionally damaged man. He told The Mirror:

“From the start I based Archie Mitchell on my father. My dad was a very screwed up man and emotionally damaged from his childhood. He had a terrible relationship with his own father and I imagine it was the same for the generations before that.

“Just like Archie, my dad was absolutely convinced of his rightness and his sanity and thought he was completely justified in everything he did. Everybody else is at fault, but he’s fine.

“Archie is the same. As far as he’s concerned, he’s perfectly sane. But the truth is, he’s twisted. That twisted, dark, nasty side of me comes from my father. He was a skilled psychological bully. He would loom over me and threaten, threaten, threaten. I lived in fear of him. He was a crazy man.”

Archie Mitchell will leave Eastenders this Christmas and Lamb filmed his final scenes last week.