Larry Lamb discussed potentially returning to EastEnders after his brutal exit
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Larry Lamb, who played villain Archie Mitchell in EastEnders, has discussed the idea of making a comeback to the soap, despite his character’s death 16 years ago.

Archie’s life came to an end on Christmas Day in 2009 when he was hit over the head by an unknown culprit at the time.

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His death sparked a gripping whodunit storyline at the time, with Archie’s own daughters Ronnie (Samantha Womack) and Roxy (Rita Simons) Mitchell included in the mix of names suspected.

Following more weeks of speculation, Stacey Fowler (Lacey Turner) eventually confessed to the crime.

Despite Archie being killed off, it wouldn’t be the first time EastEnders has brought characters back who viewers believed were dead previously.

When asked about the possibility of reprising his role, the 77-year-old actor shared: “The thing is, there’s all sorts of reasons why some characters could come back and others not.

“I think old Archie Mitchell was a bit too much of a baddie.”

Archie’s time on the show was marked by scandalous plots, which included setting fire to the Queen Vic, deceiving his wife Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor) and scheming against his own family.

Larry Lamb’s character Archie Mitchell

Larry Lamb’s character Archie Mitchell was brutally killed off in December 2009
Should he ever reappear in Walford, Larry suggests he wouldn’t last long due to his character’s criminal past.

“He would arrive and be arrested on the spot and that’d be the end,” he said.

“He’d spend the whole coming episodes in jail for everything he did. He’s a bad apple that one.”

Quizzed on whether his character could make a U-turn on his behaviour, he added: “You never know.”

Larry previously shared feelings of disappointment regarding his character’s departure, though said he understood why the decision was made.

He told the Daily Express: “At the time it was a great regular job and I’d have been happy to stay there forever. But your careers got to move on. There’s other fish to fry.”

Larry, who is now more widely known for his role as Mick Shipman in Gavin and Stacey, added: “I was fortunate in that I had a terrific character to play. The character had bite and was real.”

EastEnders returns tonight at 7.30pm on BBC One.