George Lamb

Summary

George Martin Lamb (born 20 December 1979) is an English radio and television presenter. In 2012, he presented the Channel 4 game show The Bank Job. He is the son of actor Larry Lamb.

George Lamb
Born
George Martin Lamb

(1979-12-20) 20 December 1979 (age 44)
EducationSt Christopher School, Letchworth Garden City
OccupationTelevision and radio presenter
Years active2007–2012, 2015–2018
ParentLarry Lamb (father)

Education edit

Born in Hammersmith, West London,[1][2] Lamb was educated at St Christopher School, a boarding independent school in Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire.

Career edit

Radio edit

Lamb's career peaked with presenting an eponymous daytime BBC Radio 6 Music show, for two years from October 2007 to November 2009,[3] before being moved the early weekend mornings for 6 months, then leaving 6 Music in May 2010.[4] His show mixed shock jock banter with his Ministry of Sound DJ co-host, Marc Hughes.[5]

Lamb's last known radio work was a 2010 Starbucks-sponsored Spotify slot[6] and a brief stint at TalkSport.[7]

Television edit

Lamb's television career started in 2007 when he replaced Alex Zane as the host of the second series of BBC reality show Celebrity Scissorhands and returned in 2008 for the third series. He has also presented The Restaurant, Road To V and Young Butcher of the Year, as parodied on Harry Hill's TV Burp, and also parodied by Ray Peacock and Ed Gamble on The Peacock and Gamble Podcast.[8]

Lamb was the presenter of Big Brother's Little Brother (or BBLB) from mid-2008, taking over from Dermot O'Leary who had presented BBLB since 2001. He first presented the show with co-host Zezi Ifore, though she was sacked halfway through the series, leaving Lamb the sole presenter. For the final series of BBLB in 2010, Emma Willis joined Lamb as co-presenter. Willis moved with Big Brother to Channel 5 when the rights were bought from Channel 4, however Lamb did not.

In Jul 2009, Lamb presented a programme on BBC Three exploring the world of legal party pills and herbal highs.[9][10]

On 19 February 2010, he presented EastEnders Live: The Aftermath alongside Kirsten O'Brien, interviewing the cast and production team after the first live episode of EastEnders.

He took part in a reality TV show on ITV2 called The Parent Trip with his father, actor Larry Lamb. On 31 March 2011, he appeared in an episode of Celebrity Juice with his dad.

Lamb also took part in Channel 4's game show The Million Pound Drop Live on 29 October 2010, alongside his father, Larry Lamb. They survived the final question with £50,000 for the charity Plan. In 2012, Lamb presented the Channel 4 game show The Bank Job.

In 2017, George presented In Solitary: The Anti-Social Experiment, a Channel 5 entertainment show that involves three members of the public being locked up in solitary confinement for 5 days. George hosts and also participates. In 2018, Lamb returned to present Celebs In Solitary, in which Anthea Turner, Professor Green, Eddie Hall, and Shazia Mirza attempt to spend five days in solitary confinement.[11]

Personal life edit

Lamb was born in West London to an English father, actor Larry Lamb, and a Scottish mother, Linda Martin from Dundee[12] and grew up in Fulham.[1] He has three sisters; Vanessa Clare Lamb born in 1969, Eloise Alexandra Lamb, born in 1998, and Eva-Mathilde Lamb, born in 2003.[13] He supports Dundee United[14] and Fulham.[15][16][17] Lamb is also known for his trademark grey hair.

In March 2010, he supported Global Cool by going on a flight-free holiday to Barcelona with his friend and fellow TV presenter Rick Edwards.[18]

In 2019, Lamb and Andy Cato founded Wildfarmed, a network of farmers who practice regenerative agriculture.[19] The pair met in Ibiza in 2013, when Lamb took a break from his media career after becoming disillusioned with it.[20]

BBC 6 Music controversies edit

Lamb's former 6 Music show proved controversial, being atypical of 6 Music – for example, its shock jock style encroached upon youth-oriented BBC Radio 1's daytime public service remit. It marked a significant diversion from 6 Music's principally novel, trans-era eclectic-musicologistic origins and tradition. This gambit proved controversial, driving an attrition of 6 Music's long time listeners and provoking rival petitioning websites: anti- GetLambOut.org.UK[21] and pro- KeepLambIn.co.UK.[22] Similarly, national media reviews were polarised.[23][24] Radio veteran Paul Gambaccini said Lamb's interview with Ray Davies of The Kinks was "worst interview in the history of broadcasting".[25]

In May 2008, Lamb was reprimanded for pledging his support on air for Boris Johnson in the London mayoral race.[26] In 2014, he criticised the BBC, claiming "You can't have opinions at the Beeb".[27]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Philby, Charlotte (23 January 2010). "My Secret Life: George Lamb, broadcaster, 30". The Independent. London.
  2. ^ "Search Results for England & Wales Births 1837-2006".
  3. ^ Tryhorn, Chris (2 November 2009). "George Lamb to leave 6Music daytime slot". Guardian.co.UK. London: The Guardian.
  4. ^ Plunkett, John (24 May 2010). "George Lamb to leave BBC 6 Music". Guardian.co.UK. London: The Guardian.
  5. ^ "[Marc Hughes] biography". theDJlist.com. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  6. ^ Plunkett, John (17 September 2010). "George Lamb to front Spotify show". Guardian.co.UK. London: The Guardian.
  7. ^ Rostron-Pike, Nick (8 June 2011). "George Lamb joins talkSPORT for new weekend show". talkSport. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Official Website". Peacock and Gamble. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  9. ^ Moody, Paul (3 July 2009). "George Lamb took viewers on a trip in Can I Get High Legally?". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  10. ^ "BBC Three - Can I Get High Legally?". Bbc.co.uk. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2012.(subscription required)[dead link]
  11. ^ Celebs in Solitary: Meltdown - Channel 5, Retrieved on October 23, 2018
  12. ^ Greenaway, Heather (17 January 2010). "Exclusive: George Lamb's pride as dad Larry stages major comeback". Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  13. ^ Barton, Laura (16 June 2008). "Is this really the most hated man on radio?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  14. ^ "George Lamb". BBC Radio 6 Music. 11 November 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2008.[dead link]
  15. ^ "George Lamb". BBC Radio 6 Music. 13 March 2009. Retrieved 13 March 2009.[dead link]
  16. ^ "Big Brother". Channel 4. 10 September 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  17. ^ "Exclusive: George Lamb's pride as dad Larry stages major comeback". The Daily Record. 17 January 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  18. ^ "Rick and George's Traincation diary". Global Cool. UK: Global Cool Foundation. 29 March 2010. Archived from the original on 14 January 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  19. ^ Scott, Caroline (25 January 2023). "George and Larry Lamb on the power of quitting". Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  20. ^ Golfar, Fiona (20 October 2021). "Flour power: three men and a farming revolution". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  21. ^ "Get George Lamb off 6 Music". GetLambOut.org.UK. Archived from the original on 16 May 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2013. Total Signatures to Date = 5448
  22. ^ "Keep George Lamb on 6 Music". KeepLambIn.co.UK. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2013. Total Signatures: 2186 Petition started 2:00 PM - 06/03/08
  23. ^ Lezard, Nicholas (6 April 2008). "Hark! Is that the sound of the nation switching off its sets?". The Independent. London. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  24. ^ "Russell who? George Lamb is the future of radio". London: Independent.co.uk. 5 November 2008. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  25. ^ Plunkett, John (22 December 2008). "'I don't feel I have betrayed anyone'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  26. ^ McNally, Paul (13 May 2008). "6Music's Lamb warned over Boris gaffe". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  27. ^ Morgan, Ben (13 August 2014). "Opinions are banned at the BBC, says former 6 Music DJ George Lamb as he sets up his own Hackney-based radio station". Evening Standard. London. Retrieved 3 February 2016.

External links edit