This is Somerset --If you're feeling a little flat and lacking in sparkle in this dreary new year, a chat with George Lamb is an ideal pick me-up. It would be a hard-hearted soul who could resist this TV and radio presenter's charm – all geezer, cheeky chappy and infectious energy.
He certainly needs the latter too, because this is a man with fingers in many pies. Thanks to his lean, handsome looks, his trademark quiff of grey hair and his chic style, 34-year-old Lamb is a magnet for brand endorsements – the latest being a new drink, the R&G, a combination of Remy Martin VSOP and ginger.
On top of that, he has also recently launched an interiors guide with Hygena to help men who are buying or renting a home, he's in a long-standing partnership with Adrien Sauvage who specialises in men's tailoring, he's involved in a new restaurant in Ibiza – and we haven't even got started on his showbusiness career.
"I love being busy and having lots of interests in different things which means no day's the same and there's always fresh challenges and priorities," says Lamb.
"My parents had the foresight to tell me when I was growing up that it's a very big world out there which made me aware of looking at the big picture and being open to opportunities. My dad's an actor but my mum was an entrepreneur who had numerous businesses when I was a kid so I guess it's in the blood. I'm always willing to try new things."
Lamb is the son of EastEnders and Gavin And Stacey actor, Larry, and was brought up in west London. He found fame presenting a show on BBC 6 Music, but his TV break came when he took over from Dermot O'Leary as the presenter of Channel 4's Big Brother's Little Brother in 2008.
"TV really happened by accident," he explains. "I was renting a desk in an office next to a TV company and one of the executive's came over one day and said 'you've always got a lot to say for yourself, why don't you give presenting a go?' I was young, super-confident, on the outside at least, and took the chance. It was scary but worth it."
It certainly won 6ft 5in Lamb a legion of female admirers, and his status as a pin-up is now very firmly cemented. It's clear, though, that – admitting "secretly, I think I'm fat, I have to work very hard just to maintain the status quo"– he isn't buying into any of it.
"I got lots of ladies coming up to me saying, 'I love you'... and I'd just say, 'right, OK, yeah'," he smiles, with a slightly embarrassed shrug.
"It's all that thing about celebrity isn't it? Just because you're on the television people go 'wow' but it's important to realise it's not really about you the person or your work, it's just the recognition factor. Sometimes it was a bit much even though most people are really nice.
"But you do question the fact society has created this way of celebrating celebrity, which is a nonsense really."
It hasn't always been a celebration for Lamb though, who's faced his fair share of career hurdles on the way to success.
Take, for example, his big passion for music, and how he discovered the singer Lily Allen in Ibiza and became her manager, only to be unable to get her a record deal at the time, then see her shoot to stardom later.
His debut on BBC 6 Music in 2007 was not a resounding success either. He received harsh reviews and, at one stage, internet petitions even called for his resignation. But he persevered, and eventually won the Sony DAB Rising Star award, his ratings climbed and he stayed three years.
His new-found maturity – "getting older is great, I feel I am a man now, not a boy any more"– has also enabled him to commit to his long-term on-off girlfriend, glamorous actress Karima Adebibe, 28, who was the seventh model for Lara Croft in the video game series Tomb Raider.
"We've had an on-and-off relationship for the last five years but six months ago we got back together. We're in love and I'm happier than I've ever been relationship-wise," he says.
The couple live together in a converted factory in Hackney, East London, and he says they will eventually marry and have a family.
"She's definitely the woman I want to spend my life with and I'm totally committed to her. I'm sure at some point we'll have some kind of a ceremony, although it might be a Buddhist one or say the vows and have a party on a beach somewhere.
"I think the right partner makes you a better person. We have a great time together and when it comes down to it loving, learning and, of course, having a laugh is really what life's about." Reported by This is 3 days ago.