Shane Richie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Shane Richie | |
| Born | March 11, 1964 Harlesden, London, England |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Comedian, Actor, Singer and Television Presenter |
| Spouse | Christie Goddard |
Shane Richie (born Shane Patrick Roche[1], 11 March 1964[1]) is an English actor, comedian, singer and television presenter. Richie is probably best known for playing Alfie Moon in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders. On 8 May 2008 Shane said in an interview with Digital Spy, that he would love to return to EastEnders.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Born in Kensington to Irish Catholic parents[citation needed], Richie was a member of a youth theatre as a child, and began his professional career in adolescence as a bluecoat entertainer in Pontins holiday camps. He progressed to the live stand up circuit - receiving a nomination for best new stand-up at the inaugural British Comedy Awards - and made his first high-profile television appearances as one of five comics on the BBC One sketch show You Gotta Be Jokin' (1991).
He later branched out into anchoring game shows after proving successful as host of the kids' quiz show Run The Risk, which was played during the BBC Saturday morning show Going Live. He moved into mainstream presenting with Caught In The Act, Win, Lose or Draw, The Shane Richie Experience (later revamped as Love Me Do) and Lucky Numbers. He also replaced Danny Baker in the 'doorstep challenge' TV ads for Daz detergent; he had previously replaced Baker as host of Win, Lose Or Draw.
[edit] Musicals Acts
Richie was a success in musicals - including Boogie Nights and a London production of Grease. He released two albums, to limited commercial response, and almost scored a Number 1 single in the UK Singles Chart in 2003, with his Children in Need single, a cover version of Wham!'s "I'm Your Man". It occupied the top spot going into Sunday of its first week on the chart, but was eventually outsold by Will Young's "Leave Right Now".
Over Christmas 2005, Richie appeared in an acclaimed touring run of Scrooge: The Musical.
[edit] Television roles
From 2002 to 2003, Richie played villainous Danny Dexter on Night and Day. He won supporting roles in low-profile British the films Dead Clean and Distant Shadow. In 2003 he was Executive Producer for the much maligned British film Shoreditch in which he also appeared in a lead role. He invested a six-figure sum into the budget of the film, which ultimately made little profit.
As Alfie Moon, Richie received immediate acclaim for bringing humour to a programme often panned for being too depressing. The role won him numerous awards including the award for "Best Male European Actor" at the Rose D'or Festival and National Television Awards for "Most Popular Actor" in 2005, shortly before he left the programme.
In 2007, Richie starred in a new ITV1 drama The Good Samaritan, and Father Frank for BBC One. He also starred in the second series of Skins on Channel 4 as Bruce Gelcart, a perverted college drama lecturer.
It was announced on the 28th January, that Richie will be hosting a brand new music lyric quiz show on Sky One called Don't Forget The Lyrics, whereby contestants must finish off the lyrics to lines of popular songs in order to win money, in a similar way as to Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. This commenced on Sunday May 11, 2008.
On April 25, 2008, he was due to be a guest on The Paul O'Grady Show, but due to Paul falling ill, Richie had to stand in as host, and said that if Paul was still unwell on Monday then he would be back, however, O'Grady returned on the Monday.
[edit] Film career
In 2006, Richie played a rat named Sid in the Aardman Animation film Flushed Away and appeared in What We Did on our Holidays for ITV1. He has recently been seen in the UK stage tour of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as Randle Patrick McMurphy, and heard as a presenter on Virgin Radio, where he interviewed Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet.
He will be seen in the film Prisoners of the Sun with former EastEnders co-star Michael Higgs.
[edit] Autobiography
In 2003 he released his autobiography Rags To Richie, which was a best-seller. In the book, he claims to have had sex with six girls in a chalet, during his time as a Pontins Bluecoat and he broke the law by orchestrating ticket touts outside the production of his Grease show. He also claims to have given free tickets to the touts, who went on to sell them at a large profit for Richie.
[edit] Personal life
Richie married Coleen Nolan in 1990, but they divorced in 1999. They have two sons, Shane and Jake.
He proposed to his fiancé Christie Goddard at her 26th birthday party in April 2005, and on April 23, 2006 she gave birth to their baby boy, Mackenzie. Shane and Christie got married on July 21, 2007. Christie is due to give birth to their second child which Shane & Christie confirmed in an interview with Hello Magazine on 10th June 2008 that they are expecting a girl in August 2008.
He is very close friends with his former Eastenders co-stars Jessie Wallace and Kacey Ainsworth. He is also friends with the lead singer of 80's German Rock band Scorpion, he was quoted in local media as saying "we're like brothers, brothers mate!"[3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b BBC factfile
- ^ Soaps - News - Richie hopes for Albert Square return - Digital Spy
- ^ People.co.uk - JESSIE'S ANGUISH
