Shane Richie

Profession: Actor
Place/Date of Birth: Hampstead, 11 May 1964

A close pal of the star told The Mirror: "Shane wanted to invite whoever he felt like. He has lots of friends outside the showbiz world and wanted them to be part of his celebrations as they are all important to him. When OK! told him what they were doing he was outraged. It was his birthday and they were telling him who he could and could not invite.

"He told them where to stick their offer. It wasn’t about the money. Shane just wanted to have a great time surrounded by the people who mean the most to him." Go Shane!

Shane beats the snouts - March 04
Shane Richie has given up smoking after going for hypnotherapy.

The actor is trying to quit smoking on doctor’s orders for health reasons, and he turned to a top London hypnotherapist to help him out. Whilst there he also asked to stop biting his nails!

Shane is 40 next weekend, and has gone on a health drive of late, slimming down and stopping smoking have been a big part of that. He said he hadn’t had a cigarette for over two weeks now, but has ’drank more water’! He has also cut out tea and coffee - blimey.

On being 40, Shane said "I don’t see it as a significant milestone. I only feel 40 when I look at the different things I’ve done. Inside I’m still 18."

Shane’s a hit with pregnant women! - Jan 04
Steady on, girls - it’s his character’s name that is really popular - ’Alfie’ has made a surprising comeback in the most popular name list.

Everyone loves Shane Richie’s character of Alfie Moon in Eastenders, and it seems that mums to be are especially keen. The name of Alfie was the fastest rising name in the official rankings for top 50 names chosen for babies in 2003. Alfie jumped from 49 to number 18.

However, Jack remains that most popular, for the ninth year running, as well as Joshua, Thomas, James and Daniel.

Shane’s Shoreditch - 28/11/03
Finally Shane Richie’s film Shoreditch gets the West End treatment.

The glittering premiere was held in Leicester Square, and co-star Joely Richardson looked very stunning in her white suit, contrasting nicely with Shane all in black. Shane’s Eastend co-stars also showed their support on the night, with Steve McFadden (Phil) and girlfriend Lucy Benjamin (Lisa), Kacey Ainsworth (little Mo), Charlie Brooks (Janine), Kim Medcalf (Sam) and Chris Parker (Spencer) all turning out for the glitzy night. Unfortunately Jessie Wallace (Kat) gave it a miss after being convicted of drink driving earlier in the day.

Shoreditch is set in 1930s London and stars Shane as a nightclub owner who falls for a beautiful jazz singer played by Joely Richardson. The film also features DJ Dane Bowers and Jonathan Ross’s brother Adam.

Shoreditch was filmed a few years ago and at the time Shane put more than ?500,000 of his own money into it and re-mortgaged his home to fund the movie. This was at a time when he was almost bankrupt. Shane said ’I’ve put my money where my mouth is and I just hope the public want to go and see it."

Shane’s scarlet toes! - 03/11/03
Shane Richie has revealed a new manly habit - he likes to paint his toenails...

Shane showed off his scarlet toenails whilst a recent guest on chat show Parkinson. He was talking about his fascination with actors as a young child and the amount of make up they used to wear.

When asked why he paints his toenails Shane replied simply ’because I can’. As good an answer as any, I would say!

... read more «previous 1 2 3 4 56 7 next»

Biography

Shane Ritchie was born in Harlesden on 11th March 1964. Raised by his Irish parents - Harry a bin man and Lily a cleaner; he remembers being ’so skint that my parents couldn’t afford a TV until I was 11’. He didn’t like school very much, apart from the drama lessons, and did amateur dramatics in his spare time. At 16 he travelled to Plymouth on the promise of a DJ-ing job, but when the job fell through he ended up sleeping rough on a park bench, before being charged with vagrancy!

Shane auditioned for Pontins to be a Bluecoat that summer, and lied about his age, pretending he was 18. He got the job and enjoyed being a 16-year-old bouncer and turning away older lads trying to get into the holiday camp bar. Shane also called the bingo, organized Donkey Derby’s and was part of the live entertainment in the evenings.

He enjoyed doing stand up comedy and went on to do gigs with Lenny Henry - who persuaded Shane to change his surname to Richie. Work offers started coming in and he worked with Cannon & Ball - who christened Shane ’The Legend!’

When Shane finished his contract with Pontin’s he had his first appearance on TV - in a variety show called Summertime Special. He impressed the producers so much that they asked him to appear regularly. This led to a gradual build up of Shane on the box - he hosted many shows such as Up to Something, You Gotta Be Joking, and Caught in the Act. He was also the fella to be found doing outside broadcasts for SKY One at the BAFTA’s. By 1992 he had added dozens of DAZ commercials and a childrens show ’Run the Risk’ on CBBC’s Going Live. In between all this Shane was also starring as Kenickie in the stage show Grease. He took time out to film the show ’Win, Lose or Draw’ - which was loved by grannies and students alike and he ran riot - cracking jokes about Dale Winton, doing impressions, singing - and running the quiz!

1994 saw Shane take over the lead role in Grease as Danny Zuko and yet more TV shows - Lucky Numbers and ’The Shane Richie Experience’! The last received a lot of press attention - some bad, some good as a couple would win a quiz to get married live on air. After a while the show was called ’Love Me Do’.

At the end of 1997, Shane started to write his own musical - Boogie Nights. This was a huge success and the only other actor to have written, starred in and produced a play at the Savoy theatre in London was the late, great Noel Coward!

But it has been playing as Alfie Moon - the wideboy pub landlord in EastEnders, that has managed to cast off the cheesy gameshow host persona and won Shane a host of new fans. In fact, the character of Alfie has been a tonic to Eastenders, and Shane has fitted in like he should have always been a part of the Vic.

Shane married Coleen Nolan (the youngest of The Nolan Sisters) and they have two children Shane Juinor and Jake. Shane and Coleen divorced in 1998, and Shane now lives with his girlfriend Christie Goddard. They live in Buckinhamshire, not bad for the boy from Brent!
February 2008