Shane Richie (born Shane Patrick Roche, 11 March 1964) 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, he said in an interview with Digital Spy that he would love to return to EastEnders as a woman.
Born in Harlesden to Irish Catholic parents, 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'.
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.
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.
He took part in an early edition of Blind Date. After being asked the question "How would you wow me on a first date?", Richie burst into song, singing "Wild Thing."
From 2002 to 2003, Richie played the 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 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 lecherous college drama lecturer.
It was announced on 28 January 2008 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. This commenced on 11 May 2008.
On 25 April 2008, he was due to be a guest on The Paul O'Grady Show, but due to Paul O'Grady falling ill, Richie had to stand in as host.
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 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.
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 of Grease. He also claims to have given free tickets to the touts, who went on to sell them at a large profit for Richie.
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 a boy, Mackenzie. They got married on July 21, 2007. They confirmed in an interview with Hello Magazine on 10 June 2008 that they are expecting a girl in August 2008. Christie gave birth to their daughter Lolita Bell on 28th July 2008.
He is very close friends with his former Eastenders co-stars Jessie Wallace and Kacey Ainsworth.
