Shane Richie

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

Shane to be new Arfur - Feb 14 2008
Shane Richie has won a plum role in a new version of classic TV series Minder.

The former EastEnders actor, who found an army of fans as cheeky chappie Alfie Moon, will play Arthur ’Arfur’ Daley in the revamp of the drama about a dodgy-dealing businessman and his long-suffering bodyguard.

Five is reviving the show and the role, which was originally played by George Cole.

It’s not yet known who will play his sidekick, although Dennis Waterman, who played original minder Terry McCann may have some kind of role. Dennis quit the show in 1989, to be replaced by Gary Webster as Arfur’s nephew Ray.

It seems that after a break from our screens, Shane is set to be busy, with reports that he is also soon to front Sky One gameshow Don’t Forget the Lyrics.

He said: "I saw the show in the US and became addicted."

The thesp started out as a presenter on daytime show Win, Lose Or Draw, and said of his new stint: "I can’t wait to get in front of a live studio audience again."

The new series of Minder begins later this year.

Shane to make game show comeback? - Jan 29 2008
Shane Richie is apparently set to make his comeback fronting a new game show.

The 43-year-old star - who rose to fame presenting Win, Lose Or Draw, Lucky Numbers and kids’ quiz show Run The Risk - will host Don’t Forget The Lyrics! on Sky One, according to The Sun

Since quitting as Alfie Moon in EastEnders, Shane has starred in a series of dramas, including The Good Samaritan and Father Frank. He has also voiced a part in the Aardman Animation film Flushed Away.

Now he is returning to his game show roots - and admits he loves the show format.

"I saw the show in the US and became addicted," he said. "I can’t wait to get in front of a live studio audience again."

Sky’s Steve Jones added: "Shane’s the ideal presenter, we’re thrilled to have him."

Shane to star in Skins - July 16 2007
Shane Ritchie is set to star in the new series of Channel 4 teen drama Skins.

The actor, best known for his role as Alfie Moon in EastEnders, will play a teacher at a college for 18 to 20-year-olds.

A spokesperson said: "Shane is a big fan of Skins and jumped at the chance of a part. The series is filming at the moment and promises to be in the same irreverent style as the first series."

The 43-year-old - who was last seen in ITV’s The Good Samaritan - is the latest high-profile name to guest star in the award-winning series about a group of high-spirited youths.

Other famous faces that have appeared include Sarah Lancashire, Neil Morrissey and Harry Enfield.

The teen drama was so talked about it had almost 20,000 MySpace friends before the first instalment aired.

The second series will hit our screens in the new year.

Shane plans summer wedding? - April 13 2007
Shane Ritchie has finally set a date for his wedding to long-term girlfriend Christie Goddard, it seems.

The former EastEnders actor and his blonde fiancee will walk down the aisle on July 21, according to The Sun.

The actor is planning a glitzy bash with his sons Shane, 18, and Jake, 14, from his marriage to Coleen Nolan, as his best men.

Shane proposed to Christie at her 26th birthday party in April 2005 and a year later she gave birth to their son Mackenzie.

The cheeky star, who is set to star in new ITV drama the Good Samaritan, once joked: "We’ll get married one day when Christie’s stopped breast-feeding."

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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

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