Shane Richie broke down in tears over Alfie Moon job offer: ’It just went mental’
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Shane Richie recalled the emotional learned he had landed a role in BBC’s EastEnders even though he had initially not been selected following his audition. The 56-year-old actor – who made an explosive debut in 2002 when he became the landlord of the Queen Vic – was chatting to his I’m A Celebrity campmates about landing the coveted role when he was
It was during tonight’s I’m A Celebrity episode that Shane was quizzed by Victoria Derbyshire about his time on EastEnders.
Shane explained to Victoria and Mo Farah that he had initially been turned down after going to the audition before being called back for an alternative role.
“I remember going in and Gary Beadle, Tish Dean and I think Dean Gaffney were all in the Queen Vic and I did a little Shane recalled.
“By the time I’d got to the car my manager had called and said ‘they didn’t think you were right’. Then my manager gets a call saying they’d like you to come back and do some improv, they have this idea of this family they’re working on.
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Shane continued: “So I’ve gone in and Tony Jordan who created the Slaters was a big fan of John Sullivan (Only Fools and Horses) and he always wanted to create The Trotters but in
The moment of his big break couldn’t have come at a better time as Shane revealed that he had been bankrupt at the time.
“So I kept coming back but still no idea what was going on. So we go on holiday, I’m bankrupt because of this film I’d invested in, I’ve got nothing, I’m selling the house, no work. The phone goes and it’s my manager and he goes EastEnders want you.
“I started getting teary and he told me about this character called Alfie Moon and in my first episode I’d be coming in and taking over the Queen Vic, I started crying.”
Shane then went on to recall how on his first day the EastEnders director – whom he had met some years earlier – offered him a cup of tea to calm his nerves.
The actor continued: “On my very first day on EastEnders, they said did you want to meet the director. I was so nervous, shaking, all the cast were there and I come around the corner and the director goes, ‘Here you go Shane, here’s a cup of tea’.
“And from 2002 onwards, it just went mental, all about the timing, mad eh.”
Shane’s campmates were loving the story, with Victoria going on to share her appreciation for the famous Alfie Moon character.
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“Alfie Moon in EastEnders was absolutely iconic,” she said in the Telegraph. “Alfie and Kat as a couple, the love story that played out for months and months was just superb.”
London-born Shane had studied at the National Youth Theatre’s summer course before heading in pursuit of a job at Pontins on the Isle of Wight.
His ascent to fame then led him down the route of stand-up comedy and by his mid twenties he had even been nominated as the best new stand-up at the British Comedy Awards.
An all-round entertainer, Shane then presented a series of game shows before falling into acting in several stage productions.
His most iconic role, however, was on EastEnders where his character Alfie Moon fell for Jessie Wallace’s character Kat Slater.
Although he left the role, he went on to make several returns to the show until as recently as 2019.
Nowadays, Shane is firmly making his mark on the ITV show with his cheeky jokes and blossoming bromances with several camp mates.
During tonight’s show, Shane and the rest of the boys were treated to a lavish banquet after winning Friday’s live challenge.
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