EastEnders star Shane Richie reveals 'power' of soaps
Shane Richie thinks soaps have the "power" to save lives following his cancer storyline on EastEnders.
Shane Richie thinks soaps have the "power" to save lives.
The 61-year-old actor has played Alfie Moon on the BBC soap EastEnders on and off since 2002 and admitted that when his character was diagnosed with cancer in 2023, the issue-based storyline actually had a positive effect on those in the real world because it inspired them to go to the doctors for a checkup.
He told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: "I was going to events, men my age were coming up to me, but mostly women, wives saying ‘thank you so much for covering that storyline, because my husband, my brother... they don’t want to go to the doctors.’
“One guy in particular, and I don’t personally take credit for saving his life, but that storyline did.
"He got checked. His daughter was a big EastEnders fan, and just quite casually said, come on, we love Alfie, you should go and get checked and he did just to appease his daughter.
“He found out he had prostate cancer but it was at the early stages, had it left in any longer it could have been fatal. So if we just save one life, that’s the power of soaps."
Away from the soap, Shane recently temped up with fellow TV stars Bradley Walsh, Brian Cknley and Joe Pasquale for a tour of their band The Pray Pack.
The quartet travelled the UK throughout April and May, and Shane thanked bosses of EastEnders for allowing him to take a break.
He said: "It was one of the most brilliant experiences I’ve had in a long time.
"EastEnders are brilliant at letting me go off. I did a lot of stuff before I became Alfie so they’re very accommodating, hopefully again next year I’ll do the same thing, another tour."
What's more, Netflix wanted to film behind the scenes on the tour but they all declined.
He added: "We got approached by Netflix to go behind the scenes, and we were like, not a hope in hell!
"No, because once we do it the gags are gone. Maybe in five years time if we’re all still alive we may do it."
