SHANE Richie has revealed that EastEnders has saved lives following his powerful prostate cancer storyline.
The actor, 61, loveable Alfie Moon in the BBC One soap, embarked on the hard-hitting storyline nearly two years ago, to raise vital awareness and encourage more men to get checked out.
One in eight men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime, according to Prostate UK, who along with Macmillan Cancer Support, worked with Shane and the EastEnders writing team on the storyline.
And now, the popular actor and entertainer, reveals the huge impact Alfie’s cancer story has had.
He said: “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.”
This week viewers will see Alfie once again struggle with intimacy, a common side effect of his cancer treatment, as he prepares to marry Kat, actress Jessie Wallace, 53, for a third time.
Shane filmed the emotional scenes before going off on an extended break where he spent a month touring with best mates, Bradley Walsh, Brian Conley and Joe Pasquale.
Dubbed The Prat Pack! the quartet performed all over the country, and provided Shane with a welcomed respite from Alfie’s cancer story.
Shane 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.”
Shane also revealed how they turned down a big money deal from streaming giant Netflix to film the tour.
He said: “We got approached by Netflix to go behind the scenes, and we were like, not a hope in hell!.”
Explaining how they weren’t tempted by the offer he said: “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.”
Shane was speaking on the red carpet at the British Soap Awards where EastEnders scooped eight gongs. Fans can watch the ceremony on ITVX.
