EastEnders actor Shane Richie has jokingly revealed he is related to American music icon Lionel Richie.
It will come as no surprise that Mr Richie has rubbed shoulders with plenty of celebrities during his many years lighting up the world of showbiz.
The 58-year-old actor has played Albert Square favourite Alfie Moon for 20 years, which means he’s spent plenty of time with the biggest soap stars in the country.
READ MORE:EastEnders Alfie star Shane Richie missed out on iconic BBC role after taking on soap
But fans would have been forgiven if they raised their eyebrows for a moment during Saturday night’s (December 3) episode of Tipping Point: Lucky Stars.
(Image: ITV)
That’s because cheeky Shane teased he was related to Hello hitmaker Lionel, one of the world’s bestselling artists of all time who happens to share the same surname as Shane.
Shane appeared alongside Celebs Go Dating star Tom Read Wilson and TV Rev Kate Bottley on the celebrity edition of the hit ITV game show.
Introducing himself at the start of the show, Shane said: “Good evening everybody, I’m Shane Richie. Adopted son of Lionel Richie…”
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
It prompted a giggle from host Ben Shephard who’d just referred to the soul singer as he opened the programme.
Shane went on: “I’m an actor, sometimes a comedian, or a singer, or a presenter,” before admitting he was best known for his work on EastEnders.
Although he might not as famous as Lionel in the music world, Shane himself is a singer who has released three albums.
(Image: ITV)
Richie joked that, as part of the Moon family on the soap, he would ‘Moon’ if he won the show.
Sadly, Shane was knocked out after Rev Kate on £1600, with Tom proceeding to the final with just £100 more in total.
The Celebs Go Dating receptionist managed to bag a whopping £20k for Acting for Others, a charity providing support for theatre workers.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
