Back in the day, soap stars basically dominated about 60 percent of the charts. Charlene and Scott from Neighbours were the biggest pop stars ever, Sid Owen was allowed to do reggae and it didn’t seem at all weird that the EastEnders theme tune – sung by Angie Watts – was in the top five.
Now though, it’s gone weirdly out of fashion. Sure, sometimes some hot blonde from Home and Away becomes a pop star for a bit, but you don’t see Anna Windass cracking out a ballad or Jack Branning getting on the autotune.
So when we heard that a massive ‘Enders name was coming for the charts this year, we were all kinds of excited. Was it Abi or Lauren, launching a hot new girl band? Danny Dyer, hitting us up with a dance track?
Erm, no. It’s Shane Richie, releasing a Christmas single and gunning for the number one spot.
Which is, you know, slightly less cool but we’ll go with it.
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According to a rep, Shane is currently in talks with Warner and will be releasing an album – made up of his ‘best-loved tunes’ and new material – too.
“Shane is in talks with Warner to release an album of classics, with some new material being tried out,” a rep for Shane told The Mirror.
“He is thrilled to be back in the music industry and is really going for Christmas number one. He will miss acting but hopefully his fans will appreciate his new sound.”
Oh god. Is anyone else getting a bad feeling about this?
If you’re delving into the recesses of your mind because it’s ringing a bell that Shane used to have a pop career, then you’re right.
Shane released two albums before – in 1997 and 2000 – and has also been in musicals like Grease and Boogie Nights, so there’s no doubt he has a voice on him.
Of course more recently, he has been on the telly instead, starring in ‘Enders spin-off Redwater alongside Jessie Wallace.
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The six-part series saw their alter egos Kat and Alfie travel to Ireland to find Kat’s long-lost son.
Viewers hoping that the spin-off would mean a return to the Square for Alfie – even though that was looking pretty unlikely at the end of Redwater – will be disappointed to know that Alfie’s return to the pop industry means he’ll be putting his acting on hold for a while.
Just a thought Shane but since you’ve got mutual friends now, how about tapping Lee Ryan up for a duet?