As an entertainer there is always part of you that wants to be loved. But the difference now is that I can see it’s more important to have the love of my wife and my kids, than it is to be loved by the general public

Pursuing a successful career used to come first for Shane Richie, now he tells Daphne Lockyer why he’s much happier since he switched fame for family

Shane Richie was born to entertain – on and off screen. Sitting in his trailer, on set for a new drama in which he stars, he produces a wild repertoire of funny accents, jokes and hilarious anecdotes.

One of these involves the time when, as an almost unknown stand-up comedian, he found himself on the same bill as Cliff Richard at a now long-forgotten variety show. During Cliff’s song, a dry ice machine created a cloud of fog so intense that Cliff lost his bearings and was singing with his back to the audience. Thank goodness for Shane who bounced on to the stage, righting the warbler by spinning him 180 degrees to face the front.

“I thought I was doing him a favour but, from the wings, I could hear the show’s producer cursing and swearing. He was hissing, ‘Someone get that little s**t off the stage!’” Shane explains. “And he wasn’t talking about Sir Cliff, I can tell you.”

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