Shane Richie dreams of winning the lottery to open holiday camp

Shane Richie dreams of winning the lottery to open a holiday camp after previously admitting to being ‘skint’

He confessed he was ‘thankful’ to star on the 2020 series of I’m A Celebrity, after a string of cancelled acting gigs left him ‘skint’. 

And now, Shane Richie has revealed his hopes of opening a holiday camp with the ‘best cabaret and food’, if he ever wins the lottery. 

The former EastEnders star, 56, confirmed he would never give up acting but would still like to start the hospitality project and also open up a theatre, if he had the funds. 

New calling? Shane Richie has revealed his hopes of opening a holiday camp if he ever wins the lottery after he confessed a string of cancelled acting gigs left him ‘skint’

Shane, known for his role as Albert Square’s Alfie Moon, said to The Mirror on Saturday: ‘If I won the lottery I wouldn’t knock it on the head but I’d open up my own theatre. 

‘I’d like to open my own holiday camp with the best cabaret and food, live shows and accommodation. I would do that in Devon, the east coast or southern Ireland.’

The actor began his career at Pontins on the Isle of Wight when he was just 16-year-old. 

He went on to join EastEnders in 2002 before exiting the soap in 2019. He then returned to the West End to star in the musical, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. 

Dream big! The former EastEnders star, 56, confirmed he would never give up acting, but he would like to start the hospitality project on the coast or in Ireland if he had the funds

Dream big! The former EastEnders star, 56, confirmed he would never give up acting, but he would like to start the hospitality project on the coast or in Ireland if he had the funds

When he was confirmed as a contestant for last year’s series of I’m A Celeb, Shane  confessed he was thankful for the three weeks of work after the coronavirus pandemic left him with months of cancelled jobs.

The EastEnders star revealed he signed up in January when the show was still set to be filmed in Australia, but the show was ultimately moved to North Wales due to travel restrictions.     

Shane went on to detail his money troubles in the run-up to the show, explaining: ‘And now I am literally skint! You save money for a rainy day but you don’t expect the rainy day to last six months. 

‘Thankfully I’ve been able to borrow money from mates, my family and the bank and my wife is now very happy we can finally pay off the credit card!

‘But what an honour to be asked before lockdown. I am so grateful and I am really looking forward to being around adults again instead of my wife and three children!’ 

When asked how he would feel if the show led to other TV opportunities, the honest star declared: ‘I do feel like I have come home.

‘Everyone thinks of me as a BBC person but I am ITV. I was Mr Saturday night. Yeah I would love to do more entertainment shows again. If they said “let’s give Shanie a show,” wouldn’t that be lovely?’  

Shane narrowly missed out on the chance of being crowned the King of the I’m A Celeb Castle. Instead he finished in fourth place behind Vernon Kay, Giovanna Fletcher and Jordan North. 

Mother-of-three Giovanna, 35, was ultimately crowned the winner of the 2020 series. 

Honest: Speaking of his money troubles amid the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Shane said: 'Now I am literally skint! You save money for a rainy day but you don't expect the rainy day to last six months'

Honest: Speaking of his money troubles amid the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Shane said: ‘Now I am literally skint! You save money for a rainy day but you don’t expect the rainy day to last six months’