Shane Richie will join the cast of the award-winning new musical Everybody's Talking About Jamie in the role of Hugo from January 2019.

Shane Richie Shane will be joining the cast of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie at the Apollo Theatre from 28 January 2019 when Layton Williams also takes over the role of Jamie New.

Shane Richie has had a hugely successful career in theatre, film and television spanning four decades and is a regular fixture on primetime television. He is best known for his role as Alfie Moon in the BBC’s EastEnders which he first started playing in 2002 and for which he has won several industry awards and accolades including Best Actor at the Rose d’Or Television Festival.

On stage Shane has starred in Grease (West End), One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (UK Tour), Scrooge: The Musical (UK Tour), Lone Star and Private Wars (Kings Head Theatre). He also played the leads in Peter James’ The Perfect Murder and Not Dead Enough. Shane co-wrote and co-produced the UK tour of Boogie Nights which went on to a sell-out season at the Savoy Theatre in the West End. Film roles include Macbeth (CH4), The Reverend (Burn Hand Film), Prisoners of the Sun (Miromar Entertainment) and Flushed Away (Dreamworks Animation).

Shane Richie said: ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is a terrific show so I jumped at the chance to play Hugo / Loco Chanelle. It’s so different to any role I’ve played before and too good an opportunity to miss. I started my career in nightclubs and cabaret pubs - the kind of world Hugo inhabits - where I met some wonderful characters. So in a sense, I feel like I’ve met Hugo / Loco Chanelle before. I’ve had lots of ideas about how to portray the character and sing the songs. As for my dress and heels, hang onto your handbags!’ Nica Burns, Producer of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie said: ‘We are all delighted that Shane is joining the cast of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, he’s an incredibly talented performer. I know he’ll pull out all the stops and make Hugo / Loco Chanelle entirely his own. It’s going to be a lot of fun!’

Shane Richie will join the cast from 28 January to 4 May 2019.