Shane reaction

"I needed to walk the tightrope of live theatre," he says. "I needed to feel my butt-cheeks going when I get that curtain call!"

Playing Randle P McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest lit the fire in his belly. The role has left him him with bruises and sores but he's loving every minute.

"It's a real actor's piece, the fact that they had the confidence in me to ask me to do it blows me away," he says.

"I'm surrounded by actors from the RSC, soaking it all up like a sponge. They've got the CV I want and, because of my telly work, I've got the CV they want, we learn from each other."

Shane is a cheeky chappie - he greets my phonecall with "Hello Em, what are you wearin'?" - which is a quality that lends itself to charismatic McMurphy, love of life, liquor and girls.

"He's a hell-raiser, but it's a really angry part - as unlike Alfie Moon as you'll get," says Shane. "It's a dark role, if I've had a sh***y day I can let rip with his anger. It gets intense and claustrophobic, at times there's a silence hanging in the air, you can hear a pin drop.

"I totally underestimated how physical this role was going to be," he adds. "I've got bruises on my arm and welts from the buckles on the straitjacket. I'm on stage practically the whole time, there's no breather between scenes. I'm loving it though."

The role of McMurphy is forever linked with Jack Nicholson, who starred in the 1975 movie. And Jack Nicholson's footsteps are big ones to follow.

"When I did Grease people used to ask about taking on iconic Travolta. Every actor brings something new to a role," says Shane. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a movie people always think they've seen but often they haven't. And people confuse it with The Shining, maybe they're expecting me to come through a door with an axe going Here's Johnny!' "The play sticks more closely to the original book. I'm glad I didn't see Christian Slater in it in the West End, or it may have been harder to find my own take on it."

When McMurphy is sent to a state mental institution for psychiatric evaluation he's confronted with a repressive regime led by the domineering Nurse Ratched. He manages to bring defiance, laughter and liberation to his fellow inmates - but his confrontations with Ratched (played in this production by Sophie Ward) are ultimately to his cost.

"I love the one-upmanship with Ratched," says Shane. "Sophie and I square up to each other and get something new from the text in every performance.

"The turning point for McMurphy is discovering that while everyone else in there voluntarily, he's actually been committed. But I think overall theme there's hope for the people in there."

I've got a soft spot for Shane Richie so I'm relieved to find he's as charming and friendly as he comes across on TV. He's happy to chat and is full of enthusiasm.

Shane started acting as a teenager but his road to fame started when he became a holiday camp entertainer in the Channel Islands. In 1993 he played Kenickie in Grease, later taking on the star role of Danny Zuko in the West End. He played Danny on and off in the 90s, while presenting Saturday morning BBC show Run the Risk and daytime TV show Win, Lose or Draw. A hit with viewers, it led to Lucky Numbers and the Shane Richie Experience.

In 1998 he starred in Seventies pop musical Boogie Nights which he co-wrote based on his youth. His films include Shoreditch and Dreamworks/Aardman animation Flushed Away.

But it's his role as loveable Alfie Moon in EastEnders that Shane is best known for. He made a huge impact in the Square, picking up endless awards including the Rose D'Or (a European BAFTA) for Best Actor. Alfie was last seen walking into the sunset after patching up a volatile relationship with wife Kat and some might say Walford hasn't been the same since.

Shane was next in ITV drama What We Did On Our Holiday, playing the disillusioned son of a man with Parkinson's Disease. "It was important after saying goodbye to Alfie that I did something totally different," says Shane. "And how could I pass up the chance to spend the summer in Malta filming with the wonderful Pauline Collins and Roger Lloyd-Pack? It was great."

His next TV dramas are The Good Samaritan and Father Frank. "In The Good Samaritan I'm a man going through a divorce who gets a phone-call from someone threatening to commit suicide. He thinks it's someone messing about so he tells them to jump off a bridge. He later discovers that his phone number is one digit different from the Samaritans number - and that the person he told to jump off a bridge did just that.

And Father Frank? "That's Shameless meets The Thorn Birds," he smiles. "I'm a Catholic priest with a crisis of faith."

Alfie Moon is becoming a distant memory.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest runs at the Alhambra from April 30 to May 5. For tickets ring (01274) 432000.