I’m still in Glasgow and I’ve had an absolutely brilliant time. It’s always great to come back, but it’s even more special when it’s for Christmas and New Year. I was sitting minding my own business when my phone rang.
It was Shane Richie from EastEnders. He said to me he was having a drink with a girl and he wondered if I could work out who she was absolutely gorgeous and she’d once done my make-up.
Nice try, Shane, but it wasn’t the hardest question I’ve ever had to answer. It’s not every day that Shane’s fellow EastEnder, Jessie Wallace, does your mascara especially when you’re a bloke.
Mind you, by the time she’d finished with me I was wearing more slap than a Boots make-up counter! That’s me in the picture I was playing Frank-N-Furter in the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
She was going out with a boy in the show, the make-up artist hadn’t turned up one night so she stepped in.
So you could say my friendship with her is based on a good foundation.
Me and Shane go back a long way. I met him when his then-wife Coleen was in her first ever panto with me.
I was a panto veteran by then so she was relying on me to look after her. We were staying in a hotel and my room was opposite Coleen’s. One night, Shane turned up to surprise her. Hotel reception rather indiscreetly told him she was “in her room with Ross King”.
He found out her room number, came storming up to confront us and found us lying on the bed drinking tea and eating biscuits.
It was a hoot. He sheepishly had to confess that all sorts had gone through his head.
Since then, we’ve enjoyed many a night out.
Let’s just say we’ve got each other into trouble many a time. Shane’s a fantastic guy. Very down to earth and a great all-round entertainer.
Mind you, I don’t think he’s forgiven me for the time he was in the audience of a panto and I was on stage. I used to get kids up on stage to sing and this night, I announced to the audience that we had “little Shane” in the crowd and he was dying to come on stage. He reluctantly came up to join me and I made him sing. The microphone I gave him made his voice sound really weird and distorted. It was hilarious but I know he’ll get me back.
Coleen Nolan is a great girl, too. I saw her and the Nolans not that long ago in Glasgow. Trust me, those girls are totally wild. I’d taken my sis Elaine and niece Hollie to see them. We partied long and hard into the night. It took me days to recover!
They say exactly what’s on their minds completely unfiltered. It’s great but it can be a wee bit disconcerting, too!
I’m heading back to Lala and it’s the start of the Awards season.Can’t wait!
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