Shane Richie had enquired about a test for prostate cancer just days before learning his 'EastEnders' character would be diagnosed with the disease.
Shane Richie's EastEnders character has been diagnosed with prostate cancer
The 60-year-old actor has played Alfie Moon on the BBC One soap opera on and off since 2002 and jumped at the chance to play such a storyline but revealed that he sought advice himself about a test for the illness before he even knew the fate of his alter-ego.
Speaking on ITV's 'This Morning', he said: "I got called up from Chris Clenshaw, our producer, and he said they were going to do a storyline with Alfie. I said 'Of course, what a great story to play', but it reminded me how old I am.
"The week before, I'd gone to see my GP about having a test done for prostate cancer.
"We did that one scene in the Queen Vic where Alfie unfortunately wets himself, and I remember sitting down with the story producer where I asked if we could play that. Sadly, it happened to a friend of mine at a golf club.
"And so, we got a chance to play that. It was really interesting, the reaction that we got, not just from social media, but emails coming in thanking us for doing the storyline. "
The former 'I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!' contestant then went for another checkup and his GP told him that the storyline had caused an "influx" of men booking tests and he believes that even saving one person's life will make the whole thing worthwhile.
He said: "It was about three months ago I had to go see my GP for a checkup. He doesn't really watch the show but he said 'I understand your character has done a storyline on prostate cancer because we've had an influx of men coming in to get checked because of what you did on the show'. So if we save one person's life, then we have done great!"
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