A FORMER EastEnders star will be taking to the stage this autumn.

Shane Richie, best known for his role as Alfie Moon in the hit TV soap, will be leading a star-studded cast for the touring production The Entertainer.

The show comes to the Theatre Royal, Brighton, between October 21 and 26 and tickets are on sale now.

Richie has been a popular figure on EastEnders since his debut in 2002.

His first run on the soap ended in 2005 but he returned to Albert Square in 2010 following the return of on-screen wife Kat, played by Jessie Wallace.

He left again in 2016 following a six-year run then returned last year for another stint which ended in January.

Richie has also been known for his time on National Lottery: Win Your Wish List and brief stints on Benidorm.

Coincidentally, in his latest venture Shane takes up a role with the same name as his EastEnders’ character.

The Entertainer follows Archie Rice, a washed-up entertainer playing a summer season.

As his soldier son sails with the task force to liberate the Falklands, his daughter Jean returns from campaigning against the war, and Archie’s professional and personal lives collide with devastating consequences.

Joining Shane in the show will be X Factor star Diana Vickers and Olivier Award-winner Sara Crowe.

Singer and actress Diana Vickers first came to the public eye as a semi-finalist in The X Factor in 2008.

Aberdeen-born Sara Crowe most recently appeared as Ruth in the first UK tour of Calendar Girls, The Musical, and was seen on screen in the 2019 Comic Relief reboot of Four Weddings And A Funeral – One Red Nose Day And A Wedding.