My real Shane
»» She’s thrilled by his success.. and his jawline
scary to be yourself for all to see and judge after years of being able to hide behind acting roles. He was genuinely worried that people wouldn’t take to him.
“He was really nervous about that. He wanted to be himself and he has been.
“To come this far is a dream, though. He was a winner the moment he walked through the he castle doors.
“Seeing that twinkle e in his eye again has been wonderful.
“I definitely think Shane’s grown as a person in there. He’ll also be the spider catcher at home from now on. That used to be my role.”
Before the show, Shane had been mainly working on stage in recent years but he seems certain to be returning to TV roles next year. On what he might do next, Christie said: “The show has reached a
record audience and it would be great to think that whatever Shane did next, he’d take some of them with him. “I love watching him most when he hosts a programme and can be himself. He has a lovely way of making people feel at ease and open up.” The pair met in a pub in 2001 when Shane was doing pantomime in Wimbledon. In camp, Shane revealed it was love at first sight. They married in 2007 and have three children – Mackenzie-Blue, 14, Lolita-Belle, 12, and RomanieSkye, nine. Christie said she and the children have loved watching Shane on the show but added: “I found the experience a lot tougher than I thought. We’ve been living on our nerves and not sleeping much. “When it’s all finished, we are looking forward to having him home. The kids have said they can’t wait to give him the biggest cuddles, tell him how much they love him. “I hope that he’ll be able to wash up a little better but we shall see.”