‘TORSO OF THE WEEK? NOT TILL I GET IN SHAPE!’
The Corrie star talks nipples, pants and babies with Kay Ribeiro
We’ve got a long history with Shayne Ward. From the moment the then20 year old turned up at The X Factor auditions with his Justin Timberlake-esque shaved head and diamond stud earring, we knew he’d go far. And we were right. Crowned 2005’s X Factor winner, the former New Look shop assistant’s life blew up overnight with a Christmas No1, platinum album, sell-out tours and hordes of screaming fans (he once told us that a woman in LA walked over, flashed her boobs, and asked if he could tell if they were real or not).
Now, 12 years on, Shayne’s entertaining millions as Coronation Street’s lovable rogue Aidan Connor, the knicker factory boss who is currently juggling his ditzy girlfriend Eva Price with his bunny boiler lover Maria Connor – like that won’t end badly. The diamond stud might be gone, but the twinkle in his eye is still there. And while the ladies are still throwing their undies at him, he’s madly in love with his actress girlfriend, Sophie Austin, and their five-month-old baby, Willow.
But how’s life changed for the 32 year old since becoming a dad? Does he still have silk sheets, and will he ever be heat’s Torso Of The Week again? Time to find out…
What’s Aidan playing at and who does he want to be with?
That’s the thing – he doesn’t know who he wants to be with. He likes that he can have a serious conversation with Maria [played by Samia Ghadie] – she’s more relaxed, while Eva [Cath Tyldesley] is full of excitement. If he could bring both their personalities together and mix the way they look, that’d be the perfect woman.
Eva is a national treasure – how much stick have you had because of the cheating?
I laugh with Cath and Samia, because
you do think, “Yeah, I’m going to be hated by a lot of Corrie fans.” We don’t know how it’s going to be perceived, but I’ve already had people coming up to me. It was 7pm on a Friday and, as I was leaving Waitrose, a woman opened her car door and yelled, “Oi, you’d better get home and watch Corrie, because you’re shagging Maria!” I love it how everyone gets so involved.
You recently played an April Fools’ joke, pretending you were re-recording the Corrie theme tune. Would you like to go back to singing?
Singing is my ultimate love and it would be nice to do both. I’ve been talking about doing a single, but it’s just trying to find the time between Corrie and looking after my little baby with my missus.
How is fatherhood?
It’s amazing, it really is. It’s good now, because she’s moved onto the bottle and that means I can wake up at 1.30am – my missus would probably beg to differ and say, “You don’t wake up at all!” I was up this morning, feeding and changing her nappy, and even though she was meant to go back to sleep – because it’s 4.30am – that smile just makes you go crazy. I love it. Willow’s great.
When you watch Corrie at home, do you pre-warn Sophie about kissing scenes?
No, because with Sophie being in Hollyoaks [she played Lindsey Butterfield], she’s done the kissing thing. And I did my kissing scenes before I met Sophie, when I did my music videos, so it’s just one of those things. Sophie knows that herself, so when she does watch it, it’s like,” OK, it is what it is – but less tongue next time!” [Laughs.] But, no, you make it as believable as possible, but we have so much respect for each other.
Do you miss getting bras and pants thrown at you, or is that still happening?
[Laughs.] Now they’re throwing them at me and saying, “Can you send me some?” Because I own the factory [in Corrie]. But no, it’s really nice now, because a lot of the fans who grew up watching me on
The X Factor, and have followed me through the years, are watching
Corrie. And I’m getting a lot of the mums, too. So I’m no longer Shayne Ward, I’m Aidan Connor.
Do people ever get confused?
I did a gig the other night down in Cumbria and it was really weird, because I was singing a love song and I actually heard someone say, “He’s having an affair, you know.” And I’m like, “I’m meant to have your focus – this isn’t Aidan Connor singing on the stage!”
How do you react when you hear one of your songs playing in a shop – do you walk out or sing along?
No, I’d never walk out. There’s a nice restaurant in Alderley Edge called Yara, and because I go in quite a lot, they always put my music on. I walk in the door and my music comes on – I feel like I’m performing! All I’m trying to do is get my shish kebab, do you know what I mean? [Laughs.] But I don’t mind it.
Have the producers of Corrie ever put your music on in The Rovers?
I think they have over the years, before I joined, but not while I’ve been here. I would love them to play my song in the background, because I know it would be really funny and I could probably make reference to it, “What is this shit? Another churned-out X Factor song!” [Laughs.]
‘I’d like to have ten children by the time I reach 50’
Do you still keep in touch with Louis Walsh and Simon Cowell?
I’ve not spoken to Louis in years. We’ve all got our own things going on. Obviously, he’s back with
The X Factor and I’ve got Corrie. I think when people have asked me over the years, “When was the last time you spoke to them?” I’m like, “When was the last time they spoke to me?” [Laughs.] But we’re all great. If I saw them at a party, we’d always say hello. I was with them for years and had a wonderful time, so I’m sure it would be nice to catch up.
Do you still watch The X Factor and feel nostalgic?
I do, and I don’t think I’d ever lose that feeling whenever the music comes on – especially when you’re waiting for votes to come. That was the scariest moment.
You’ve done the heat interview many times and you’ve always stripped off. What would it take for you to get your kit off now?
Erm, what do you want? To be part of the affair, yeah? No, to be honest, being a factory owner with me dad [in the show], I’ve put on a bit of size. So until I get myself properly in shape, which I will do, I’m going to stick with my shirts . Which people keep saying, “God, that hugs him well, doesn’t it?” [Laughs.]
Is it hard maintaining a six pack when you’re older?
I’ve never been into the six-pack thing, because I love my food, but there is a lot of broadness in my family, so I’ve always had that. And I’ve got a fast metabolism – well, I say that, but I sometimes feel like I haven’t any more! But yeah, I’m quite happy rocking the Burt Reynolds chest hair on screen. A lot of the older women like chest hair. In the gay community, I’m known as a bear. So I work on both sides – it’s great.
Once you’re in shape, will you do Torso Of The Week?
Maybe, because I have been Torso before. Why not change it for one week
to “Bear Of The Week”? Because then it’s less pressure to get the v-shape, do you know what I mean?
Is your nipple still shaped like a bear?
It is. I think that’s where the bear thing comes from. It came up years ago, because I was asked if there is anything the fans don’t know about me, and I said, “Yeah, I have a nipple that resembles a bear smiling, which is pure random.” So, yeah, it’s probably a mixture of a bear and Peppa Pig.
In the past, you’ve said you saw yourself settling down when you’re 50. You’ve done that early, so now where do you see yourself when you’re the big 5-0?
Well, who knows that far ahead? But hopefully I’ll be on my tenth child with Sophie.
Erm, have you asked her about that?
[Laughs.] Well, we’ve already got up to the conversation of having seven…
Willow will be 18 by then…
Oh my God, she’ll be 18 when I’m 50. I’ll be driving her around with her mates, picking her up at 2am. I always say it’ll be like that scene with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys, when guys come round to pick up Martin Lawrence’s daughter, and they open the door and interrogate him. That’s totally happening!
In 2006, your heat interview headline was: “I’m very sexually deprived at the moment…” How are you feeling now?
Did I? In 2016?
No, 2006…
Oh, right, I was going to say! Well, I’ve just had a little baby, so I’m sleep deprived at the minute. [Laughs.]
Do you still have red silk sheets on your bed?
No, no, what’s the point of silk sheets now? They’d have baby milk all over them.
Finally, what would your advice be to your 22-year-old self?
Everyone says hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I wouldn’t change a thing, actually. There is no point having regrets in life, because you get to where you’re going because those things happened. And I’m really happy where I’m at.
Coronation Street is on Monday, Wednesday and Friday on ITV