Shane Richie proves he's a heartless idiot

[Jody R]

I've just read a short interview with him where some of his comments prove that this so-called awareness raising storyline with the baby swap hasn't done anything to help people understand the hell of losing a baby, especially not with the male actor at the centre of the storyline.

First he says of the 10,000+ people who complained about the storyline that if they don't like it they should "use their remotes and switch off, that's what they are for."

Well he's right, I used mine to switch that drivel off years ago because it was unrealistic and depressing.

But surely telling more than 10,000+ viewers to switch off isn't a great idea if he wants keep his job. I hope they do switch off, Eastenders deserves to lose its viewers.

But the bit that has really provoked me is that he then went on to deny Sam Womack is leaving because of the storyline and said "all the cast really enjoyed filming those scenes."

WTF! All the cast "really enjoyed" filming scenes where a baby dies and a family is devestated? They found pretending to go through one of the worst experiences ever enjoyable did they?

They get more than 10,000 complaints, they claim to have worked with parents who have lost babies to SIDS and with the baby loss charities and all he can say is "turn over if you don't like it, we had a good time."

Heartless, stupid man.

 

[// arcadia]

I said this before .. just before he came back and was doing promo he was on loose women or this morning .. going on about the biggest story ever its gonna be huge blah blah massive grin on his face.

Prick.

 

[lylasmummy]

Oh dear! What a dick

 

[special_kala]

Stupid man!

 

[Raggydoll]

He's an idiot and sums up everything that is wrong with this story.

 

[Jody R]

Thanks everyone. I know I can be a little oversensitive on this subject but he really has been an idiot here hasn't he?

I could understand if he said they had enjoyed the opportunity to play a challenging role they had learned from and helped people with but to justify the sensationalist rubbish as enjoyable and to write off so many angry and upset viewers complaints is disgraceful.

Thanks for understanding

 

[Jem_x3]

Not trying to be funny or anything but he's not going to sit there and go "Eastenders is a bunch of shit! Stop watching! Insensitive *******s I hate them all!" :S He has a job he wants to keep. I think it's just one of those things, when you're talking about something and you say the wrong words. I don't think he meant they "enjoyed" filming it. I don't know, I like him, he's sweet. So maybe I'm biased

 

[amie-leigh]

how stupid can he get surely he must know by know the media will twist his words and theres a lot better ways to say some thing like you said he could of said he was honoured to be part of a storyline that is to raise awareness of sids

 

[rosie272]

Always thought he was a twat anyway!
He should think before he speaks!!

 

[AppleBlossom]

Not trying to be funny or anything but he's not going to sit there and go "Eastenders is a bunch of shit! Stop watching! Insensitive *******s I hate them all!" :S He has a job he wants to keep. I think it's just one of those things, when you're talking about something and you say the wrong words. I don't think he meant they "enjoyed" filming it. I don't know, I like him, he's sweet. So maybe I'm biased

^^ This. He probably chose the wrong words. I read another interview a while back with him and he was saying how devastating it was to film, especially because he has kids of his own. And I agree that if people didn't like it they shouldn't have watched it. I just think people in this country like to complain. I didn't think it was that badly done apart from the actual swap which wasn't necessary at all. But it's Eastenders and I'm surprised people expected any less. They cover loads of real life things like suicide, murder, even incest! It's ending sooner than it should have been anyway so it'll be over soon and then everyone can complain about the Whitney/prostitute storyline instead

 

[dani_tinks]

Shane's a dad, he was probably only saying what the bbc have told him to say. He's a bloke, they're not normally great with words. I can see why it would piss people off though, it wasn't very tactfully said .

 

[Jody R]

I'm not objecting to this storyline or what Shane Richie has said because I like to complain. A storyline about baby loss but without the pointless baby swap would have been better, if they managed to do it with sensitivity and care and it wouldn't have raised all these complaints.

There were also pictures in the media of him, Jessie Wallace and Sam Womack filming the funeral scenes and during a break they were jumping on each other, laughing, giving piggy backs and generally having a ball.

So it goes so much deeper than just chosing a few wrong words.

Okay, he's part of the show and he may think that he and his colleagues have done a great job but there are thousands of grieving families who have spoken up to tell them that they haven't. Not because they covered baby loss but because someone in the Eastenders team decided that losing a baby just wasn't dramatic enough and they needed to add some sensationalist drama to it with a baby swap storyline.

And that's why people are complaining and why they are hurt and offended. They have taken the worst experience a parent can face and dumped on it from a great height, both on and off screen.

And it's not a case of just switching off. I didn't complain to the BBC because I switched Eastenders off years ago because of it's rubbish and unrealistic storylines that were just depressing.

But I wasn't able to avoid all the traillers leading up to it, the promotions in the press, the photo's in the papers and so it still managed to upset me.

It's not too much to ask that a leading actor on a leading soap opera thinks before he speaks about a storyline that is very sensitive and has provoked so many complaints already.

The fact that he has reacted so badly proves he doesn't give a monkey's about the people who are upset or the awareness Eastenders has claimed they wanted to raise.

The one bit of sense he spoke was to say that people can chose not to watch and I really hope that these 10,000+ people do just that, not just while the storyline is running but forever.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Not trying to be funny or anything but he's not going to sit there and go "Eastenders is a bunch of shit! Stop watching! Insensitive *******s I hate them all!" :S He has a job he wants to keep. I think it's just one of those things, when you're talking about something and you say the wrong words. I don't think he meant they "enjoyed" filming it. I don't know, I like him, he's sweet. So maybe I'm biased

 

[Jem_x3]

I'm not objecting to this storyline or what Shane Richie has said because I like to complain. A storyline about baby loss but without the pointless baby swap would have been better, if they managed to do it with sensitivity and care and it wouldn't have raised all these complaints.

There were also pictures in the media of him, Jessie Wallace and Sam Womack filming the funeral scenes and during a break they were jumping on each other, laughing, giving piggy backs and generally having a ball.

So it goes so much deeper than just chosing a few wrong words.

Okay, he's part of the show and he may think that he and his colleagues have done a great job but there are thousands of grieving families who have spoken up to tell them that they haven't. Not because they covered baby loss but because someone in the Eastenders team decided that losing a baby just wasn't dramatic enough and they needed to add some sensationalist drama to it with a baby swap storyline.

And that's why people are complaining and why they are hurt and offended. They have taken the worst experience a parent can face and dumped on it from a great height, both on and off screen.

And it's not a case of just switching off. I didn't complain to the BBC because I switched Eastenders off years ago because of it's rubbish and unrealistic storylines that were just depressing.

But I wasn't able to avoid all the traillers leading up to it, the promotions in the press, the photo's in the papers and so it still managed to upset me.

It's not too much to ask that a leading actor on a leading soap opera thinks before he speaks about a storyline that is very sensitive and has provoked so many complaints already.

The fact that he has reacted so badly proves he doesn't give a monkey's about the people who are upset or the awareness Eastenders has claimed they wanted to raise.

The one bit of sense he spoke was to say that people can chose not to watch and I really hope that these 10,000+ people do just that, not just while the storyline is running but forever.

Absolutely. I think we all agree the swap part of the storyline was insensitive and completely unneccessary. He is a leading actor in the storyline, but he's also a human being. When we're faced with criticism and thousands of people who are upset I think I'd too not know exactly what to say. It wasn't his decision to be part of the storyline, just like any other person working in t.v or that industry, he's under a contract. He can't just slate off the BBC willynilly..

And as for the laughing and joking around on set, personally, I don't blame them. They'd already said the whole cast was sobbing and some people needed to see counsellors, is it so bad they took a break to have a laugh? They're human too and need an outlet, something to pull them out of the sadness they felt whilst filming.

I'm not trying to disregard yours or anyone's feelings but to say he doesn't give a monkey's when you have no idea how he may feel on the subject isn't really fair. Like someone else said, he has kids himself, I'm sure he's been affected by it just like many of us mummies have but again, he's a proffessional and he can't go around slating the channel/producers he works for.

There's always going to be something that someone doesn't like and it upsets and hurts them. Personally, I think Eastenders has made it okay for people to talk about SIDs. It was sort of taboo before and though it may have been done in an insensitive way with the swap storyline, more people are aware and talking about it.

As I said, I'm not disregarding anyone's feelings. I don't know what it's like to lose a child and my heart goes out to all the angel mummies It could of been done a hundred times better but at the end of the day it's done, it'll be over with soon and we all have a choice whether to watch or not and like you said, hopefully all those people will switch off

 

[Jody R]

It looks like we'll have to agree to disgree on this.

I don't want to keep justifying why I am upset about the storyline or by the way the cast have spoken and behaved or keep second guessing what he might have meant by what he said.

It's fine to say "well he's a parent and an actor so he probably meant to say this..." but it doesn't matter what he may or may not have meant when what he actually said , that the cast enjoyed filming the storyline and that if the people are upset don't like it they should use their remote to switch off, is so hurtful.

And if he didn't want to criticise his employer or he felt unsure about what to say in the face of the complaints he would have been better to keep silent on the matter or to take a few moments to think about the words he used before he said them.

Yes the storyline will be over soon and most people can forget all about it. But when you have lost a child and you feel that someone or something has done your child and your loss a disservice or sullied your experience in the name of entertainment it does, to some extent, get bound up into everything and make it that bit harder to brush aside.

I'm probably not explaining that very well, I'm not saying that every time I think of my babies I will be thinking about Eastenders, but to some grieving parents this is just another sign that the world doesn't understand. Baby loss shouldn't be taboo and people should talk and be aware, but this storyline hasn't got anybody talking in the right way to help because still people just don't 'get' it. If they did, they would understand why we are upset about the storyline and clearly, if they can give interviews like that and think they are okay, they don't get it at all.

 

[Jem_x3]

I understand what you're trying to say. Funnily enough, I was one of the people that complained to ofcom, for the pure fact I find the baby swap storyline completely and utterly uneccessary and hurtful to women who have lost their babies.

I do agree to some extent that he perhaps should of kept silent or thought about what he said before he did, but again when faced with questioning it's difficult to know what to say. Especially when you don't understand. I know I never know what to say to any of the angel mummies because I couldn't imagine how heartbreaking it is.

Unfortunately, I don't think it's ever going to be something people can really understand if they've never been through it. The amount of pain and hurt of losing a child is pretty unfathomable to most. I agree it isn't the sort of thing that should be used for entertainment purposes but unfortunately that industry will push beyond those boundaries and do whatever they think will get them ratings.

I'm sorry if I offended you in any of my posts, I'm just trying to see it from both sides. You have every right to be upset about the storyline, I just think the actors should be cut a little slack. It's the idiots who help write the storylines and come up with these stupid ideas that should be answering to the public and the mummies without their babies

 

[hopeandpray]

'enjoyed'

 

[SKATERBUN]

sucking up to the producer no doubt, he needs as much work as he can get as a dried up ol comedian, cant see him walking of his own accord, why does he always play himself

 

[Jody R]

I understand what you're trying to say. Funnily enough, I was one of the people that complained to ofcom, for the pure fact I find the baby swap storyline completely and utterly uneccessary and hurtful to women who have lost their babies.

I do agree to some extent that he perhaps should of kept silent or thought about what he said before he did, but again when faced with questioning it's difficult to know what to say. Especially when you don't understand. I know I never know what to say to any of the angel mummies because I couldn't imagine how heartbreaking it is.

Unfortunately, I don't think it's ever going to be something people can really understand if they've never been through it. The amount of pain and hurt of losing a child is pretty unfathomable to most. I agree it isn't the sort of thing that should be used for entertainment purposes but unfortunately that industry will push beyond those boundaries and do whatever they think will get them ratings.

I'm sorry if I offended you in any of my posts, I'm just trying to see it from both sides. You have every right to be upset about the storyline, I just think the actors should be cut a little slack. It's the idiots who help write the storylines and come up with these stupid ideas that should be answering to the public and the mummies without their babies

Thanks.

I know I can get on my hobby horse a bit about this (sorry ), it's because it actually is so personal to me and so many of the friends I have met since losing my babies.

I agree that the writers and producers are just as much to blame as the actors, who are the frontline people in a long line of people who made this storyline happen.

And it gets me so furious that any of them can use a baby's death, even a fictional baby, as a means to an end.

I don't even think the SIDS storyline was the major consideration or the main point, so to have them claim they have raised awareness and helped people is a real slap in the face too.

I think the main storyline they wanted was the swap and somebody somewhere sat in a meeting and said "We want Ronnie to steal a baby and get away with it, how can we make that work?" and someone had the bright idea to have her lose a baby and swap it for a living one so nobody would know the difference.

I know it's only a programme (and a rubbish programme at that) but it's hard not to take such callousness personally.

 

[v2007]

What a dick!!!!!!

V xxxx