FEW actors have experienced career twists like Shaun Williamson – and duetting with Cher in The Queen Vic has to top the lot.
Of all the EastEnders’ characters who could be selected to appear alongside the singing superstar in a new ad, it was Shaun’s bumbling Barry Evans who secured the honour.
Perhaps it is due to the fact that, 20 years on from leaving the BBC soap, the 58-year-old is as popular as ever.
Since Barry was sent to his grave after Janine Butcher pushed him over the side of a cliff in 2004, Shaun’s fame has grown. This is thanks to appearances in TV shows as varied as Ricky Gervais comedies Extras and Life’s Too Short, cop soap The Bill, detective series Inspector Morse and daytime drama Doctors.
Now he is selling out venues across Britain with his karaoke act Barrioke, where the audience sings along with him to tunes such as Sweet Caroline.
That was the inspiration for his I Got You Babe duet with Cher for UKTV, which rebranded as on-demand service U this week.
Rather than worrying about always being associated with loser Barry, Shaun’s made the most of it — earning a reported half-a-million pounds.
At the launch party for the streaming service, Shaun told us: “It started with being on Extras, then it got to a point where I thought, ‘I’m never going to win an Oscar’, and I came to terms with that.
“I’m proud of the fact I’m so well-known for it, even though I got pushed off a cliff over 20 years ago. I’m embracing it.”
Shaun was born in Maidstone, Kent in 1965, the year I Got You Babe first hit the top of the charts for Sonny & Cher.
His first job out of school was as a postman, when he developed a severe drinking problem, downing up to 12 pints a day by the age of 18.
Realising that his life had to change, he joined the Royal Navy, completing his training on a frigate.
But it didn’t help, with him once revealing: “I was knocking back 100 pints of lager a week.
“There are chunks of my Navy time I can’t remember.”
After leaving the military, Shaun had jobs in a Safeway supermarket, a Pontins holiday camp and as a Club 18-30 rep in Tenerife.
Following one drinking session, he woke up covered head to toe in shaving foam, which led to him attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to sort his life out.
His future first wife, Melanie Sacre, encouraged him to give acting a try, so he signed up for the Webber-Douglas Academy stage school in South Kensington, West London.
A few walk-on parts, including a paramedic on EastEnders, were followed by him joining the cast as Barry in 1994 — even though he was not the tall, blond type originally requested by the casting director.
Gradually, Barry became one of the soap’s most-loved characters, so much so that his wedding to Natalie Price drew more than 20million viewers on New Year’s Eve in 1999.
But after a decade on the top-rated show, Shaun wanted to branch out.
He said: “It’s not like now where they let people go off and do Strictly Come Dancing while they’re still in the show.
Barry was originally supposed to end it with Janine on Valentine’s Day that year. But I’d decided I wanted to leave
“They wouldn’t really let you do much, so I just wanted to do something different.”
That led to a dramatic rewrite of a storyline with his co-star Charlie Brooks, who played Barry’s second wife Janine Butcher.
He revealed: “Barry was originally supposed to end it with Janine on Valentine’s Day that year. But I’d decided I wanted to leave.
“They then rewrote scripts and flipped things around so that I would die instead.”
On departing Albert Square, his best hope seemed to be stage work, including pantomimes. But then Ricky Gervais asked Shaun to play himself in the BBC comedy series Extras in 2005.
The actor portrayed a down-on-his-luck version of himself working as an assistant to agent Darren Lamb, played by Stephen Merchant, who teasingly called him Barry.
Shaun said: “I think that’s the main reason why Barry has never gone away, because it reached a new generation with Extras.”
He proved to be so popular that Shaun appeared as himself again in Ricky’s next sitcom Life’s Too Short.
Off-screen, his life became its own mini soap opera a decade ago.
He divorced Melanie after 16 years of marriage in 2013. They have two children, Sophie, 22, and Joseph, 20. In the same year, he discovered he had a secret love child named Gary, who was born in 1987 after Shaun had a brief relationship with a circus performer while working at Pontins.
Shaun said: “I was stunned. I was shaking when I went to meet him.”
Such turmoil could have toppled many people, but the actor kept his career on track.
He appeared on reality shows Celebrity Big Brother, where he survived for 23 days in 2017, and Celebs On The Farm in 2021.
In 2018 he married his second wife Adele Seager, a forensic scientist who he met via social media.
They live on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent in a house with its own bar and dart board.
Adele stays out of the limelight, but he often pays tribute to his “beautiful wife” and “forever girl” on his Instagram page.
With acting roles proving to be sporadic, Shaun has taken some unusual career diversions.
He spent a year cramming as much general knowledge into his mind as possible as he ventured into the world of quizzes.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make the date Cher was filming the advert as I was performing Barrioke, but — of course — Cher’s schedule took priority
That was followed by a book titled A Matter Of Facts four years ago about this experience.
Even more surprising has been his appeal as a singer.
Audiences were first treated to his vocal talents when he won Celebrity Stars In Their Eyes as Meat Loaf in 2004, and later in musicals, including Guys And Dolls.
Three years ago he started doing his Barrioke nights, which have now become a phenomenon in clubs and at festivals.
He has gigs booked until April next year — and he also earns a reported £3,000 a night for private appearances such as weddings.
Shaun has appeared on stage with chart stars Olly Murs, Sam Fender, Aitch and Rag’n’Bone Man.
Cher, though, is undoubtedly a step up.
Sadly, he didn’t get to meet the US legend while filming the advert for U because he did not want to let his Barrioke fans down.
Shaun explains: “I couldn’t believe it when I got the call.
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make the date Cher was filming the advert as I was performing Barrioke, but — of course — Cher’s schedule took priority.”
Instead, the pair are on screen together in the Queen Vic thanks to some computer wizardry.
Surely, though, Cher must be gutted to have missed out on the chance to have met the real Barry?
