Shane Richie takes cheeky swipe at Loose Women in front of ex-wife Coleen Nolan

Shane Richie took a playful jibe at  Loose Women during his guest segment on This Morning. The adored EastEnders actor, who graced the ITV daytime shows set on Wednesday (November 6), had a light-hearted moment with hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley as he teased about his character Alfie Moon's potential rekindling with former flame Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace).

In the course of conversation, Richie quipped about ex-wfe Coleen Nolan's programme, saying: "It was either This Morning or Loose Women and I only watch Loose Women now to find out what I'm doing" before cheekily adding: "If you know you know". His humour drew laughter from Ben, who clearly got the joke.

As the chat wrapped up, with Ben and Cat segueing to what Loose Women had in store, the studio's attention panned to Charlene White who promptly assured Shane that the day's discussion wouldn't involve him, even as she stood among Coleen, Judi Love, and Brenda Edwards.

Shane couldnt help asking: "What am I doing today?" as well as noting with familiarity: "I recognise her", as the focus shifted back to This Morning.

Coleen Nolan and Shane Richie united in matrimony back in 1990 and share sons Shane Jr and Jake. Their marriage ended in 1999 following infidelities by both parties, marking a heartbreaking conclusion to their union.

The pair's initial encounter dates back to 1986, and although a lavish wedding was planned for four years after, destiny had them elope spontaneously to Florida, steering away from their original plans, reports the Mirror.

In 1996, Shane made the life-altering decision to move to Manchester for his role as Danny Zuko in the smash-hit musical Grease, a move that saw him leave Coleen and their young brood down south. Spilling the beans in her 2009 tell-all book, Coleen recounts the pivotal moment when doubt began to seep into her mind.

It was during a swanky bash celebrating one of Shane's stage hits where Coleen's gut feeling kicked in after spotting a ravishing brunette across the room.

"At the after-show party, I can distinctly remember examining this one girl. There were loads of people there but she just stood out. She had really long dark hair and was wearing a skin-tight white dress," she delved into her memory.

And as fate would have it, Coleen's womanly instincts were spot-on the woman in question turned out to be the very person Shane had an illicit fling with.

Shane, bearing his soul in his own autobiography 'Rags to Riches', admitted his infidelity with Claire Taylor, a dancer and actress. The star didn't shy away from laying bare his deceitfulness: "I was lying so much that I couldn't remember which story I'd told to each of them. And I'd lie to cover up the lies."

This Morning airs weekdays on ITV at 10am