{"id":239212,"date":"2023-10-23T13:46:23","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T13:46:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lovemainstream.com\/?p=239212"},"modified":"2023-10-23T13:46:23","modified_gmt":"2023-10-23T13:46:23","slug":"id-be-dead-or-in-prison-without-eastenders-i-had-to-cut-off-friends-family-to-avoid-a-life-of-crime-says-sid-owen-the-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lovemainstream.com\/tv-and-movies\/id-be-dead-or-in-prison-without-eastenders-i-had-to-cut-off-friends-family-to-avoid-a-life-of-crime-says-sid-owen-the-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"I'd be dead or in prison without EastEnders – I had to cut off friends & family to avoid a life of crime, says Sid Owen | The Sun"},"content":{"rendered":"

SID Owen claims he would be "dead or in prison" if it wasn't for EastEnders.<\/p>\n

The 51-year-old is best known for playing Ricky Butcher in the BBC soap, making his debut in 1988.<\/p>\n


\n<\/p>\n

Sid was just 16 when he landed the role, which he has continued to play on and off until as recently as January this year. <\/p>\n

And Sid credits EastEnders with saving him from a potential life of crime, saying: "I grew up on a massive council estate. All my family, friends and neighbours<\/span> were involved in crime. That was all I knew. <\/p>\n

"I grew up as a petty thief. I did that because my three older brothers were doing it.<\/p>\n

"It stems from where you grow up and your background and being on the poverty line. <\/p>\n

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"And I lost my mum at six\u2026 my dad was in prison. So I could have easily lost the plot. I could have easily gone down the wrong path.<\/p>\n

"Thank God I went on my own path and stayed out of crime in the area where I grew up. I shied away from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thankfully, Sid's life changed when he joined performing arts school Anna Scher Theatre<\/span> in Islington, London. <\/p>\n

Sid – who only visited his dad in prison once – continued: "Acting classes were my saviour. I enjoyed them,\u201d he recalls. "If I hadn\u2019t discovered acting, I\u2019d probably be in prison or dead.<\/p>\n

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"People that are involved in dodgy money<\/span>, they live life in the fast lane. They go down the wrong route. Things could have easily turned out very differently."<\/p>\n

Sid gets to experience what life could have been like if he hadn't become an actor in new series Banged Up. <\/p>\n

The Channel 4 show sees famous faces take over a disused jail and recreate a realistic prison environment with the help of ex-convicts, who agreed to behave the way they used to when they were serving their sentences. <\/p>\n

Sid said: "It was an eye-opener for me to see what prison is like. It\u2019s sad to think about what my family went through. Prison is not a nice<\/span> place. It felt very real. Being locked up for hours and hours every day sends you crazy.<\/p>\n

"I thought, \u2018We\u2019re making a TV show, it can\u2019t be that bad.\u2019 But it genuinely was tougher than I thought it would be. <\/p>\n

"When you\u2019re banged up with people who are screaming and shouting, it\u2019s depressing.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Banged Up starts at 9.15pm on October 31<\/strong> on Channel 4.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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