Movie mogul Steven Spielberg is chasing EastEnders joker Shane Richie. The 40-year-old star has been approached by the Hollywood legend's famous DreamWorks Studios.
Now Shane has asked to take time off from the ailing soap - to play a rat!
The actor, who plays Alfie Moon, has been lured by the studio to play the cockney voice of a rat in a new blockbuster animated production.
The film, which has the working title Flushed Away, is also likely to feature Nicole Kidman and Johnny Depp.
A second film deal, again with DreamWorks, should see Shane starring alongside fellow Brits John Cleese and Kate Winslet.
His manager Phil Dale denied suggestions that Shane was quitting Albert Square for good, saying he was only asking for time off.
