From Rags to Ricky

Read by the author, Sid Owen.

From star of Channel 4's Banged Up, Sid Owen, From Rags to Ricky is the story of a troubled kid heading towards a life of crime – saved by acting, and the role of a lifetime on EastEnders.

Sid Owen is best known for playing the hapless but loveable EastEnders character Ricky Butcher, one of Britain’s most enduring soap icons. But Sid’s early life saw more drama than anything his character endured.

His father was an armed robber who was sent to prison when Sid was very young, and Sid went out 'on the rob' from an early age – breaking into shops and seeing it as a big adventure, living happily with his mum and siblings on a sprawling north London council estate. Then, when he was seven, his mum died. The brothers were split up.

Feeling confused, unloved and unhappy, crime seemed like the easy choice. Until he found acting. At thirteen he was working with Al Pacino and Donald Sutherland on the movie Revolution. At sixteen he was living in an Islington squat with his brothers. Then came EastEnders.

With his natural storytelling skills and authentic voice, this is the story of one man who struggled against the hand fate dealt him – and came out winning.