EastEnders’ Shaun Williamson “couldn’t believe the reaction” to Sweet Caroline

EastEnders star Shaun Williamson said he “couldn’t believe the reaction” when he performed Sweet Caroline for football fans ahead of England’s semi-final clash with Denmark.

The former TV star, best known for his role as Barry Evans in the BBC soap, is also a cabaret performer and took to the stage to perform the Neil Diamond classic at Croydon’s BoxPark on Thursday night, where he was greeted with a delightful welcome.

Video of his delivery has since gone viral on social media, and Williamson told the PA news agency: “I couldn’t believe the reaction.

“I’ve been playing that song for 25 years, I do a lot of cabaret when I’m not acting, and I’ve never experienced a reaction like this.”

He added: “It’s just a great song, and a great song is a great song.

“I think it’s been around for a while as a football chant and it seems like it started as an American football chant in the crowd. It’s just wonderful.

“I know there’s a lot of negativity around football but you always get idiots, idiots with laser pens, if it was boxing fans or rugby fans, you’ve always got an idiot.

“I think it’s a great launch for people, they come out and get everything out of this system, so I think it really serves a purpose.

“I know the whole world has gone through Covid, including Denmark and I feel sorry for them, but it’s what the English need.

“It’s been a bad 18 months, absolutely bad, so it’s fantastic.

“I think when the England team go on a good run, everyone goes away from them.

“You’ve got people watching television, men, women and children who wouldn’t normally bother, and they get caught up in the excitement and the longer it lasts, the better.

“It’s a big influence on the economy, especially for pubs and bars.

“They’ve all had a bad 18 months and now they’re selling millions of pints, it’s great for everyone.

“I think there are always people who will abuse it, but it can be a very positive nationalism and there’s nothing wrong with it.

“I don’t have time for idiots booing other people’s national anthems or booing laser pens or booing people who kneel, but maybe that can be a very positive thing.”

Discussing England’s chances against Italy on Sunday, he said: “I think our biggest asset is Wembley and I’m not talking about booing other national anthems, but if the crowd makes that much noise against Italy, who haven’t lost for ages. …

“If we made some of the mistakes we made (against Denmark), we have no chance.

“But if we can pick it up a bit, stop giving away silly balls, obviously we’ve got a chance, we’ve got the players, but it’s going to be a monumental task, it’s going to be exciting.”