EASTENDERS SIGN UP NEWLEY FOR ANOTHER DODGY ROLE

EASTENDERS chiefs have signed up former pop star Anthony Newley in a new bid to win back ratings for the slipping TV soap.

Newley, who shot to fame playing the Artful Dodger in the movie Oliver Twist, will play a crooked car dealer who gets involved in a shady deal with Roy Evans.

He has just finished filming his first episodes in Albert Square and fans will see him on screen next month. "It's a great coup for us," said a BBC TV insider. "Everyone was really excited when he turned up.

"He's one of the few real stars from the Sixties and his scenes with Roy will really get people talking."

The veteran entertainer, 66, is a real East Ender - he was born in Hackney and his Cockney- accented vocals were credited as a big influence on superstar David Bowie in his formative years.

Newley first found fame at 16 when he starred as the Dodger in David Lean's black and white film version of Oliver Twist.

He had a string of hit singles in the Sixties - What Kind Of Fool Am I sold a million discs - and also starred in a series of West End musicals, including Scrooge in 1966. But it was his marriage to actress Joan Collins in 1965 which brought him most attention.

The couple had two children but separated in 1972. Newley then performed on the Las Vegas cabaret circuit before returning to Britain. He now lives with his 93-year-old mother Gracie in Surrey.

EastEnders has been trailing Coronation Street in the ratings for some time thanks to a succession of gripping storylines from the ITV soap.

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