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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Lee Grimsditch

Disgraced ex-Eastenders star booed at opening of lost retro Liverpool venue

Leslie Grantham FAB Jonathan Thompson Manchester

Back in 2006, a quirky new Liverpool city centre venue got-off on the wrong foot when its special guest was a disgraced soap star on its official opening night.

The FAB Cafe's opening on September 28, 2006, saw former Eastenders star Lesley Grantham, who played Dirty Den in the BBC One soap, co-hosting the event. Only two years earlier, the actor had seen his role in the soap cut following a leaked video of him performing lewd acts into a webcam and allegations he had insulted co-stars.

The opening of the cafe on Hope Street saw long queues of people who had bought a ticket to the venue's opening night. The FAB cafe was part of a chain of retro inspired TV and movie theme bars of the same name, already popular in Manchester and Leeds.

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