Veteran actor, Yemi Solade says he has not attended church in 13 years but still describes himself as a child of God.

Speaking on the Curiosity Made Me Ask podcast, the 66-year-old said he stopped going because organised worship no longer sat well with him. “My life is not orchestrated towards a particular day. There is no Sunday in the Bible. Without God, I will not be alive,” he said.

The clash over Sunday work is part of the story. In an earlier interview he recalled being told by his former church to ask producers not to call him on Sundays.

For an actor who paid bills and tithes from those jobs, the instruction did not hold. He has said he even cursed the pastor over it.

Solade insists the break was with church routine, not with faith. He said God created him in His image and that anyone close to him would see that God lives in him.

He also spoke about keeping few intimate friendships while remaining open to people generally, and about his bond with his wife, Hannah Marsh. His comments have added to a familiar Nollywood debate about Sunday shooting, pastors and how public figures practise faith outside the pews.