'Imagine Kat And Alfie In Broadchurch...'

Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie on their delight at swapping Albert square for ireland as Kat and Alfie enter an unpredictable world where everyone has a dark secret…

 

- Sally Brockway

EastEnders favourites Alfie and Kat Moon are back on the box, but their surroundings have changed somewhat. The pair, who left Walford for Spain two years ago after winning the lottery, show up in the Irish harbour town of Redwater in search of Kat’s long lost son.

‘It’s difficult, because we want to call it a spin-off but it’s not,’ insists Shane. ‘Imagine throwing Kat and Alfie into Broadchurch with a bit of The Wicker Man thrown in. It’s kind of like that.’

EastEnders stalwarts Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie are joined by a stellar cast of Irish actors for the brand new BBC1 six-part series that has a touch of Scandi noir about it thanks to director Jesper Nielsen’s influence – he is best known for his work on the Danish political drama Borgen.

Producer Dominic TreadwellCollins who was Executive Producer on EastEnders from 2013 to 2016 explains: ‘I wanted to do something that showed both contemporary Ireland and Kat and Alfie in a whole new world where everyone has a dark secret. It’s Shane and Jessie giving their best Broadchurch.’

We spoke to stars Shane Richie and Jessie Wallace about the drama that was filmed in Waterford, Ireland last summer...

What did you think when you heard that Kat and Alfie were off to Ireland?