| Alfie Moon | |||||||||||||||||||
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| EastEnders character | |||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Shane Richie | ||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Tony Jordan | ||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Louise Berridge (2002) Bryan Kirkwood (2010) |
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| Duration | 2002–05, 2010— | ||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 21 November 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||||||||||
| Spin-off appearances | "East Street" (2010) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 4 March 1964 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Barman (2002–05, since 2010) Bar manager (2003–05) Market trader (bric-a-brac) (2005) Pub landlord (since 2010) |
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Alfred William "Alfie" Moon is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Shane Richie. He made his first appearance on 21 November 2002, and left on 25 December 2005. He returned to EastEnders on 21 September 2010,[1] following the return of on-screen wife Kat (Jessie Wallace) two episodes previously. Some of the character's most prominent storylines have included; his turbulent relationship and later marriage to Kat Moon, discovering that his son Tommy was actually fathered by his cousin Michael and later believing he had died of cot death, when he had actually been switched with Ronnie Branning's dead child.
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Alfie Moon was conceptualised by EastEnders' scriptwriter Tony Jordan.[2] The character is based on Jordan himself. Jordan has commented, "Alfie is basically me - a Jack The Lad in jeans, cowboy boots and dodgy shirts who wears his heart on his sleeve." Julia Crampsie, the BBC's casting executive, recommended that Shane Richie be considered for the role.[2] Richie was already a familiar face to the UK audience, having had a career as an entertainer, appearing in various gameshows, variety shows and facing advert campaigns, most notably for the washing detergent Daz. Jordan was apprehensive about casting Ritchie in the role. He commented, "I just had this image of the guy with the mullet from the Daz adverts. And if we had Shane where would it stop? Harry Hill? Les Dennis? Bradley Walsh? But Julia was insistent, so I went to a workshop where we'd see lots of actors and [Richie] was fantastic."[2]
Jordan has suggested that many of the rows featured on-screen between Alfie and his love-interest Kat were word-for-word arguments he had with his wife, Tracy. He commented, "We'd be watching EastEnders at home, then an Alfie and Kat scene would start and I'd think, 'Oh shit', because I'd know what was coming. And then we'd have another row about how I don't argue properly because when we do argue I'm just making mental notes for stuff to write the next day."[2]
Alfie's parents were killed in a car crash on Shrove Tuesday and the family commemorate their death each year. Although young, he took responsibility for his younger brother Spencer (Christopher Parker) and his grandmother Victoria (Hilda Braid), widely known as Nana. Alfie spent three years in prison for credit card fraud after taking the blame for his second cousins Jake (Joel Beckett) and Danny (Jake Maskall).
Alfie is ejected from Walford East tube station for fare evasion, and causes havoc in the market by getting a refund from Winston (Ulric Browne) for a video he stole and tricking Martin Fowler (James Alexandrou) into giving him free fruit. After acquainting himself with a few residents, he sneaks into The Queen Victoria public house and helps himself to a drink behind the bar. The landlady, Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor), assumes that Alfie is Chris Wright (Tom Roberts), the new manager sent by an agency. Alfie takes advantage of the misunderstanding to commit identity fraud against Wright. Alfie packs any stock he could find in a bin bag, ready to leave. Jim Branning (John Bardon) catches him, but assumes Alfie is throwing away outdated stock and tricks Alfie into giving him a pint on the house. Winston, Martin, Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen) and Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) realise that Alfie has told them all different background stories but he manages to reconcile the inconsistent stories. Alfie later answers the phone to the real Chris Wright and tells him the position is filled, revealing his intention to stay. Alfie's brother and grandmother arrive unannounced in Albert Square and move into the pub with Alfie, much to his dismay.
When Alfie is blackmailed by a former police officer, Dougie Slade (John Bowler), who reveals Alfie's true identity to Peggy, Alfie and his family are forced to flee with the pub's takings. However, Alfie leaves the money on Peggy's doorstep. Peggy manages to track him down, and after he confides in her about his parents' death, she gives him another chance. Alfie reluctantly accepts her proposal. Alfie becomes close with barmaid Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) and he falls in love with her. Eventually Kat returns his feelings and one night when the pub is closed, Kat reveals her feelings to him. They decide to take the relationship slowly, but his inability to trust her causes her to rethink the relationship and she ends it than a week after they get together. Alfie is heartbroken when Kat returns from a trip to New York engaged to local gangster Andy Hunter (Michael Higgs). Andy, knowing Alfie's feelings for Kat, warns him to stay away from her and the wedding. Before the wedding, Kat visits Victoria in hospital, and thinking she is asleep, admits she loves Alfie. Victoria tells Alfie and he rushes to the wedding to confess his true feelings as the ceremony takes place. Kat jilts Andy and he swears revenge before leaving Walford.
Alfie and Kat quickly get engaged and decide to hold the wedding on Christmas Day, less than a month away. However, Alfie is still married to his first wife, Liza (Joanne Adams). Liza's mother tells Alfie that their divorce is finalised, so he starts to prepare the wedding to Kat, until Liza reveals they are not divorced. There are only a few days before the wedding so he tries to quickly finalise the divorce while trying to keep it secret from Kat, though Liza makes it difficult as she wants Alfie to take her back. Alfie is forced to cancel the minister on Christmas Day and he panics, but gets his friend Ray (David Walliams) to pretend to be a minister, while planning to tell Kat the truth a few days later.
Spencer warns Alfie not to start his marriage with a lie, so Alfie reveals the truth to a furious Kat. Alfie is about to tell the guests that the wedding is cancelled when his solicitor enters with Alfie's decree absolute. Alfie convinces the minister to cancel his Christmas lunch, and Alfie and Kat marry.
After a while, Alfie borrows several thousand pounds from Andy to bail out Kat's father, Charlie (Derek Martin), who has been arrested for assault. Andy begins demanding cash every week, which he knows Alfie cannot afford. Andy's plan to wreck the Moons' marriage starts to work and Andy offers Kat the chance to pay off the debt by sleeping with him. She reluctantly agrees and they have sex, though unknown to her, Alfie has paid Andy the money. Andy keeps the money and gives Alfie a video tape of him and Kat having sex. Kat and Alfie attempt to put the incident behind them but their marriage starts to fall apart and Alfie is unable to trust Kat. She moves out of Walford for while but when she returns, she has become an alcoholic and does not care that Alfie wants them to get back together. Kat sleeps with another man while in a drunken state and finally sees sense, deciding to return to Alfie, but he finds out and throws her out, so she leaves Walford again.
Alfie becomes close to Kat's sister Little Mo Mitchell (Kacey Ainsworth), whose marriage to Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) has collapsed. Alfie helps Mo bring up her baby, Freddie, and they decide to announce that they are an item. However, Kat returns before they have a chance, and she makes it clear that she wants Alfie back. He is torn between the two sisters, eventually choosing Kat. He lets Mo down gently, and they share a final goodbye hug, which Billy assumes is them getting together. In the pub, Billy drunkenly announces that Alfie and Little Mo are an item. Kat is furious and decides not to get together with Alfie, so as not to break her sister's heart.
However, Alfie and Kat continue to grow closer, due to Kat's relationship with Alfie's grandmother, who is dying. After Kat helps Alfie complete some of Victoria's final wishes and overcome her death, it is obvious that they long for each other. Alfie announces that he is leaving to drive across the United States in a Ford Capri, and it seems he has gone for good when he waves goodbye to a heartbroken Kat on Christmas Day 2005. After getting drunk and drowning her sorrows in the pub, Kat is stunned to see Alfie waiting for her outside. Kat and Alfie then get into the car together and drive off.
Kat returns to London revealing that she and Alfie conned a man called Frankie Finnerty, from whom she is now on the run. His relatives Lee and Jono Finnerty (Dylan Brown and Colin Parry) track her down but Alfie arrives pretending to be from the CID, scaring them off, though they take most of Kat's money. Alfie and Kat then talk about their history, and it is revealed that Alfie spent six months in a Spanish prison and they tried to have a baby but he had fertility problems. Kat wants nothing to do with Alfie, however, and attempts to leave, revealing that she is pregnant, saying the baby is not Alfie's. Alfie doubles the remainder of Kat's money in a bet, and promises to stop scamming and get a proper job. Kat gives him 24 hours or she will leave. He is unsuccessful in finding a job so takes the money and uses it to rent The Queen Victoria from Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden). Kat is not happy and punches him in the face, demanding he get the money back as they need a regular income. Instead, he sets up an illegal drinking den in the cellar, and sets up a home with Kat in Kim Fox's (Tameka Empson) caravan on the Square.
Alfie contracts Greg Jessop (Stefan Booth) to refurbish The Queen Victoria. Alfie's second cousin once removed Michael Moon (Steve John Shepherd) arrives and gives him money to pay Phil for the lease. He introduces Michael to Kat but she is not pleased by his arrival. Michael later reveals he is returning to Spain, and Alfie finds some money and a letter from him, revealing that he is Kat's baby's father. Alfie does not let on to Kat that he knows but later they argue when Kat thinks Alfie does not want the baby, and he leaves. Alfie later reveals he does know and insists he wants the baby but Kat does not believe him, so she agrees to go to Spain with Michael. However, when Alfie tells Michael to make sure he looks after them both, Kat changes her mind. She then sees that Alfie has bought a cot and toys for the baby. Alfie struggles to pay the rent to Phil so tries to raise money by gambling, but loses. However, Phil's cousin Roxy Mitchell (Rita Simons) pays two months' rent for him after seeing how much money he lost gambling. He then unveils the newly refurbished pub to Kat. On the day of the grand opening, Greg says there has been a hitch, so Alfie, who has given away tickets to the event, has to host a party at the Slaters' house. However, the pub opens the next day, where Kat sees Alfie and Roxy together and fights with Roxy. Alfie takes Roxy's side and ejects Kat from the pub. However, they later reconcile and Alfie proposes that they renew their wedding vows, which Kat accepts. The day does not go quite according to plan, as he jeopardises his own ceremony to help Roxy with her sister Ronnie's (Samantha Womack) wedding, however, Kat realises she does not need a big ceremony. Instead of having an official ceremony, Alfie arranges an unofficial one in the middle of the Square with just him and Kat.
Kat gives birth to a boy named Tommy but is soon rushed to hospital as part of the placenta was undelivered, causing her to haemorrhage. Charlie is left to look after the baby but decides to join the New Year's party downstairs. Ronnie's baby James, who was born on the same day as Tommy, dies of cot death and Ronnie swaps the babies. When Alfie returns home he finds James dead, believing him to be Tommy. Kat and Alfie struggle to cope with their loss but eventually start to get through it until Michael returns a month later to see his son. Although Kat tells Michael to leave, he stays because he has friends locally. Kat ends up kissing Michael, and though he rejects her, saying there is nothing between them without Tommy, Alfie sees Kat break down when Michael leaves. Eventually Kat's resentment causes Alfie to move out after they have a row, which makes their marriage turn sour. After Ronnie discovers this, she is shocked and asks in implication that he and Kat has split up. Kat then later sees Alfie leaving with Michael in his car for a weekend break away from Walford. When Kat is upset she tells him that a coroner has visited confirming that Tommy (James) died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. He comforts her and tells her that he feels the same way about Tommy's death, as if he was his biological father. Kat appears to be slightly delighted as she says she is not alone. Kat and Alfie's relationship breaks down but Michael helps to get them back together. They consider IVF to try for another baby, but do not go through with it. Eventually, Ronnie confesses to Kat that she swapped the babies and returns Tommy. Alfie and Kat are reunited with Tommy after talking to a social worker. Ronnie is eventually sent to prison for her crime, though Kat forgives her. Kat and Alfie then holiday in Spain, leaving Alfie's second cousin Eddie Moon (David Essex) to look after the pub. When they return, they bring Shenice Quinn (Lily Harvey) with them, the daughter of Kat's friend Martina Quinn (Tamara Wall) who visited them earlier in the year.
Kat finds out she is pregnant and Alfie, believing he cannot have children, asks who the father is. Kat insists she has not cheated but Alfie says he knew what Kat was like when he married her. Alfie's attempts to make up for this after finding out he can have children all fail, even after Kat suffers a miscarriage, and she tells him she does not want any more children, and that their relationship will just be for show from now on. Alfie stops paying Kat attention in an attempt to help their relationship, but she has a one-night stand with Mark Garland (Chris Simmons), which she regrets after hearing a voicemail message from Alfie saying how much he loves her. Alfie then takes Kat, Tommy and Shenice on holiday, unaware of Kat's infidelity. However, when they return, Kat feels guilty so tells Alfie she cheated on him. Alfie demands to know why, so Kat tells him he already knows—because she is like that and always will be. Alfie tells Kat he would rather have Kat cheat on him and not know about it than not have her in his life. The couple attempt to mend relations with each other over Christmas, but Alfie overhears Kat saying that she doesn't think he loves her.
Originally appearing in the show between 21 November 2002 and 25 December 2005, it was announced on 7 February 2010 that Richie would return to the show to reprise the role in autumn 2010.[3] The decision was made following the resignation from the show of Barbara Windsor, who played Peggy Mitchell, which left what executive producer Bryan Kirkwood described as a "hole" in the programme.[4] Kirkwood decided that the time was right for Kat and Alfie to return, saying that they "very much herald the new era of EastEnders."[5] Richie had ruled out a return in 2009, saying that the show had moved on from his character and he felt he did not have the energy to be in such a "full-on" show again.[6] Richie commented on his return: "It's an honour and a privilege to be asked back to the iconic series of EastEnders which is at the top of its game! I'm looking forward to finding out what Alfie has been up to over the last few years but more importantly – what the future has in store for him."[7] John Yorke, controller of BBC drama production, said: "Alfie is one of EastEnders' most loved and iconic characters, so he's bound to get a very warm welcome from viewers when he returns to Walford. We've had so many new and interesting characters settle into Albert Square since Alfie departed that it's going to make for fantastic viewing when one of the show's most familiar faces rides back into the East End."[7] It was reported by The Daily Mirror that Alfie and Kat would regain control of The Queen Victoria public house after it burns down.[8] Richie revealed in an interview with This Morning that Kat and Alfie would be involved in an ongoing storyline, which he said is "going to be the biggest soap story in probably the history of soaps."[9] The storyline was one where Ronnie Branning's baby James dies of cot death and she secretly swaps the infant with Kat's baby Tommy. An EastEnders insider told Daily Star Sunday that when Ronnie reveals the truth in April 2011, Kat and Alfie are unable to believe it.[10]
Richie has received immediate acclaim for bringing humour to a programme so depressing and has won a number of awards and nominations for his portrayal of Alfie. In the National Television Awards, he won Most Popular Actor in 2003,[11] with nominations in 2004[12] and 2005.[13] He was nominated in the Best Newcomer and Best Comedy Performance categories at the British Soap Awards in 2003,[14] and won Best Actor in 2004[15] along with nominations for Best Comedy Performance and Best On-Screen Partnership (shared with Wallace).[16] He also won Best Actor in 2005, and was nominated in 2006,[16] as well as being nominated for Best Exit along with Wallace in 2006.[14] He was further nominated in 2011 for 'Best Actor.[17] In the Inside Soap Awards, he won Best Newcomer in 2003,[18] Best Couple (with Wallace) in 2004,[19] and Best Actor in 2005.[16] At the TV Quick Awards, he was awarded Best Soap Newcomer in 2003,[20] and Best Soap Actor in 2004[21] and 2005.[22] In 2004, he won a Rose d'Or for Best Performance in a Soap.[23]
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