Speaking to Inside Soap about forthcoming storyline for EastEnders, Shane Richie has revealed that he believes viewers prefer his character – Alfie Moon – and his on-screen wife Kat (Jessie Wallace) to be miserable!

Shane said, “People don’t like it when Kat and Alfie are really happy.

“I never used to believe that, but I do this time around.

“The way that Jessie and I like to think of it is that there’s the curtain in the Queen Vic that separates the bar from their home…

“Until you go behind it, you’d never have any idea there were problems. The bar is Kat and Alfie’s public stage.”

And of the upcoming storyline when Kat finds out she’s pregnant – which could mean Alfie isn’t infertile, and could in theory be baby Tommy’s real dad – Shane said, “As soon as I found out, I thought ‘If Alfie isn’t infertile, then surely Tommy could be his son?

“Jessie and I spoke about the dates of when Alfie was in prison, and when he saw Kat before she had the fling with Michael.

“The writers reckon they don’t match up, but we think they do. Jessie is quite adamant about it!”

Would you like it if it turned out Tommy was Alfie’s?