REDWATER SPECIAL

EX-EASTENDER Shane Richie reckons soaps are like “fast food” these days because storylines tend to happen so quickly.

The actor has left the BBC show to star in a spin-off called Redwater. Viewers will see him back as his Albert Square alter ego Alfie Moon heading to Ireland with his TV wife Kat (Jessie Wallace) in a dark tale that is already being likened to Broadchurch. It’s been 15 years since they became Walford’s “golden couple”. But Shane thinks writing dramas has changed a lot since then. He said: “Back in 2002 it was different. “It took a year before Kat and Alfie kissed. They had a slow burn. “Millions of people were tuning in just to see if they’d kiss or not. But that doesn’t happen now in soaps. “The appetite has become more voracious so it’s more like fast food. “I think it’s happening with telly in general, I think it’s the same with game and reality shows. “The audience has a shorter attention span so things are getting much quicker. “It’s the same for music and people’s lifestyles in general. “TV has to keep reinventing itself. You get old people like myself going: ‘It’s not like it used to be.’ “But it does change. Sometimes it changes for the better, sometimes it doesn’t.” Starring on EastEnders made Shane one of telly’s most famous faces but since he left the soap in 2015, he hasn’t been keeping up with the latest plots. He said: “I’ve done so much other stuff and I’ve had babies as well. “I’m still catching up with Peppa Pig on the iPlayer.”