The Water’s lovely for Kat and Alfie as Enders flounders
I could be reading way too much into this, but during Lorraine Kelly’s lively interview with Shane Richie and Jessie Wallace yesterday morning they seemed to be putting a little distance between their new Kat and Alfie project and Eastenders.
“It’s not a spin-off from Eastenders.” “It’s a standalone piece.”
“We never even mention Albert
Square or Walford.”
OK, so they may have stopped short of saying, “We’ve escaped from Dead-inthe-water to Redwater” – but I still think I’m on to something. Why would they want to publicly shun the show that made them, though?
I suppose it could just be that the BBC wants Redwater to be seen as a drama in its own right.
However, I suspect Jessie and Shane know Eastenders is on its backside and showing little sign of getting up. Good job they hadn’t seen their poor old mucker Adam Woodyatt reduced last night to conveying Ian Beale’s pain following an unfortunate incident involving a funfair and a coconut. (Sorry if I’ve made that sound a lot funnier than it was.)
Had they witnessed that – or indeed Kim Fox recreating the final scene from one of those “Have you had an accident that wasn’t your fault?” adverts – they might have insisted on a complete ban on anyone using the E-word in their presence.
Still, let’s look on the bright side. If Redwater is a success it could open up an escape route for the Eastenders cast.
First up, how about a sitcom all about Jack and Ronnie’s new life running a lettings agency in the Essex suburbs?
I’ve even got a name for their firm... Ongar Management.