He then causes havoc in the local 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.

Kat has sex with Roger (Russell Boulter), a stranger, while intoxicated and finally sees sense, deciding to return to Alfie, but he discovers she has slept with a man she doesn't know and throws her out, so she leaves Walford again.

His relatives Lee and Jono Finnerty (Dylan Brown and Colin Parry) track her down but Alfie scares them off by pretending to be a CID officer, though they take most of Kat's money.

Charlie decides to join the New Year's party, rather than stay with Tommy so he is unattended when Ronnie Mitchell finds herself in The Queen Vic with her dead son and she swaps the babies.

She tells him she does not want any more children and that their relationship will just be for show from now on, leading her to have a one-night stand with Mark Garland (Chris Simmons), which she regrets after hearing Alfie's voicemail, saying how much he loves her.

When Billy is arrested on suspicion of murdering Heather Trott (Cheryl Fergison), Derek worries that he may implicate them in the alcohol theft and asks Alfie to frame Phil by hiding goods at his garage.

When outside, he learns Kat is in the house and rushes back to rescue her but Mo's stash of dodgy hairspray causes an explosion, just as Alfie opens the front door.

He tells Stacey and she suggests ringing the insurance company again but Alfie refuses, adamant that they won't change their decision and blames Mo.

Stacey sees Hayley and Alfie kissing and is horrified to uncover Cherry's paternity and issues an ultimatum: one of them leaves, or Kat learns the truth.

Later, after explaining this to a concerned Kat, who reprimands him for his schemes, Alfie and the rest of the Slaters are stunned to find Hayley unconscious from drinking after locking herself in the bathroom with Cherry.

Kat also goes there once she realises the twins are missing- all are stuck on the boat and she is forced to swim across the river in her wedding dress to get to the ceremony on time; however, she arrives once all the guests have gone home and interrupts a moment between Phil and his ex-wife Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean).

Alfie then pulls various schemes to try and win Kat's heart but to no avail and it is only when Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) gives him some home truths that he starts to re-evaluate the situation.

Alfie enlists the help of Kat's nephew Freddie Slater (Bobby Brazier) to pull various scams to raise the money and ends up selling his boat.

[1] Richie was already a familiar face to the UK audience, having had a career as an entertainer, appearing in various gameshows, variety shows and fronting advertising campaigns, most notably for the washing detergent Daz.

[2] 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.

"[6] 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] Controller of BBC drama production John Yorke predicted that their return would make "fantastic viewing", given the wealth of new characters introduced since their departure.

"[16] "The storyline presented Ronnie with grief, disbelief and anger and the temporary breakdown of her relationship as well as her gradual coming to terms with her loss and the efforts to re-build her life following the tragedy.

It is Ofcom's view that the broadcaster did not intend the storyline to suggest that her actions were a typical response of a mother who had experienced SIDS and therefore sufficient editorial context was provided to viewers."

[19][20] It was reported by the Daily Star Sunday that Ronnie experiences a change of heart after visiting relatives in hospital and seeing the midwife who delivered her son.

[26] Marsh wrote in her magazine section: "Last week, EastEnders was cleared of wrongdoing by Ofcom, the media regulator, over its baby swap storyline, and I think that's the right decision.

"[30] On 3 April 2015, it was announced that Wallace and Richie would reprise their respective roles as Kat and Alfie in a standalone six-part BBC One drama series based in Ireland.

[33] Treadwell-Collins expressed the team's excitement about the drama and stated that he look forward to "taking our style of storytelling to a place of stories, myth, secrets and immeasurable beauty.

Treadwell-Collins teased that there would be "several huge twists for Kat and Alfie Moon that will change their lives forever", and the spin-off would allow the characters to seek answers to "some very big questions".

Writers established the stories for Redwater prior to the characters' exit: it is revealed that Kat unknowingly gave birth to a son, and Alfie discovers that he has a brain tumour.

[48] Alfie made an unannounced return to the soap in episode 5712, first broadcast on 24 May 2018, when he meets up with Kat's cousin Hayley Slater (Katie Jarvis) in a hotel room.

The show's production team went to extreme lengths to maintain the secrecy of Alfie's return by using code names, censoring scripts and transporting Richie into the studios using cars with blacked out windows.

[54] Writers created a twist in the show's Christmas episode when Hayley pushes Alfie down the stairs, causing him to bang his head, after the truth about Cherry's father is exposed.

Clenshaw echoed this, commenting, "Shane Richie created one of the most iconic, loveable and most memorable characters in soap, and to welcome him back to Walford is an absolute pleasure".