Alfie Moon
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, following the return of on-screen wife Kat (Jessie Wallace) two episodes previously.
Eddie Moon
On 24 January 2011, it was announced that Essex had been cast in the role of Eddie, the father of Michael Moon (Steve John Shepherd). It was stated that Eddie's other children would arrive after him, and his "fractured" relationship with Michael would be explored. Of his role, Essex said, "Being an East-Ender myself, I'm really excited to be joining the Square. Eddie Moon is a great character and I can't wait to get to grips with the role and work with such a fantastic cast. I'm really pleased that I've been able to make filming work around my tour dates this time." Executive producer Bryan Kirkwood said that Essex would "bring warmth and charisma to the role of Eddie Moon" and added that Eddie and the return of Michael will bring "a new generation of the Moon family to Walford." Essex had been cast as Jack Edwards six years previously, but withdrew from the role due to a clash with his touring schedule. He revealed "[T]he character [...] wasn't as interesting as this one. I think we would've made something out of it, but there's much more texture and weight to this." On 27 February 2011, Essex told "Elaine Paige on Sunday" that he would start filming as Eddie in April and that the character and his storylines were being brainstormed. He revealed that his initial contract would end in August 2011 and although he could stay on longer, he said there are other acting and touring projects "pulling me out of "EastEnders", but emotionally, I'm here." He later revealed that Eddie would remain on screen until October. He hoped that he could return and become a regular returning character, joking that he would be an "occasional Mooner", but later he ruled out a return to the show. He said that joining the cast was "daunting" and a "great adventure" that was "taking over [his] life", and because he was writing a film score at the same time as filming for "EastEnders", it was "tricky" and he found it difficult to adjust.