As Alfie Moon prepares to face a gruelling battle with prostate cancer in the coming weeks, it’s pretty safe to say that the EastEnders favourite is going to need as much support as possible from the people around him.
But with Alfie’s brothers no longer on the scene and his cousins absent from the Square too, it’s only his children and former flame Kat Slater that he can truly rely on.
The eldest of his children of course, is adopted son Tommy Moon, who is actually the biological child of his cousin Michael and ex-wife Kat.
Adopted by Alfie as an infant, the doting dad has always raised Tommy as his own child (much to Tommy's chagrin) and during his time on the show, the youngster has been played by five different actors so far!
So who exactly are the stars that have played him?
Ralfie and Shane White
Since first being introduced to fans in 2010 as a baby, the infant Tommy was played by real life siblings Ralfie and Shane White.
For four years the adorable tots were the onscreen stars that brought little Tommy to life, before they were recast.
So far, it appears that EastEnders is their only acting credit to date, with no further performances following since leaving the soap.
Henry Proctor
The next star to play Tommy, was Henry Proctor, who famously starred as the youngster in the Kat & Alfie spinoff series Redwater.
Kat & Alfie: Redwater (also called Redwater in Ireland) saw Kat Moon, played by Jessie Wallace, and Alfie Moon, played by Shane Richie live out a turbulent storyline in a fictional village of Redwater in Ireland.
Spread over just six episodes, the show followed the journey of the couple as they tried to track down Kat’s long lost son, all while surviving under the shadow of Alfie’s terrifying brain tumour diagnosis.
Just like Ralfie and Shane before him, Henry hasn’t been in anything else other than the soap, with EastEnders listed as his only professional credit on IMDB.
Shay Crotty
Following in the footsteps of the three children before him, Shay was the fourth child actor to take on the role of Tommy.
Making his debut in 2015 when he was just five years old, Shay held the role of Tommy for around six years in total, before departing in April 2021 so that the role could be recast.
In those six years, Shay’s interpretation of Tommy was pivotal to several storylines and even saw him emotionally open up to his former stepdad Kush Kazemi about his struggles with school – even later going on to be diagnosed with Dyslexia.
Although no reason was given for the recast, Shay didn’t appear to have any hard feelings, as he shared a sweet goodbye message to his cast-mates at the time of his departure.
"Thank you @bbceastenders for having me and making me part of the team!” he wrote.
"I've had the best years with you, I've learnt so much and had the best time both on and off set with the best family."
He added: "Gonna miss you so much mummy Kat (Jessie) we had such fun and laughs over the years!!
"It was just a such pleasure working with you and dad @theshanerichie, I learnt so much from you both and laughed so much!! Best family on the square #fact."
Since leaving the show, Shay has been enjoying his time away from Walford as he is frequently spotted on social media with his parents enjoying multiple days out, including with his baby sister who arrived not long after his departure from the soap.
Sonny Kendall
The most recent star to take on the role of Tommy Moon, is of course Sonny Kendall, who in his two years on the soap so far, has already starred in an impressive 97 episodes to date!
Since taking over the role in July 2021, Sonny has received widespread praise for his portrayal of Tommy on our screens.
His performance as the victim of bullying in March 2022 received particular attention, with the emotional scenes even earning him a British Soap Award nomination for Best Young Performer that very same year!
EastEnders continues Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer
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