Life is looking bleak for Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) in EastEnders, as he faces up to the tragic news that he has prostate cancer.

After undergoing tests, recent episodes saw him telling Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) and Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) that he had been given the all clear – though it will transpire that he was lying during a confrontation with Phil.

The character is set to undergo a prostatectomy, with Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) heading to the hospital to offer her support.

But will this be the end for the Walford favourite? Here’s what Shane Richie has said…

Is Alfie Moon leaving EastEnders?

In the wake of his sad news Alfie Moon will be leaving EastEnders, with the character set to recuperate from his operation in Spain.

However there’s no suggestion that Shane Richie is leaving the show, so it lookslikely that we haven’t seen the last of Alfie.

Speaking on The One Show, the 59-year-old actor hinted that the character will return to Walford – and even suggested there could be future fireworks between him and ex-wife Kat (Jessie Wallace).

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‘Next year something may happen,’ he said. ‘But we don’t know.’

Alfie’s cancer was caught after Phil (Steve McFadden) made him go to hospital after suffering pains, having been punched by son Tommy Moon (Sonny Kendall).

Despite initially lying about the results, Alfie later reveals the truth to Phil after getting into a fight with him over his one-night stand with Emma Harding (Patsy Kensit).

It’s been a challenging storyline for Shane, who told The One Show EastEnders ‘has a history’ of highlighting important medical stories, and that this one was ‘so important to tell.’

He revealed he spent an afternoon with prostate cancer patient Jonathan Hall, who was diagnosed with the disease three years ago, and who had earlier shared his own story on the programme.

‘At the end of it, I was a mess.’

‘I remember coming out of it going, “Oh, this is such an important story to tell.”

‘And the fact they gave that particular story to a character like Alfie Moon, as people are familiar with Alfie over 21 years, maybe doing it with another character wouldn’t have had the same impact.’

EastEnders continues on BBC One on Thursday night at 7.30pm.

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