Kat & Alfie: Redwater (also called Redwater in Ireland), is a Neo-Noir spinoff from popular BBC soap opera EastEnders. The British–Irish co-production television series was broadcast on RTÉ One and BBC One in 2017. It was created by Dominic Treadwell-Collins as a six-part series based on the characters Kat Moon, played by Jessie Wallace, and Alfie Moon, played by Shane Richie, from the soap opera EastEnders. The series is set in the fictional Irish village of Redwater, where the residents are hiding a dark secret, and features an ensemble cast. Redwater is a co-production between the BBC and Element Pictures, with Victoria Wharton serving as producer. It was filmed on location in Dublin, County Waterford and County Wicklow between 11 April and 26 July 2016. It started airing in Ireland on 14 May 2017 and the United Kingdom on 18 May 2017. It has also been shown in the United States and Canada. A second series was mooted during filming of the first but in September 2017, it was confirmed that no more episodes would be produced, leaving the fates of the characters unknown. However, Kat's return to EastEnders was confirmed on 20 December 2017, meaning that she had survived the events of Redwater, and EastEnders storylines following her return confirmed that Alfie had also survived and he returned later in the year.
Premise Kat & Alfie: Redwater follows two characters from EastEnders, Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) and her husband Alfie Moon (Shane Richie), as they arrive in the fictional Irish village of Redwater to "search for answers to some very big questions" and put their past behind them. Redwater is described as a "very little romantic seaside town", and "a tiny, picturesque Irish harbour village, a quiet rural idyll by the sea where the Kelly and Dolan families have lived for generations." The then executive producer of EastEnders, also executive producer of Redwater, Dominic Treadwell-Collins, said that two events in EastEnders serve as a catalyst for the series. In EastEnders episodes broadcast in April, May and December 2015 and January 2016, Kat and Alfie win the lottery, Alfie discovers he has a mass in his brain and Kat discovers she gave birth to a son, Luke, after she passed out during the birth of her daughter Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan); Luke was adopted by a family in Ireland without Kat knowing he existed. Kat's sister Belinda Peacock (Carli Norris) recalls a time the family (minus Kat) went to Redwater and they conclude that Luke must be there. Treadwell-Collins confirmed that "the discovery that Kat has a secret son will [...] ultimately lead to the Moons realising that the answers to so many questions lie across the sea in Ireland."
Director Jesper W. Nielsen said the series is "About how one woman's search for a lost child opens Pandora's box; revealing the terrible lies and secrets in the little village of Redwater" and "about how the strong bonds of love in a family can hold everything together, and yet at the same time—destroy everything. It has echoes of a Shakespearean drama, told in a rich cinematic style, loaded with humour and suspense." Editor Celia Haining said that Kat and Alfie "end up becoming entangled with four generations of an Irish family who all have their own mysterious secrets about the past". Richie confirmed that Kat and Alfie's storylines are "part of a large tapestry of other stories that are happening in Redwater." Ian McElhinney, who plays Lance Byrne in the series, described the village of Redwater as a "small community" that is dominated by the Byrne family, who are connected to everyone else. The series also revolves around a family tragedy that happened 21 years previously. Fionnula Flanagan, who plays Agnes Byrne in the series, confirmed that it is about "the suppressed whisperings and shoulder nudges that were for decades a feature of Irish rural life".
Richie said the series was a standalone drama that is "nothing to do with EastEnders except for that it's Kat and Alfie" and "a whole new universe for [them]." He called it a "dark story" that is "quite religious" but with a "charm about it". He compared it to "Broadchurch meets The Wicker Man", while Deadline Hollywood called it a "lighter Broadchurch", as it was expected to "mix the Moons' knack for comedy and turmoil with dark drama". Wallace also compared the series to Under Milk Wood and Philomena. Episode 1 writer Matthew Graham said the series is family-based and character-based, "emotionally real and raw" with "a heightened realism at times". Duncan Lindsay from the Metro confirmed that the series was "no slow burner" as viewers would discover the identity of Kat's son in the first episode, which "contains twists that set the scene for some dark episodes ahead." The series was described as a "rural gothic murder mystery" by the Irish Examiner, who also said that Nielsen's direction "conjures the spirit of Scandi noir". Flanagan described it as Irish noir, or dubh.
Development
Conception
In 2015, Alex Lamb, story producer for EastEnders, pitched a storyline that Kat would discover a son she did not know about, and it was hoped that Kat's search for her son would bring the character "new purpose", but it was felt that Kat's search could not be confined to the setting of Albert Square, and a week of EastEnders episodes set in Spain was considered. Treadwell-Collins pitched the week of episodes to then-Controller of Drama, Ben Stephenson, but they realised that the story would be big enough for its own series and Treadwell-Collins thought that Kat and Alfie "could work in a whole new universe" and that "other characters and their stories could be created around them." Originally the series was to be set in Spain, but Treadwell-Collins thought it was "too obvious" as the series needed to be "fresh, different and to have soul." Treadwell-Collins came up with the idea of setting the series in Ireland when he was on holiday in New Orleans on St Patrick's Day, and he saw people having fun but also claiming to be Irish. Treadwell-Collins realised that Ireland had not been portrayed in mainstream British television since the series Ballykissangel, and the Slater family's (of which Kat is a member) biography in EastEnders states that their origins are in Ireland, and with Wallace, Richie and Treadwell-Collins all having Irish backgrounds, Treadwell-Collins said that "Ireland felt right".
The new series for actors Wallace and Richie was confirmed on 4 April 2015 by Treadwell-Collins. It was announced that the characters of Kat and Alfie would leave EastEnders together, and the series would be set in Ireland. Treadwell-Collins' intention was to create "a new contemporary ensemble drama set in Ireland". Treadwell-Collins called it the "perfect time" for the characters to be taken "out of their comfort zone" and added that his team were "creating a whole new drama that stands apart from EastEnders while taking our style of storytelling to a place of stories, myth, secrets and immeasurable beauty." Charlotte Moore, Controller of BBC One, said: "Life is anything but dull for favourite EastEnders couple Kat and Alfie as they embark on a new life in Ireland in this exciting drama series. Rest assured, their rollercoaster isn't set to end any time soon." Redwater is the first major network drama to derive from EastEnders.
Speaking in reference to the show, Wallace commented, "I have always loved working on EastEnders so when I heard of this new drama to take Kat and Alfie outside of Walford, I couldn't believe our luck. To be exploring the next chapter for Kat as well as working alongside my best mate, Shane, is a dream come true and a huge compliment." Richie said, "Both Jessie and I are absolutely thrilled to be given this amazing opportunity. To have a whole drama focused around Kat and Alfie is a huge honour for us both and we just can't wait to start filming." Treadwell-Collins later spoke again about the new series: "We want to create something big around [Kat and Alfie]. EastEnders as a brand can afford to do it and I've always wanted to do something like that. I'm from Ireland originally, so it's a place I know well. Shane's Irish, Jessie's half Irish—so, there's an Irish connection between all of us. The other important thing about the spin-off show is it's not just about Kat and Alfie—we've created a whole new world and a new lot of characters. The writers have created a really lovely, interesting world, but also with our style of storytelling." EastEnders previously had a storyline set in Ireland in 1997, which was heavily criticised for its unflattering depiction of Irish life, but Richie stated the series would not parody Irish life or "play the dopey card".
The village of Redwater was first namechecked in EastEnders on 21 January 2016. Redwater was announced as the official title on 1 August 2016. 13 April 2017, the title of the series was revealed as Kat & Alfie: Redwater, though it continued to be referred to as Redwater. Treadwell-Collins said that he would not be working on a second series as he had left the BBC but had spoken to producer Victoria Wharton about it and had "[started] putting plans in place about what would happen next. Throughout the series, we have very carefully laid down secrets and hinted at other characters. The end of this series will feel like a midpoint—not an ending. We leave it on the mother of all cliffhangers at the end of episode six." On 14 June 2017, the BBC stated that no decision had yet been made for the series to return. On 20 September 2017, it was officially confirmed that Kat & Alfie: Redwater would not return for a second series, with a BBC spokesperson saying, "In order to increase the range of new original drama on BBC One, Kat & Alfie: Redwater won't be returning."
Production
Kat & Alfie: Redwater is a co-production between the BBC and RTÉ. Filming was originally due to start in autumn 2015, with the series being broadcast in 2016. Wallace and Richie were to be given time off from EastEnders to film the series, with Treadwell-Collins saying they would be out of EastEnders "for a while". The characters departed from screens on 22 May 2015. However, the series was delayed for unspecified reasons and on 17 October 2015, it was announced that the pair would return to EastEnders, appearing over the Christmas period to set up the storyline that sees Kat discover she has a son and Alfie reveal his tumour. Richie and Wallace first saw the scripts for Redwater on 13 January 2016, and it was confirmed that filming would start after they finished touring with the stage show The Perfect Murder, which was scheduled to run from 2 February until 2 April 2016.
Filming was scheduled to take place in Ireland over a period of three to four months. On 5 April 2016, Treadwell-Collins tweeted the front page of the script from the first episode, confirming that the first read-through was that day, and the episode was written by Matthew Graham. The other writers for the series are Lauren Klee, Matthew Barry (two episodes) and Julie Dixon (two episodes), though Graham oversaw the storylines for the other five episodes. Jesper W. Nielsen (four episodes) and Karl Neilson (two episodes) are the directors and Victoria Wharton is the producer. Graham said he was attracted to the series because he used to be a writer for EastEnders and found Kat and Alfie to be "two of the most dynamic characters to write for", and wanted to "[create] the debris from [Kat's] explosive arrival [in Redwater]".