Former ‘EastEnders’ boss Dominic Treadwell-Collins has revealed the other Walford couple he’d love to create a separate spin-off show for.
The executive producer left E20 behind back in February 2016, and is about to introduce his latest project ‘Redwater’, which sees EastEnders’ Kat and Alfie Moon in Ireland, to search for her long lost son.
Speaking to HuffPost UK, Dominic explained that moving two characters to an entirely new setting isn’t easy. He said: “You can take these characters who are so loved and put them in a whole new world and I don’t think you could do that with a lot of soap characters.
“But Shane [Richie] and Jessie [Wallace], and Kat and Alfie, are so beloved by the nation so it felt right to do it with them. It’s still a big risk, and it takes the first ten minutes or so [to get used to it].”
When pressed on which other characters could potentially be suitable for a spin-off, Dominic replied: “There aren’t many. I think… I’ve always thought Mick and Linda in ‘EastEnders’.
“I could watch them for ages but it’s because they’re based on my mum and dad! So I’ve got a lot of stories there.
“They’ve only been on ‘EastEnders’ a few years and they don’t have as rich a history yet, as Kat and Alfie have. “
It’s been over 12 months since Dominic left ‘EastEnders’ behind, and he also reflected on his reasons for deciding to leave, revealing he no longer tunes in regularly.
“For three years, ‘EastEnders’ was my wife,” he said. “I slept it, I dreamt ‘EastEnders’ most nights, I worked until midnight after work, I worked every Saturday, every Sunday, I didn’t see my friends, I didn’t do anything… which was good for the show, less good for me.
“So as soon as I handed over the scripts, I met my boyfriend, and I’ve got a life. To run a show like ‘EastEnders’ you’ve got to live, it’s a show about life, and by the end of it, I’d stopped living and I needed to go away and do other things, for the good of the show.
“I don’t have the time [to watch]. I try to watch a bit of everything now, to see what’s going on in tele.
“I’ll watch the odd episode, if someone tells me to, or a writer I know says ‘can you watch tonight’s episode?’.
“But you also have to remove yourself because it’s not my baby anymore. You give your baby up for adoption, and let someone else bring it up, and that’s what you’ve got to do, you can’t get too emotional about it.
“I’m far too emotional as a person anyway, I’ve got to step away from my baby.”
‘Redwater’ airs on Thursday 18 May at 8pm.