Alfie Moon (Shane Ritchie) has not had an easy ride of it of late in EastEnders.
After undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, he has also been dealing with
his adopted son Tommy Moon’s (Sonny Kendall) troubling
behaviour. But things get worse for the former Queen Vic landlord in the BBC soap next week, when he loses his job at the bookies. Forthcoming scenes will see Alfie and ex-wife Kat Mitchell (Jessie Wallace) continue to struggle with Tommy, who viewers will remember punched his mum in the stomach over the summer as they clashed over her ex Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden).
The violent teen sparks more anguish for his parents when he bunks off school, as Kat tells Alfie off for not disciplining Tommy enough.
As Alfie resolves to have a heart-to-heart with him, he closes the bookies early and heads to the café with Tommy.
However, his bosses soon find the bookies’ closed and Alfie is immediately fired.
As he ponders how he will provide for his family, Tommy proves to be helpful when he finds an opportunity for Alfie when a job for the manager of the Minute Mart is listed.
When he later gets a surprise at the interview, Kat convinces Alfie to take the job not realising that him doing so could soon have huge consequences for her as far as Tommy is concerned…
It was announced earlier this year that Kat and Tommy will be at the centre of a new child-to-parent abuse storyline, exploring how the teenager manipulates Kat’s unequivocal love for her son to exert his anger and elicit control.
EastEnders’ executive producer Chris Clenshaw said at the time: ‘Jessie and Sonny’s performances have thoughtfully portrayed the complex realities of child to parent abuse with compassion and understanding, and the storyline will demonstrate how Tommy’s behaviour affects their relationship and the wider Slater-Moon family as a whole.’
