Art imitates life, and EastEnders star Shane Ritchie’s vision has proven to be a testament to this truth. Recently, Alfie Moon actor pitched a shattering scene to showrunners for his character on the soap. We know that Alfie Moon is diagnosed with prostate cancer, and he’s struggling to cope alone.
Alfie goes through a scene where he wets himself in the Vic during a gathering with his pals. Surprisingly, the scene is actually inspired by one of Shane’s friends. The actor spoke in volumes about the importance of that scene. Keep scrolling to see what Shane said about that scene!
EastEnders: Actor’s Friend Inspires Alfie’s ‘Embarrassing’ Scene
Walford’s beloved Alfie has been going through a tough patch following the treatment for prostate cancer on EastEnders. He underwent radiotherapy all by himself when he also stumbled upon a fellow patient whose family showed up. Wanting to cheer Alfie up, Linda Carter invited him for drinks with Ian and Billy in the Vic. Unfortunately, Alfie couldn’t make it to the loo in time and wetted himself on EastEnders. Surprisingly, Alfie actor Shane had actually come up with this scene because his friend had gone through something similar before.
Shane revealed that when the soap boss first introduced him to Alfie’s cancer storyline, he specifically requested this scene. “Because it happened to a friend of mine who went through prostate cancer,” said Ritchie. He continued that instead of explaining the embarrassing situation, Alfie lost it and shouted at Ian and Billy. “When it happens, you can see the embarrassment with Alfie, but even then, he still lies about why it’s happened.”
EastEnders : Why Support Matters in Turbulent Times!
Alfie confides in his friends about the diagnosis following some encouragement from Linda. The actor explained, “If anybody is going to understand and support him, it is going to be Ian and Billy.” Moreover, Shane emphasised the importance of having friends on your side in such challenging times. “When he tells them, it’s like somebody’s taken a weight off his shoulders,” expressed the actor.
In addition, Alfie’s friends are initially upset that Alfie didn’t tell them and was dealing with it on his own. However, “There’s something euphoric about it [telling them] for Alfie.” Additionally, Ritchie admitted that he “totally underestimated” the impact that narrating a story like this could potentially have on viewers. Finally, he threw in the major takeaway he hoped the audience would understand. Ritchie shared, “There is treatment out there and support.” And nobody should be afraid to ask for help when needed. We wish Alfie gets all the support he needs in this challenging fight against cancer and doesn’t feel alone.
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