EastEnders couple Shane Richie and Jessie Wallace may be taking a break from the soap, but they're not taking a break from each other after signing up to play a married couple on stage.
The pair, who play Alfie and Kat Moon in the hit BBC soap, will appear in a touring production of The Perfect Murder, by best-selling crime writer Peter James.
Shane Richie and Jessie Wallace (Yui Mok/PA)
They play couple Victor and Joan Smiley, whose marriage is murder, in the show which will mark the first time they have appeared on stage together.
Jessie said: “As soon as I read the script, I knew I had to do it. Watch out because sparks are going to fly and it’s the perfect murder.”
Author Peter said the casting was a 'dream come true'.
He said: “Shane has been a fan of my books for a while, as I have been of Shane.
Shane Richie and Jessie Wallace (Ian West/PA)
“He and Jessie have been loved on television by huge audiences over a number of years, which just goes to show how great they are together and I can’t wait to see Shane and Jessie planning to murder each other on stage every night.”
The pair, who left Walford temporarily to star in their own spin-off series, will be seen on TV again when their EastEnders characters visit Ireland to put their rocky past behind them in a six-part drama.
The stage show opens in Cheltenham in February 2016, before moving to theatres across the country including Newcastle, Edinburgh and Brighton.
