EastEnders actor Steve John Shepherd reveals to Soaplife that Michael’s going to run his dad out of Walford... one way or the other. EastEnders fans and cast think it's great to see David Essex join the soap. "I'm extremely excited," Steve tells Soaplife. "And so is my mum; she's an enormous fan. She's over the moon about it, pardon the pun!" But David's character, Eddie Moon, isn't at all welcome as far as his son Michael is concerned. There’s a huge rift between father and son and its cause is a shocking secret Michael has carried with him since childhood. "Having his dad in Walford is dredging up terrible memories for Michael," Steve adds... and he hints it won't just be Eddie who suffers in the fall-out! Does Michael know Eddie's coming to Walford? "He doesn't know in advance. Eddie walks into The Vic and, moments later, Michael enters, sees his dad and leaves. Michael's distanced himself from the Moon family and things are acrimonious between him, his dad and his two brothers, Anthony and Tyler." Eddie's got a newspaper picture of Kat, Tommy and Alfie... Is that why he's turned up? "Michael doesn't know that Eddie's seen them in the papers. He's certainly not ready to deal with the idea of a relationship between Eddie and Tommy." He can't even deal with a relationship between himself and Tommy! "Right now he thinks it's better for everyone if he takes no responsibility for Tommy. But that could change at some point." So what's the problem between Michael and Eddie? "It's something dark and it's still very raw for Michael. It's made him the person he is today. It's why he is so damaged. And dangerous." So Eddie's presence stirs up bad memories for Michael? "Yes and I think that's going to have a damaging effect on Michael's relationships with the people around him." Does he tell Roxy the secret? "Eventually, yes, and she shoulders some of the burden. But that won't be enough for Michael. He'll want to exact some sort of revenge on his dad. It will have ramifications for everybody involved." How are things going with Roxy? "They're going well at the moment, but I don't know how long it will carry on like this. Michael has a dark side and some demons that need to be exorcised." What's in store for Michael? "There are some exciting things to come. Some darkness and also some light."
