Redwater (TV series)

Redwater (working title)
Genre Drama
Created by Dominic Treadwell-Collins
Directed by Jesper W. Nielsen
Starring
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 1
No. of episodes 6
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Dominic Treadwell-Collins
Producer(s) Vicky Wharton
Location(s) Ireland
Running time 60 minutes
Production company(s)
Release
Original network BBC One
Original release 2017[1]
Chronology
Related shows EastEnders

Redwater is the current working title of a British television drama scheduled for broadcast on BBC One in 2017. It was created by Dominic Treadwell-Collins as a six-part series based on the characters Kat Moon, played by Jessie Wallace, and Alfie Moon, played by Shane Richie, from the soap opera EastEnders. The series is set in the fictional Irish village of Redwater, where the residents are hiding a dark secret, and features an ensemble cast. Redwater is a co-production between the BBC and Element Pictures, with Vicky Wharton serving as producer. It is currently being filmed on location in Dublin and Dunmore East and a second series has been mooted.

Premise

Redwater follows two characters from EastEnders, Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) and her husband Alfie Moon (Shane Richie), as they arrive in the Irish village of Redwater to "search for answers to some very big questions" and put their past behind them.[2] Redwater is described as "a tiny, picturesque Irish harbour village, a quiet rural idyll by the sea where the Kelly and Dolan families have lived for generations."[1] The executive producer of EastEnders and Redwater, Dominic Treadwell-Collins, said that two events in EastEnders serve as a catalyst for the series.[3] In EastEnders episodes broadcast in April, May and December 2015 and January 2016, Kat and Alfie win the lottery, Alfie discovers he has a mass in his brain and Kat discovers she gave birth to a son, Luke, after she passed out during the birth of her daughter Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan); Luke was adopted by a family in Ireland without Kat knowing he existed. Kat's sister Belinda Peacock (Carli Norris) recalls a time the family (minus Kat) went to Redwater and they conclude that Luke must be there. Treadwell-Collins confirmed that "the discovery that Kat has a secret son will [...] ultimately lead to the Moons realising that the answers to so many questions lie across the sea in Ireland."[4] Director Jesper W. Nielsen said the series is "About how one woman's search for a lost child opens Pandora's box; revealing the terrible lies and secrets in the little village of Redwater" and "about how the strong bonds of love in a family can hold everything together, and yet at the same time—destroy everything. It has echoes of a Shakespearean drama, told in a rich cinematic style, loaded with humour and suspense."[5]

Richie said the series is "not a spin-off"[6] but a standalone drama that is "nothing to do with EastEnders except for that it's Kat and Alfie"[7] and "a whole new universe for [them]."[8] He called it a "dark story"[7] that is "quite religious" but with a "charm about it",[9] adding that Kat and Alfie "should not be there".[10] He also compared it to "Broadchurch meets The Wicker Man",[10] while Deadline.com called it a "lighter Broadchurch", as it was expected to "mix the Moons' knack for comedy and turmoil with dark drama".[11] Episode 1 writer Matthew Graham said the series is family-based and character-based, "emotionally real and raw" with "a heightened realism at times".[12] The series was described as a "rural gothic murder mystery" by the Irish Examiner.[13]

Development

Conception

Shane Richie said he was "thrilled" to be in Redwater.[2]

A new series for actors Wallace and Richie was confirmed on 4 April 2015 by Treadwell-Collins, who also created the new show. It was announced that the characters of Kat and Alfie would leave EastEnders together, and the series would be set in Ireland.[2] Treadwell-Collins' intention was to create "a new contemporary ensemble drama set in Ireland".[14] He called it the "perfect time" for the characters to be taken "out of their comfort zone" and added that his team were "creating a whole new drama that stands apart from EastEnders while taking our style of storytelling to a place of stories, myth, secrets and immeasurable beauty."[2] Charlotte Moore, Controller of BBC One, said: "Life is anything but dull for favourite EastEnders couple Kat and Alfie as they embark on a new life in Ireland in this exciting drama series. Rest assured, their rollercoaster isn't set to end any time soon."[2] Redwater is the first major network drama to derive from EastEnders.[11]

Speaking about the show, Wallace commented, "I have always loved working on EastEnders so when I heard of this new drama to take Kat and Alfie outside of Walford, I couldn't believe our luck. To be exploring the next chapter for Kat as well as working alongside my best mate, Shane, is a dream come true and a huge compliment."[2] Richie said, "Both Jessie and I are absolutely thrilled to be given this amazing opportunity. To have a whole drama focused around Kat and Alfie is a huge honour for us both and we just can't wait to start filming."[2] Treadwell-Collins later spoke again about the new series: "We want to create something big around [Kat and Alfie]. EastEnders as a brand can afford to do it and I've always wanted to do something like that. I'm from Ireland originally, so it's a place I know well. Shane's Irish, Jessie’s half Irish—so, there’s an Irish connection between all of us. The other important thing about the spin-off show is it's not just about Kat and Alfie—we've created a whole new world and a new lot of characters. The writers have created a really lovely, interesting world, but also with our style of storytelling."[3] EastEnders previously had a storyline set in Ireland in 1997, which was heavily criticised for its unflattering depiction of Irish life, but Richie stated the series would not parody Irish life or "play the dopey card".[15]

The village of Redwater was first namechecked in EastEnders on 21 January 2016,[16] and the working title of the series was revealed as Redwater on 26 February 2016.[17] Richie hoped that the show would continue beyond its first series, saying, "With the storylines we've heard, I'd be very surprised if it wasn't a long runner. That's the plan."[17] On 20 April 2016, it was reported that BBC chiefs were "so impressed" with how filming for Redwater had gone that they had "given the green-light for it to return [for a second series] in extended form in a primetime 9pm slot" and that the "numerous characters [...] all have stories to tell."[18]

Production

Dunmore East (harbour pictured) is one of the filming locations of Redwater.

Filming was originally due to start in autumn 2015, with the series being broadcast in 2016.[2] Wallace and Richie were to be given time off from EastEnders to film the series, with Treadwell-Collins saying they would be out of EastEnders "for a while".[3] The characters departed from screens on 22 May 2015, following which Richie and Wallace had a number of meetings with Treadwell-Collins to discuss details of the new series.[19] However, the series was delayed for unspecified reasons[20] and on 17 October 2015, it was announced that the pair would return to EastEnders, appearing over the Christmas period to set up the storyline that sees Kat discover she has a son and Alfie reveal his tumour.[4] Richie and Wallace first saw the scripts for Redwater on 13 January 2016,[21] and it was confirmed that filming would start after they finished touring with the stage show The Perfect Murder,[21] which was scheduled to run from 2 February until 2 April 2016.[22]

Filming is scheduled to take place in Ireland over a period of three to four months.[21] On 5 April 2016, Treadwell-Collins tweeted the front page of the script from the first episode, confirming that the first read-through was that day, and the episode was written by Matthew Graham.[23] The other writers for the series are Lauren Klee, Matthew Barry and Julie Dixon, while Jesper W. Nielsen is the director[5] and Vicky Wharton is the producer.[14] Graham said he was attracted to the series because he used to be a writer for EastEnders and found Kat and Alfie to be "two of the most dynamic characters to write for", and wanted to "[create] the debris from [Kat's] explosive arrival [in Redwater]".[14] Filming started near Dublin on 11 April 2016,[24][25][26][13] with scenes in the setting of St Brendan's Catholic Church filmed at St Matthias' Church, Killiney, on 11 and 12 April.[27][28] On-location filming also took place on the Irish Sea off the Dublin coast on 5 May[29][30] and in Dalkey's Coliemore Harbour on 6 May.[31] Filming will also take place in the village of Dunmore East in County Waterford,[15] from where Treadwell-Collins tweeted two photos.[32] The Spinnaker Bar in Dunmore East is one of the filming locations.[33]

Cast and characters

Richie and Wallace were confirmed as actors is in the series upon its announcement, playing their EastEnders characters, Kat and Alfie.[2] Fionnula Flanagan was confirmed to be having a main role in the series on 11 April, when she said her character was "full of secrets, deceit and manipulation."[34] The full cast was revealed on 12 April 2016, including Maria Doyle Kennedy, Ian McElhinney, Angeline Ball, Peter Campion, Stanley Townsend, Ebony O'Toole-Acheampong, Oisin Stack, Stephen Hogan, Susan Ateh and Ian Toner.[5] According to the Daily Mirror, Stack's character is called Dermot.[29] Ateh will play Bernie Kelly, and Shashi Rami will also appear as Doctor Singh.[35]

Open auditions to cast extras took place at Waterford Harbour Sailing Club in Dunmore East on 1 April 2016[36] and The Central Arts on The Quay in Waterford on 2 April 2016,[37] with men, women and children of all ages being urged to audition.[38][39]

Episodes

There will be six hour-long episodes, which are all directed by Jesper W. Nielsen.[5]
No.
in series		 Episode title Written by Original air date UK viewers
(millions)
1"Episode One"[23]Matthew GrahamTBATBD
2TBATBATBATBD
3TBATBATBATBD
4TBATBATBATBD
5TBATBATBATBD
6TBATBATBATBD

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "BBC Blogs – EastEnders News & Spoilers – All-Irish cast set to join Kat and Alfie for Redwater". BBC Online. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Brown, David (4 April 2015). "EastEnders: Kat and Alfie to get their own drama series on BBC1". Radio Times. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Brown, David; Lazarus, Susanna (23 April 2015). ""Two massive twists" coming for Kat and Alfie, says EastEnders boss". Radio Times. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 Kilkelly, Daniel (17 October 2015). "EastEnders spoilers: Kat and Alfie Moon will return to Walford this Christmas". Digital Spy. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Harp, Justin (12 April 2016). "EastEnders spinoff Redwater reveals its full cast as Kat and Alfie Moon head to Ireland". Digital Spy. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  6. ↑ Nattrass, JJ (20 January 2016). "Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie on Kat and Alfie's new drama". Mail Online. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  7. 1 2 Lindsay, Duncan (20 January 2016). "EastEnders Spoilers: Alfie and Kat Moon will NOT return after their spin-off". Metro. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "EastEnders: There's a "dark secret" at the centre of Kat and Alfie's upcoming spinoff". Digital Spy. 17 January 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  9. ↑ "22/03/2016". Chris Mann's Drivetime. 22 March 2016. 1 hour 55 minutes in. BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  10. 1 2 Gordon, Naomi; Rainey, Naomi; Mansell, Tom (21 January 2016). "NTAs 2016: Shane Richie teases Kat and Alfie spin-off as a mash-up of Broadchurch and The Wicker Man". Digital Spy. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  11. 1 2 Tartaglione, Nancy (12 April 2016). "‘Redwater’: ‘EastEnders’ Goes High-End As BBC Soap’s Drama Spinoff Sets Cast". Deadline.com. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  12. ↑ Collinson, Gavin (27 April 2016). "BBC Blogs – BBC Writersroom – Matthew Graham Interview: Part One". BBC Online. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  13. 1 2 Power, Ed (1 February 2016). "Alfie and Kat Moon say goodbye to the East End and hello to Ireland". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  14. 1 2 3 "An all-Irish cast join EastEnders’ Kat and Alfie for brand new BBC One drama series Redwater" (Press release). BBC Media Centre. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  15. 1 2 Knox, Kirsty Blake (30 March 2016). "'Dunmore EastEnders': Kat and Alfie head to Waterford for spin-off". Irish Independent. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  16. ↑ Executive Producer: Dominic Treadwell-Collins; Director: Karl Neilson; Writer: Richard Davidson (21 January 2016). "Episode dated 21/01/2016". EastEnders. BBC. BBC One.
  17. 1 2 Campbell, Tina (26 February 2016). "Shane Richie teases EastEnders Kat and Alfie TV spin-off could be ‘ongoing’". The Sun. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  18. ↑ Wootton, Dan (20 April 2016). "Extenders: Kat and Alfie Moon’s EastEnders Irish-set spin-off Redwater to be major primetime BBC1 drama". The Sun. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  19. ↑ Thomas, Kate (14 June 2015). "EastEnders' Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie discuss Kat and Alfie spin-off". Daily Mail. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  20. ↑ Dainty, Sophie (13 April 2016). "EastEnders spinoff Redwater: Plot, cast and everything else you need to know". Digital Spy. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  21. 1 2 3 Hegarty, Tasha (12 January 2016). "EastEnders: Shane Richie and Jessie Wallace confirm Kat and Alfie spinoff shooting date". Digital Spy. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  22. ↑ Mayo, Doug (23 July 2015). "The Perfect Murder UK Tour". BritishTheatre.com. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  23. 1 2 Treadwell-Collins, Dominic (5 April 2016). "DomTreadwellCollins on Twitter: "#Redwater read through. The adventure begins..."". Twitter. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  24. ↑ Graham, Matthew (11 April 2016). "Matthew Graham on Twitter: "#Redwater Day One of filming. Good luck to all. X"". Twitter. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  25. ↑ Agius, Nicola (11 April 2016). "Kat and Alfie Moon are back! First look at new EastEnders spin-off series Redwater". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  26. ↑ Lawrence, Rebecca (11 April 2016). "Jessie Wallace slips into her alter-ego's miniskirt as she and Shane Richie reunite to film EastEnders spin-off Redwater in Ireland". Mail Online. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  27. ↑ "The BBC at St Matthias! You are invited... – St. Matthias' Church". Facebook. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  28. ↑ "Please welcome Kat & Alfie to the congregation!". Facebook. 10 April 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  29. 1 2 Walker, Danny (5 May 2016). "EastEnders Redwater spoilers: Is this the FIRST glimpse of Kat Moon's secret son?". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  30. ↑ Natrrass, JJ (5 May 2016). "Jessie Wallace rocks a windswept on EastEnders spin-off Redwater's set". Mail Online. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  31. ↑ Larkin, Laura (7 May 2016). "Kat Slater's dramatic Dalkey dip as EastEnders spin-off hits city". Irish Independent. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  32. ↑ "EastEnders boss tweets first look at picturesque setting for Kat and Alfie's Redwater spin-off". Irish Examiner. 31 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  33. ↑ The Spinnaker Bar (13 April 2016). "The Spinnaker Bar on Twitter: "Yep it's official #Redwater #EastEnders spinoff will be filmed inside @TheSpinnakerBar #DunmoreEast 😄"". Twitter. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  34. ↑ Kilkelly, Daniel (11 April 2016). "EastEnders spinoff Redwater casts Lost and The Others star Fionnula Flanagan in main part". Digital Spy. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  35. ↑ "REDWATER". Nolan Muldoon Agency. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  36. ↑ Kane, Conor (2 April 2016). "Wannabe Walforders audition for EastEnders spin-off in Waterford". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  37. ↑ "Dunmore EastEnders – auditions for soap hit Waterford". RTÉ Ten (RTÉ.ie). 2 April 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  38. ↑ "EastEnders spin-off looking for extras in Waterford". RTÉ Ten (RTÉ.ie). 30 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  39. ↑ Harp, Justin (30 March 2016). "EastEnders' Irish fans could become extras as the show holds open auditions for Kat and Alfie's spinoff". Digital Spy. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
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