Redwater (TV series)

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. Redwater is described as a "very little romantic seaside town", and "a tiny, picturesque Irish harbour village, a quiet rural idyll by the sea where the Kelly and Dolan families have lived for generations." The then executive producer of EastEnders, also executive producer of Redwater, Dominic Treadwell-Collins, said that two events in EastEnders serve as a catalyst for the series. 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." 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." Editor Celia Haining said that Kat and Alfie "end up becoming entangled with four generations of an Irish family who all have their own mysterious secrets about the past".

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

Conception

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. Treadwell-Collins' intention was to create "a new contemporary ensemble drama set in Ireland", though Richie revealed it was originally planned that the series would be filmed in Spain, but Treadwell-Collins chose Ireland as that is where his own family are from. Treadwell-Collins 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." 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." Redwater is the first major network drama to derive from EastEnders.

Speaking in reference to 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." 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." 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." 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".

The village of Redwater was first namechecked in EastEnders on 21 January 2016, and the working title of the series was revealed as Redwater on 26 February 2016. The working title was not changed and Redwater was announced as the official title on 1 August 2016. 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." 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."

Production

Filming was originally due to start in autumn 2015, with the series being broadcast in 2016. 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". 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. However, the series was delayed for unspecified reasons 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. Richie and Wallace first saw the scripts for Redwater on 13 January 2016, and it was confirmed that filming would start after they finished touring with the stage show The Perfect Murder, which was scheduled to run from 2 February until 2 April 2016.

Filming was scheduled to take place in Ireland over a period of three to four months. 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. The other writers for the series are Lauren Klee, Matthew Barry and Julie Dixon, while Jesper W. Nielsen and Karl Neilson are the directors and Vicky Wharton is the producer. 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]".

Filming started near Dublin on 11 April 2016, with scenes in the setting of St Brendan's Catholic Church filmed at St Matthias' Church, Killiney, on the first two days. On-location filming also took place in Dalkey's Coliemore Harbour between 5 and 11 May. Six weeks of on-location filming took place in the village of Dunmore East in County Waterford, starting on 25 May 2016. The scripts called for a seaside town or village and out of the options found by the location management team, Dunmore East was chosen. Dunmore East was essentially renamed to Redwater during filming, with the local council and businesses getting involved. Various locations in the village were used, including the beach, The Strand Inn and The Spinnaker Bar, with filming at The Strand Inn starting immediately, and interior filming at The Spinnaker Bar lasting three days from 31 May to 2 June 2016. The facade of The Strand Inn was transformed and is called Peter Dolan's in the series. A country fair, called The Winking Fish, was set up outside The Strand Inn for the purpose of filming. The nearby village of Passage East was also used for filming. Filming ended on 26 July 2016.

Continuity

Richie said that as Redwater is a stand-alone series, there is no reference to the EastEnders locations of Walford, Albert Square or The Queen Victoria pub, though Alfie does mention that he once worked in a pub, being the only reference to their time in EastEnders.

Music

The music for Redwater was scored by Natalie Holt for synthesizers, guitar and a 12-piece string section, and was performed by the London Metropolitan Orchestra, led by Thomas Gould and conducted by Andy Brown. It was then engineered by Toby Hulbert at Air-Edel Studios in London.

Cast and characters

Richie and Wallace were confirmed as actors is in the series upon its announcement, playing their EastEnders characters, Kat and Alfie. though in the series, Kat is called "Kathleen" by the majority of characters. Fionnula Flanagan was confirmed to be having a main role in the series on 11 April, when she said her character, named Agnes, was "full of secrets, deceit and manipulation." The full cast was revealed on 12 April 2016, including Maria Doyle Kennedy as Roisin Kelly, Ian McElhinney as Lance, Angeline Ball, Peter Campion as Andrew, Stanley Townsend as Peter Dolan, Ebony O'Toole-Acheampong, Oisín Stack as Dermott, Stephen Hogan as Padraig Kelly, Susan Ateh as Bernie Kelly, and Ian Toner as Kieran. Additionally, Kat's son Tommy Moon appears in the series. Extras for the series were cast from open auditions held at Waterford Harbour Sailing Club in Dunmore East on 1 April 2016 and The Central Arts on The Quay in Waterford on 2 April 2016.

Episodes

There will be six hour-long episodes. They are due to start broadcasting in May 2017.