Peter James’ The Perfect Murder

Theatre Royal Brighton, New Road, Monday, March 7, to Saturday, March 12

“WE were a bit reluctant to tap into that Terry and June, Brad and Angelina thing – until we saw we could bring something new to the characters of Victor and Joan.”

These days Shane Richie and Jessie Wallace almost come as a couple, following 14 years as Kat and Alfie Moon in EastEnders – a relationship soon to continue in a dark spin-off drama provisionally entitled Red Water.

But speaking to The Argus, Richie admits the chance to star in the revival of Peter James’s The Perfect Murder – taking on the roles initially created by Les Dennis and Claire Goose – was too good to miss.

“Victor and Joan are so different from Alfie and Kat,” he says. “Victor and Joan are in a soulless marriage – they loathe each other. Jessie and I have a chemistry so you can see there was a spark between them, as in any marriage, that failed after a few years. They want to get that back, but as a couple they are going nowhere.

“They are the polar opposites to Kat and Alfie – that’s why we are enjoying it. As actors we want to flex our muscles.”

The Perfect Murder was adapted by Shaun McKenna from James’s novella. It received its stage premiere in January 2014, and has proved a favourite among audiences ever since.

It tells the story of a marriage at crisis point, as Victor Smiley begins to plot to get his wife out of his life forever. It also provides the stage debut of a young version of Brighton detective Roy Grace.

Richie admits he is a James fan himself, having been introduced to his detective novels through a mutual friend, Tony Tobin, who owns The Dining Room restaurant in Richie’s hometown of Reigate.

“I said I would love to meet him,” remembers Richie. “We met and had a couple of drinks – and he told me he would love me to be in The Perfect Murder.

“It all fell into place from there. It was such an honour that he wanted us to do it – especially doing it in Brighton too.”

When he first found out about the play – and watched Dennis and Goose in the lead roles on tour - he assumed James wanted him to play the part of Joan’s lover, Don, played in this production by Stephen Fletcher.

“He was a comedy cheeky Cockney geezer,” says Richie. “But that would have been too easy – he wanted me to stretch myself and play the husband.

“I watched Les do a great job, but also saw how I could do it in a different way.

“Jessie and I have a shorthand – we’ve been together for 14 years. We know what each other is thinking and finish each other’s sentences. It really works on stage.”

He has seen the box office benefit too – with the play performing to two distinct sides in the audience.

“In Cheltenham there were 17 and 18 year-old girls who had never been to the theatre before, but had come to see Kat and Alfie,” he says. “They were already planning to see Of Mice And Men after the performance they had loved the experience so much.

“And you have people in the audience who are Peter James fans and don’t know who we are. We are ticking a lot of boxes!”

Richie and Wallace may have left EastEnders for the present, but Kat and Alfie are never far away. Following the nine-week tour the pair star in a new spin-off series set in a sleepy village on the east coast of Ireland.

“Kat and Alfie turn up, and it’s a bit like The Wicker Man meets Broadchurch,” says Richie. “It’s a whole new world and community for them. When I read the first script I **** myself – it was really dark.

“There are millions of people aware of the Kat and Alfie characters – they will see them in a different situation showing a different side to them.

“Going back to playing them after this tour will be like putting on a comfy pair of pyjamas.”

Starts 7.45pm, 2.30pm matinees on Wed, Thurs and Sat, tickets from £15. Call 08448 717650.