Former EastEnders boss Dominic Treadwell-Collins has said he would love to see Danny Dyer in his own spin-off show from the soap.
The executive producer left his role at the BBC series in 2016 but debuts his new project, Kat And Alfie: Redwater, on Thursday.
The show follows Walford favourites Kat (Jessie Wallace) and Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) to Ireland on their search for her long-lost son.
However, Dominic has said he would love to see another Queen Vic couple branch out on their own – Mick and Linda Carter, played by Danny and Kellie Bright.
He told Huffington Post: “You can take these characters who are so loved and put them in a whole new world and I don’t think you could do that with a lot of soap characters.
“But Shane and Jessie, and Kat and Alfie, are so beloved by the nation so it felt right to do it with them. It’s still a big risk, and it takes the first 10 minutes or so (to get used to it).”
On who else an Albert Square spin-off could work for, he said: “There aren’t many. I’ve always thought Mick and Linda in EastEnders.
“I could watch them for ages but it’s because they’re based on my mum and dad, so I’ve got a lot of stories there.
“They’ve only been on EastEnders a few years and they don’t have as rich a history yet as Kat and Alfie have.”
Talking about his decision to leave the helm of the soap, he said: “For three years, EastEnders was my wife. I slept it, I dreamt EastEnders most nights, I worked until midnight after work, I worked every Saturday, every Sunday, I didn’t see my friends, I didn’t do anything… which was good for the show, less good for me.
“So as soon as I handed over the scripts, I met my boyfriend, and I’ve got a life. To run a show like EastEnders you’ve got to live, it’s a show about life, and by the end of it, I’d stopped living and I needed to go away and do other things, for the good of the show.”
He added that he rarely watched it now, explaining: “You have to remove yourself because it’s not my baby any more.
“You give your baby up for adoption, and let someone else bring it up, and that’s what you’ve got to do, you can’t get too emotional about it.
“I’m far too emotional as a person anyway, I’ve got to step away from my baby.”
:: Kat And Alfie: Redwater begins on Thursday at 8pm on BBC One.
