THEY have waxed and waned over the years but for a long time EastEnders was all about the Moons.
Their reign began in 2002 when Shane Richie electrified the show by joining as loveable (though perhaps not for long) Alfie, alongside younger brother Spencer and his gran, Nana Moon.
Alfie swindled his way into the Queen Vic’s manager job and was soon joined by a parade of distant relatives including cousins Jake, Tyler and Anthony.
The soap made stars of them all and catapulted Shane into the soap hall of fame alongside his screen wife Kat, who were so popular they even got their own TV show (briefly).
She is still roaring away on screen – but what has become of the rest of the Moon clan? We found out…
Shane Richie (Alfie)
EastEnders bosses originally weren’t sure about having “the bloke from the Daz adverts” as one its biggest characters but Shane was an instant hit as Alfie.
He ruled the show from 2002, getting married to barmaid Kat (with David Walliams doing the honours for some reason) and though the pair came and went, they were always popular.
Alfie’s return in 2010 to take over the Vic from Peggy alongside Kat bagged the soap nearly 10million viewers but he hasn’t been seen since 2019.
Instead Shane has been embracing his love of theatre, starring as a drag queen in the West End show There’s Something About Jamie.
He also popped up as one of the biggest names on I’m A Celebrity last year where he managed to wind up AJ Pritchard no end and wound up finishing fourth.
Jessie Wallace (Kat)
Kat might have been a Moon by marriage but she was really always a Slater at heart, causing a trial of mayhem wherever she went.
The ‘fire and ice’ combo of her and Alfie was mostly a success though him getting her cousin Hayley pregnant seemed an unusual twist for scriptwriters to throw in.
While Jessie Wallace is still in EastEnders she was suspended last year, allegedly for boozing on set, and has worked away from Albert Square in many of her breaks
She and Shane appeared together away from Albert Square too, appearing in stage play The Perfect Murder.
Jessie has also crossed over, albeit briefly to Coronation Street, playing Elsie Tanner star Pat Phoenix in an ITV drama about the soap’s founding.
Christopher Parker (Spencer)
Unlucky-in-love Spencer moped onto the Square in the care of his chaotic older brother, trying and failing to impress Brooke Kinsella’s Kelly Taylor.
He then got Vicki Fowler pregnant (he’s all or nothing this lad) and got trapped in the remains of a helter-skelter in one of the soap odder plots.
Spencer was last seen being packed off to live with his cousin in Australia but in reality Christopher went to America, living in Los Angeles for two years.
He fronted Fox shows The Hollywood 411 and The Big Movie Show and hosted Dead Famous Live alongside Gail Porter in LA.
He retrained as a solicitor as is now a senior consultant in a law firm focusing on – what else? – the TV and media businesses.
Tony Discipline (Tyler)
Tony Discipline went from breaking hearts to saving lives when he bowed out of EastEnders.
His character joined, alongside brother Anthony, in 2011 and stuck around for two years – working his way through Roxy Mitchell, Whitney Dean and Lauren Branning.
And he even managed to ratchet up that impressive swoon-count when he left – by becoming a firefighter.
However, he still acts and last month appeared in a project with his old Moon co-star Matt Lapinskas.
Posting a shot of them together he wrote: “Sooo good to be back on set with my broski 
.” Can’t keep them apart.
Matt Lapinskas (Anthony)
Anthony was one of the last Moons to dominate Albert Square, joining in 2011 but saying goodbye little more than a year later.
Matt said at the time: “”I was quite disappointed when I found out Anthony would be leaving – I’d have liked to do a lot more stuff with him.”
But he found yet more fame outside the show, competing on Dancing On Ice in 2012, coming runner-up to Olympic medallist Beth Tweddle.
As well as taking on stage roles he worked as a builder during lockdown and showed off some of his handiwork on Instagram.
