EastEnders star Shane Ritchie has said that the aftermath of the arson storyline he is currently involved in is “life-changing” and “heartbreaking.”

The actor’s character, Alfie Moon, was seen setting fire to his family home as part of an insurance scam in last night’s episode.

Unbeknownst to him, his wife Kat (Jessie Wallace) was still in the house. While he does try to save her, it appears he will not be able to avoid the consequences of his own actions.

The explosion which happened as a result of the fire.

Shane revealed on This Morning: “For Kat, it is life-changing. For Jessie as an actress, being able to play the storyline we have got coming up after this event is brilliant.

“It will be such a departure from how we know Kat now – the tart with the heart and the heavy make-up. She will become the complete opposite to that. It is heartbreaking.”

As for whether their relationship will survive this hurdle, nobody knows. Shane explained: “Sadly, we don’t know. It leads us up to Christmas and of course the 30th anniversary in February.”

Alfie and Kat are in for tough timed ahead by the sounds of it.