Kat and Alfie Moon | EastEnders Spin-off

I saw this being mentioned during the papers review on Sky News Sunrise this morning, and the notion was being ridiculed by both presenters.

Come to think of it, has there ever been a successful spin-off from any mainstream show or soap? EastEnders had another wartime spin-off back in the day, starring Linda Robson amongst others. I don't think it lasted too long.

Tucker's Luck was born out of Grange Hill, but was also short-lived.

The Colby's spun from Dynasty, possibly a bit more successful but also not with longevity.

So, do we think Kat and Alfie will be an exception to the rule?

Although it's not a soap, Frasier did quite well as a spin off from Cheers, and won a fair few TV awards, but to my knowledge, there haven't been any soap spin-off (or soap "bubble") that I can think off that has been entirely successful or lasted long.

The Colby's, as I recall, had that rather silly ending to it's final episode, with one of it's character being abducted by aliens!

Thanks for not giving any detail here.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-32173159

From the broader category of just "show," there's Torchwood and Sarah Jane out of Doctor Who. From soaps - though some might argue about the categorisation - there's Holby City out of Casualty. On the other side of the pond, Mork and Mindy was (sort of) a spin-off from Happy Days. There's also The Colbert Report out of the The Daily Show and probably loads of others.

Back in 1965, Pardon the Expression was a spin off from Coronation Street which ran for two years, and which itself got a short-lived sequel called Turn Out The Lights. In 1985, another spin-off called Albion Market ran for 100 episodes.

An Eastenders spinoff set in Ireland. It's bound to be a success...

Considering they want to close BBC3 to fund drama on BBC1 this is an awful waste of limited funds.

It's debatable that EE (and this spin-off) attract the BBC Three demographic, yet it's not in the spirit of using that funding to focus on that group instead.

It's just not the best use of funds full stop - I'm sure if this spin-off is necessary to the story it could be done as a week of EastEnders specials out of their existing budget.

Axing promising original dramas like The Fades and In the Flesh in order to allow BBC1 to make an EastEnders spin off is not serving the licence fee payer well, and actually beyond the licence fee payer I can't see an EE spin-off selling as well internationally as an original new drama either.

Holby City does well compared to Casualty. But Holby Blue didn't.

I'm guessing they just enjoy the chemistry between the two actors, and wanted to tell a story away from the show, and a new setting. I wonder if this means both characters are leaving the show permanently, or if they decide to go away for a few months, and return.

The whole point of Soap Bubbles is that they run a limited time surely, which is explains their limited lifetime?

I'm no fan of closing BBC Three but you don't need to lie or exaggerate to prove your point
The Fades was axed well before the BBC 3 closure plans were ever considered.
In the Flesh halved its viewing figures from S1 to S2. No drama is recommissioned on any channel with that performance.
Anyhow I'm pretty sure BBC three are already advertising its replacement on the channel at the moment.


This and "Cuffs" are low budget prewatershed dramas replacing Waterloo Road.

Was Hollyoaks a spin off of Brookside ? (I stopped watching Brookside in 1985, and have never seen Hollyoaks, so be gentle)