Soap spoiler alert!

A beloved couple is to return to Albert Square later this year...

18:12 09 February 2010

Soap spoiler alert! Kat and Alfie Moon will return to Walford later this year, it has been announced.

Reprising the roles of the married couple, actors Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie will appear on TV in autumn.

The characters were last seen on Christmas Day back in 2005, when they left Walford for a new life in America.

Richie said: "I'm very much looking forward to returning to EastEnders to find out what Alfie has been up to and what the future has in store for him."

He added that he was "looking forward to getting [his] face covered in Kat's lipstick again".

Wallace said she was "excited" to "slip back into Kat's stilettos".

Controller of continuing drama at the BBC, John Yorke, said: "Kat and Alfie are one of EastEnders' most loved and iconic couples so they're bound to get a very warm welcome from viewers when they return to Walford.

"We've had so many new and interesting characters settle into Albert Square since Kat and Alfie departed that it's going to make for fantastic viewing when the feisty, fun duo ride back into the East End."

Loveable rogue Alfie became a firm favourite with EastEnders fans, and Kat became famed for her love of short skirts and excessive make up

The duo married on Christmas Day 2003, after Kat broke off her engagement to local gangster Andy Hunter.