EastEnders: Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie to star as different married couple in The Perfect Murder theatre tour

'Kat and Alfie' will play Victor and Joan Smiley, a couple whose marriage is on the brink of collapse

Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie are to appear on stage as a different married couple in The Perfect Murder (BBC)

Albert Square’s most explosive married couple are set to appear on stage together next year, but in the roles of a different husband and wife.

Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie are to bring their Kat and Alfie Moon double act to audiences across the country in a touring production of The Perfect Murder by best-selling crime writer Peter James.

The play will see the acting duo play Victor and Joan Smiley, a couple whose marriage is described as a “murder”. The two have been married for nearly 20 years but become tired of life together. Joan decides to take sweet revenge, causing Victor to retaliate even further.

While the play’s plotline sounds rather similar to EastEnders, The Perfect Murder will not be confined to Walford but will tour the country from February 2016 after opening at the Cheltenham Everyman.

Based on the best-selling novel by Peter James, the play will be directed by Ian Talbot from an adaptation by Shaun McKenna. It first toured in 2014 and was a sell-out success.

James said: “To now have Shane Richie and Jessie Wallace star in The Perfect Murder really is another dream come true. Shane has been a fan of my books for a while, as I have been of Shane.

“He and Jessie have been loved on television by huge audiences over a number of years, which just goes to show how great that are together and I can’t wait to see Shane and Jessie planning to murder each other on stage every night.”

As for Kat and Alfie, the pair are set to reunite and leave Walford for Ireland in an attempt to put the past behind them at the end of the year.

Their life will continue in their own TV series on BBC1 in 2016, which will give the actors more time to pursue other projects including rehearsals for the stage show.