Jessie Wallace says kissing Shane Richie in ‘EastEnders’ is like kissing her "brother".
The 46-year-old actress and the 50-year-old actor have starred as Kat and Alfie Moon in the BBC One soap for nearly 12 years but Jessie has confessed she’s grown so close to her on-screen husband in real life that she’s started to cringe during their romantic scenes.
Quizzed on whether they’ve ever considered getting together in real life, Shane said: "Not in a million years!"
Jessie – who is engaged to musician Tim Arnold – added: "Shane is probably my closest mate and when we do the kissing scenes I’m starting to feel really uncomfortable with it, it’s like kissing my brother."
Shane – who has children Mackenzie, eight, Lolita, six, and Romani-Skye, three, with wife Christie Goddard and sons Shane, 26, and Jake, 22, with ex-wife Coleen Nolan – admitted that while they do see each other outside of the show, they try not to let their personal lives affect their storylines.
Speaking to Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes on ITV’s ‘This Morning’, he shared: "It is very funny after 12 years and we spend a lot of time together as well but we try and keep that away from the screen as much as possible."
Jessie Wallace: Kissing Shane Richie is like kissing my brother
