Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) was left doubled over in agony in tonight's tense instalment of EastEnders (14th August), after son Tommy (Sonny Kendall) punched him in the stomach.

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The week began with Tommy's soon-to-be stepdad, Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), arriving at the bookies, where Alfie now works, with Alfie's sons Tommy and young Ernie (Cody Briffett).

Phil was busy and asked Alfie to look after the kids while Bert was at a sleepover and the boys' mum, Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace), had gone to visit sister Little Mo (Kacey Ainsworth) after Freddie (Bobby Brazier) let slip to his distressed mum that he had met his biological father.

Left in charge of the bookies, Alfie was stressed, while Tommy was sulky. But when Freddie revealed that Tommy had been the one to give him rapist Graham Foster's (Alex McSweeney) name, Alfie was shocked.

Tommy then wandered off, so Alfie left Freddie to look after both the shop and Ernie while he dealt with Tommy. At home, Alfie explained that it hadn't been Tommy's place to tell Freddie where to find his father.

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Tommy didn't want to hear it, rejecting Alfie because he's not his biological dad, even as Alfie tried to make amends for his own absence. The youngster left to hang out with pal Perry Griffin (Logan Clark), and Alfie later headed to the park to find Tommy.

Sonny Kendall as Tommy Moon in EastEnders looking down in anger and concern.
Sonny Kendall as Tommy Moon in EastEnders. BBC

Embarrassed to be shown up by his "fake dad", Tommy was full of bravado in front of his mates, but the situation went from bad to worse when Alfie spotted Tommy with vodka. He marched Tommy home, where Phil witnessed the resulting row.

Phil made digs about Alfie's parenting skills, before leaving him alone with Tommy. Alfie tried yet again to get through to Tommy, telling him he had never stopped loving him.

But when Tommy was sent a video of Alfie telling him off in front of everyone, Tommy was furious and he unleashed his anger on Alfie, punching him hard. As Alfie collapsed onto the sofa in pain, will Tommy face up to his actions?

The storyline is just the start of a major new health storyline for Alfie as he is set to be diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Shane Richie as Alfie Moon in EastEnders.
Alfie Moon (played by Shane Richie) is set to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron

The soap is working closely with Prostate Cancer UK and Macmillan Cancer Support for the storyline.

Chris Clenshaw, the executive of EastEnders, said of the storyline: "When we first embarked on this storyline we knew it was imperative that we worked alongside Prostate Cancer UK and Macmillan Cancer Support to take on and accurately portray such an emotional and pivotal storyline for Alfie, and one that many viewers may relate to Shane [Richie] has thoughtfully portrayed the realities of being diagnosed with prostate cancer with grace and understanding.

"We hope that this storyline resonates with the audience and that we represent it as sensitively, and as accurately as possible."

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EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer. Visit our dedicated EastEnders page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.

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