EASTENDERS "couple" Shane Richie and Jessie Wallace (or Alfie and Kat Moon to Albert Square fans) will be taking a break from BBC soap to star on stage together for the first time in next year's tour of comedy drama The Perfect Murder, which is coming to Newcastle Theatre Royal from Monday, February 22 to Saturday, February 27.

The Perfect Murder is a revival of last year's adaptation of best-selling crime author Peter James' work. As a result, James' crime novel Dead Simple has also found its way successfully to the stage.

Richie and Wallace are on familiar ground with the pair playing Victor Smiley and wife Joan, who have been married for a long time. Their marriage has reached crisis point and Victor has decided there is only one way to get Joan out of his life forever... but he’s about to get a nasty surprise. As a young Detective Roy Grace starts to investigate his very first homicide case, dark forces intervene and he begins to fear that nothing is quite as it seems quite as it seems.

Directed by Olivier award-winner Ian Talbot and adapted by award-winning writer Shaun McKenna, this thriller enjoyed a UK tour and will reopen at the Cheltenham Everyman just before heading to the North-East.

James has sold more than 16 million books of his Roy Grace series, and is published in 36 languages. The Perfect Murder spent 15 weeks at No 1, remaining for 50 weeks in the iBooks Top en and his most recent novel, You Are Dead, is currently in its eighth week in the Sunday Times Top Ten, having reached No.1 earlier this year.

“It has always been my dream that one day the curtains would rise in a theatre and a play of my work would be performed. That dream came true in 2014 after a chance meeting with my old friend, producer, Joshua Andrews. The first run of The Perfect Murder, was a sell-out and we have followed that this year with an even more successful run of my best-selling book Dead Simple. To now have Shane Richie and Jessie Wallace star in The Perfect Murder really is another dream come true.

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

Producer Joshua Andrews adds; “I am thrilled that Shane and Jessie have chosen The Perfect Murder. They really are ‘perfect’ casting for Victor and Joan. Hopefully, we might see a limited London run at the end of the tour.”

Richie and Wallace have starred together in EastEnders for the past 13 years and also also found time for numerous other TV and theatre credits.

Richie says: “It’s an honour to be attached to Peter James work as I’m such a fan of his books.”

Wallace adds: “As soon as I read the script, I knew I had to do it. Watch out because sparks are going to fly and it’s the perfect murder.”