EastEnders star Steve John Shepherd has revealed that playing his dark character Michael Moon was an easy transition for him.

Viewers will know that Michael is currently scheming to murder his estranged wife Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks) with the help of Alice Branning (Jasmyn Banks).

However, tonight's episode will see the plan go wrong and a sequence of dramatic events soon follow.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast this morning (October 31), Shepherd said: "Michael is a functioning psychopath and he has a clinical lack of empathy. He doesn't really care what you think or feel.

"It is great to do because you get to purge all that dark stuff yourself. Maybe that is why he is quite popular with people because they vicariously dispel their dark yearnings. It has always come quite easily to me, curiously, that thing of finding the inner dark stuff."

With his final scenes due to be aired as Michael and Janine's feud reaches a conclusion, Shepherd also reflected on his three years on the show.

Michael explodes with anger after his plans go wrong
© BBC
Michael explodes with anger after things go wrong


He said: "It is brilliant fun but unbelievably hard work. It is the hardest job in show business because of the sheer volume, the amount of stuff you have to do, the amount of changes in emotion and the huge jumps - you might murder somebody in the morning and then win the lottery in the afternoon.

"You have to do this huge technical leap. It is brilliant training but very difficult."

When asked if he will always be remembered as Michael, Shepherd added: "It is always a risk but to not have played him would have been a mistake because I have really enjoyed it and I think and hope lots of people have enjoyed watching him.

"The fact that he may stick in the mind is possibly a good thing."

EastEnders airs tonight (October 31) at 7.30pm on BBC One.