Alex Murdoch

Ambitious and charming, Alex Murdoch is a slick businessman, who is never afraid of a challenge.

Nephew to notorious gangster, Billy Kennedy, and son of legendary rival, Lenny Murdoch, Alex wanted to prove he could succeed in spite of his blood relations, not because of them. He used to consider himself a principled man, however, a number of dodgy decisions saw him blinded by profit and his business dealings haven't always been as legitimate as he'd like everyone to believe.

Alex looked like he was back on the straight and narrow when he married level-headed doctor Annie, but his nefarious dealings with cousin, Rick Harper, threatened his happiness. When Rick arrived in Shieldinch, Alex foolishly believed he could keep his cousin at heel, but evil Rick slipped further and further out of Alex’s control, culminating in Rick kidnapping Annie, Lydia and Annie’s niece Frankie. Frankie struck Rick a fatal blow and Alex and Lenny covered up the murder.

Free of Rick, Annie and Alex finally got to enjoy married life until the police arrested Lenny for Rick's murder. Convinced Annie grassed him in, Lenny wanted her dead. Alex knew the only way to save Annie from his father was to kill her - or at least pretend to.

Devastated in the wake of Annie’s fake death, and blaming Lenny, Alex decided to hit his father where it hurt by seducing stepmother, Lydia. Lydia succumbed to Alex’s charms but when he revealed his true motives she wanted nothing to do with him.

Alex was shocked by the strength of his own feelings when Lydia was injured in the explosion at the portacabins and subsequently reunited with Lenny. But when he noticed that Lydia was feeling unappreciated by his father, Alex seized the chance to declare his true feelings for her and their intense affair began once again. On Christmas day, the lovers planned to escape Shieldinch to be together but fate intervened when Lenny suffered a serious MS attack. Alex was left frustrated when Lydia vowed to stay by Lenny’s side and nurse him back to health.

When Lenny discovered the affair, Alex was in his sights, he had to go. But when Lenny sought to kill Alex, Lydia took the bullet instead. Alex was devastated but Lenny kept him close and realised how dangerous getting on the wrong side of his father really was.

With the arrival of Alex’s estranged child, Jessie, his world has been turned upside once again. Will Jessie manage to win their father’s affections and will their arrival mellow Alex?