From Coronation Street’s tram crash to Pauline Fowler’s EastEnders death, here are the top 10 most tragic Christmas soap storylines of all time
ONE of the best things about the Christmas period is brilliant TV - and Britain's soaps pull it out of the bag every year with jaw-dropping (and albeit wholly unfestive) storylines.
You can be sure that if your Christmas is a disaster, the soaps will make you feel a whole lot better. Here, we wind back the clock to the most dramatic and tragic yuletide storylines to ever hit our screens.
Tram Crash 2010 (Coronation Street)
The tram crash at the beginning of the festive season devastated the Cobbles on their 50th anniversary live show.
Four major characters were killed off, including Ashley Peacock (Steven Arnold) and Molly Dobbs (Vicky Binns), and it was the most expensive storyline in the soap's history.
Ronnie Mitchell's baby swap 2011 (EastEnders)
The shock of Ronnie Mitchell (Sam Womack) waking up to her dead son who passed away in his sleep was genuinely heartbreaking.
But the grieving mother took it too far when she switched her dead son for Kat Moon’s baby, Tommy, in his sleep.
It was one of the most controversial storylines to date attracting 1,044 Ofcom complaints - yikes.
Actress Sam left the soap in the wake of the storm - but it was later revealed she had quit before hearing about the shocking storyline. She returned to the Square two years later.
Plane Crash 1993 (Emmerdale)
The first large-scale disaster to devastate the soap world was a horrific plane crash which killed villagers Mark Hughes (Craig McKay), Elizabeth Pollard (Kate Dove), Archie Brooks (Tony Pitts) and Leonard Kempinski (Bernard Archard) - and a lot of animals too.
Also known as the Beckindale Air Disaster, it cost over £1 million to film and drew in a record 18 million viewers.
Den and Angie Divorce 1986 (EastEnders)
One of the most memorable Christmas storylines didn’t involve death or destruction, but divorce.
Dirty Den (Leslie Grantham) served the papers after he discovered Angie Watts (Anita Dobson) had lied about having only six months to live.
Over 30.2 million viewers watched his shattering announcement and the iconic scene has repeatedly been voted the No1 moment in soap history.
Maxine's murder 2003 (Coronation Street)
Maxine's death led to graphic scenes, which seemed all the more brutal at Christmas.
It saw serial killer Richard Hillman (Brian Capron) strike Emily Bishop (Eileen Derbyshire) with a crowbar, but his plan to murder her was thwarted when Maxine Peacock (Tracy Shaw) unexpectedly returned to check on her son Emily had been babysitting.
Maxine tried to protect Emily and, in doing so, was brutally attacked and killed by Richard.
Not exactly happy festive viewing...
The Storm 2003 (Emmerdale)
Soaps are rarely the place for happy families and that can certainly be said for one of Emmerdale's most beloved couples.
After Tricia Dingle (Sheree Murphy) discovered her husband Marlon’s (Mark Charnock) affair, she prepared to leave the him - and the Dales.
However, after reading heart-broken Marlon's love letter, she changed her mind and tried to return to the Woolpack.
As she did, lightening struck a nearby tree which then fell and crushed her.
To add to his heart ache (and ours) Marlon was forced to turn off her life support when doctors revealed she was brain dead. Sob.
Pauline Fowler's Death 2006 (EastEnders)
It is known as one of soap’s saddest festive season moments when Albert Square's beloved Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard) collapsed out in the cold under a Christmas tree surrounded by playing children.
It was later revealed she'd suffered a brain haemorrhage and her death was linked to a long murder mystery afterwards.
Claire trying to kill Max 2006 (Hollyoaks)
Hollyoaks gave birth to one of the worst villains of all time in Claire Devine (Gemma Bissix) who, on Christmas Eve, tampered with her boyfriend Max Cunningham’s (Matt Littler) meds.
She then threw his brother's coat into a lake, tricking Max into thinking it was actually his brother, in a bid to kill Max in the icy water.
That isn’t exactly what we call a healthy relationship.
RELATED STORIES
Sally's cancer battle 2009 (Coronation Street)
The shocking news that Sally Webster (Sally Dynevor) had breast cancer floored fans.
The storyline was devised to help women fighting the disease and also to raise awareness.
Archie Mitchell's Murder 2009 (EastEnders)
It sparked the famous question, ‘Who killed Archie Mitchell?’ (Larry Lamb), after he was smashed over the head with the Queen Vic bust by an unseen person.
The culprit was eventually revealed in February 2010 as Stacy Branning (Lacey Turner) who got her own back after he raped her while she was struggling to control her bipolar disorder
She not only had to deal with the guilt of killing him, but was then also inadvertently responsible for her husband Bradley's (Charlie Clement) death as he tried to evade police who suspected him of the murder.
Most sensationally of all, following Larry's success in this year's I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, there are rumours EastEnders bosses have hatched a plan to bring him back.
Now that really would be a Christmas miracle.
Up for more soap drama? Check out the 11 most epic Emmerdale deaths of all time and the most tear-jerking scenes in soap history.