In soapland villains rule supreme but in the case of Coronation Street, Emmerdale and EastEnders – only for a short time.
It doesn’t matter how iconic a villain becomes, they are always on borrowed time.
But if they are lucky they get an amazing send off.
However, that isn’t always the case as these villains found out.
Mad Maya – Coronation Street
Some of the best soap villains burn brightly for a brief time and then totally disappear – and Mad Maya was one of them.
Obsessed with Dev Alahan – shouldn’t that have tipped everyone off that she wasn’t all there? – Maya became the archetype of a woman scorned.
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Only she went full crazy in about two weeks and tried to kill Sunita, kidnap Dev and then crash her own car into a wall.
Sadly after the car crash, Maya went to hospital and then prison where she was never heard from again.
Chrissie Watts – EastEnders
Prison?! Chrissie Watts didn’t deserve prison – she deserved a corner office and a blank cheque.
Not only did she murder Dirty Den – something long overdue – she also framed Sam Mitchell for it.
And then she let Zoe Slater think she’d done it. Iconic.
Pierce Harris – Emmerdale
There can be no doubting how evil Pierce Harris was.
A rapist, a murderer and an all-round vile abuser – and that was on some of his nicer days.
But he was also a captivating villain – one who deserved to go out in a blaze of glory.
Instead he died off screen and we got his drip of a son in the village instead. Not exactly a fair trade.
Ronnie Mitchell – EastEnders
Technically Ronnie didn’t know how much of a villain she was – but with two kills on her score card and that whole baby snatch business, she’s definitely a villain.
Or at least she was until she drowned in her own wedding dress next to her sister Roxy.
A horrifying – and pointless – end to a fantastic character.
Lewis Archer – Coronation Street
He was a conman who ruthlessly targeted the women of the cobbles to take their life savings.
He swindled Gail Platt out of tens of thousands – and then seduced her mother.
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He then used a fake psychic and his knowledge about Gail’s various dead husbands to torment her and try to steal even more.
Admittedly he then fell for Audrey properly and returned what he’d stolen, only to die in her house suddenly – but it wasn’t enough.
Lewis deserved a huge send off – not a whimper and a collapse.
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Coronation Street usually airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV.
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