By definition a soap opera is a serial drama, that plays out on daytime television or radio, characterised by stock characters and situations, sentimentality, and melodrama. Now we all love a bit of melodrama but sometimes our favourite shows venture way beyond the realms of reality and quite frankly go too far.
After a hard day's work, while you're waiting for your dinner and ready to unwind with (half) a bottle of Jacob's Creek, do you really want to tune in and watch some guy called Kevin insist he's an alien to the residents of Chester Village - Hollyoaks, you really scraped the barrel with this one - or see the insufferable Ian Beale pay for sex with Janine? No thanks.
Here are eight instances when our favourite soaps got a little carried away and quite literally lost the plot...
Susan Kennedy's Retrograde Amnesia, Neighbours, 2002
Who knew that people actually slipped on spilt milk but in 2002 dear Susan Kennedy took a tumble on a dairy spillage, crashing to the kitchen floor and sustaining a life-altering head injury. When Susan came round she had lost three decades of her life and was convinced it was 1972 and the night after her sixteenth birthday, where she'd got pissed on fizz. Righto.
Perhaps even more unexpectedly than Susan's accident and subsequent amnesia was when Oscar-winning actor Eddie Redmayne credited Alan Fletcher and Jackie Woodburne who play Karl and Susan for teaching him much of his craft. Last year he told Elle UK: "They are the greatest unsung acting duo in history. Watch, and you’ll find that everything they do is on another level of genius. I really do think so." Soz Eddie but we'd have to disagree.
The Baby Swap, Eastenders, 2011
Albert Square has had its fair share of drama but EastEnders really upped the ante and got housewives in a tiswas with the baby swap storyline in 2011. Ronnie Branning (nee Mitchell, so naturally she's hard as nails) and Kat Slater both gave birth to sons on December 30th. When Ronnie’s newborn baby dies from sudden death, she heads out into the Square in despair, still clutching her deceased child.
After coincidentally overhearing Kat Slater's newborn son Tommy crying from outside the Queen Vic she creeps into the famous pub and swaps the babies. Bit much for family viewing over the festive season, no? 8,400 complaints to the BBC later and Ronnie eventually confessed and went to prison.
The Tram Crash, Coronation Street, 2010
What better way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Corrie than with a huge explosion and freak tram accident that wiped out key cast members. The storyline aired across the birthday week in December 2010, with a special live episode broadcast on 9th December.
In the action-packed real-time episode which featured some superb visual effects, Nick Tilsley and Leanne Battersby's bar, The Joinery, exploded (damn gas leaks) during Peter Barlow's stag party. As a result, the viaduct running above the restaurant collapsed, sending a tram careering onto the street which in turn destroyed the Corner Shop and The Kabin.
Ashley Peacock was crushed by falling debris, Molly Dobbs died of internal injuries when waiting to be rescued from the rubble and Charlotte Hoyle was struck on the head by a hammer and later declared brain dead. The fourth death was an unknown, unsuspecting taxi driver, which caused a massive uproar on the internet. The cabbie's death was uncalled for.
Ben Mitchell Turns Murderer, Eastenders, 2012
In 2012, sweet, innocent Heather Trott, the George Michael-loving laundrette lady was clobbered over the head by Ben Mitchell, the former performing arts-enthusiast turned cold-blooded killer. The once all-singing-all-dancing Ben (he's Phil Mitchell's son so that didn't last long) struck lovely Hev over the head with a photo frame after a blazing row.
Mitchell Jnr also found time to sleep with his cousin Lola (don't worry she's merely his third cousin-once-removed) and father a child. Quite the busy bee.
Bobby Beale Turns Murderer, Eastenders, 2015
After the most drawn-out whodunit plot in the history of television, the nation, or rather the handful of people that still watch Easties, was left pretty disappointed upon discovering that 11-year-old Bobby Beale killed big sis Lucy. Apparently it was because "she upset everyone."
There are some truly remarkable child actors out there but unfortunately Eliot Carrington who plays Bobby Beale isn't one of them.
Twin Incest, Hollyoaks, 2014
The idea of incest is repugnant yet a number of soaps have gone to that unpleasant place. In 1996, Brookside siblings Georgia and Nat horrified audiences with the first ever case of soap incest but we can always count on Hollyoaks to ramp things up and take it a step too far.
In 2014, we learned that character Sienna Blake had conceived a baby with her twin brother Dodger Savage. The siblings were separated as children after their parents divorced but where fortuitously reunited as teenagers and lost their virginity to one another. It could happen to anyone! 9 months later, daughter Nico was born, then given up for adoption before being reunited with her parents.
Viewing figures plummeted during this storyline, creator Phil Redmond admitted that he had got it wrong and the incestuous siblings were swiftly cut from the show.
The Cop Out Conclusion, Crossroads, 2001
Remember at primary school in creative writing class when your teacher announced that you had 2 minutes to finish your story and you panicked and scribbled down "and she woke up and it was all a dream." Well Crossroads did just that.
After 13 years off-air, Crossroads returned to our screens in 2001 and viewers hoped for something special. Instead, after enduring an entire series, the season finished with Crossroads hotel boss Angel waking up from a daydream in which she imagined that she owned a hotel called Crossroads. In actuality she worked the till in a supermarket. Needless to say, the show never returned.
Tanya Buries Her Hubbie Alive, Eastenders, 2008
We couldn't resist another preposterous storyline from the cast of Walford. During the Easter holiday in 2008, we watched bumbling beautician Tanya Cross and her toyboy lover bury her adulterous husband Max alive, in the woods. A Good Friday indeed!
The BBC was forced to apologise to viewers who complained about the unholy episodes, deemed unsuitable to be shown before 9pm.
Bonus: Sunset Beach In Its Entirety, 1997 - 1999
Sunset Beach was a niche soap opera probably only watched by about 7 viewers in the UK but if the previous plot lines have whet your appetite for hammy acting, terrible sets, stupid storylines and ridiculous cliffhangers then we suggest you to take some time out and watch this vintage show. From tidal waves and earthquakes to zombies and evil twins who rise from the dead, we promise you won't regret it.
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