The 10 best soap exits

Soap opera stars come and go, and so do the plotlines used to bump them off.

Desperate Housewives siren Edie Britt (Nicolette Sheridan) is the latest TV star to meet her maker after what can only be described as an electrifying end.

But what makes a good soap death? Here's our take on the top ten best (and worst) soap opera exits:

Dallas: It was all a dream...

You've got to hand it to 80s soap hit Dallas for originality. When leading man Patrick Duffy, who played dashing oil heir Bobby Ewing, decided he wanted to exit the ratings-starved show, producers decided to kill off his character. So Bobby met his end after being run over by his ex-wife's demonic cousin. Or so we thought...he later popped up in his wife's shower the following morning. It was all a dream.

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Coronation Street: Evil Hillman

All eyes were glued to Corrie when dastardly Richard Hillman drowned in a Manchester canal. Matriarch Gail's evil other half kicked the bucket after he drove himself and the rest of the whiney Platt clan into the canal screaming "This is it! I LOVE YOU!". Everyone survived, except Hillman.

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EastEnders: Pauline dies

There wasn't a dry eye in the house when the legendary Pauline Fowler shuffled off the mortal coil and joined the great laundromat in the sky. Played by the late Wendy Richard, Pauline was killed off in an episode that aired on Christmas Day 2006 when she collapsed and died in the middle of Albert Square, leaving everyone clueless as to what caused her death.

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Desperate Housewives: Just electrifying

Edie Britt (played by Nicolette Sheridan) is the latest star to bow out of a long-running soap opera when she's met with an electrifying end. She drove into a lamp-post and brought down a power line. Zap. It's all over.

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Neighbours: Heart attack

Neighbours veteran Jim Robinson suffered a fatal heart attack and collapsed on the kitchen floor. Shortly after, his heartless partner Fiona Hartman saw dollar signs flip before before her very eyes and dashed to the bank to withdraw all his cash - instead of calling an ambulance.

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EastEnders: Dirty Den

Another classic 'Enders exit. Dennis "Den" Watts gets bludgeoned to death by his put-upon and tormented wife Chrissy. Den had already been killed off in 1989, but returned, only to be met with a grisly end as a result of his tangled love life. His wife Chrissy walloped him over the head with a doorstop and buried him in the Queen Vic's cellar.

Home & Away: Sail away

Long-running character Bobbie drowns in the ocean. During what should have been a day of celebrations at the drama-magnet haven that is Summer Bay, Bobbie hopped in a boat with some of her mates for a spin around the Bay. Sadly, her jovial sail was marred when a floating log struck her boat and she was thrown overboard. The end.

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The Colbys

Fallon Carrington Colby (Emma Samms) is abducted by aliens in Dynasty spin-off, The Colbys. Yes, you might want to suspend your disbelief for two seconds. The show's most infamous and 'out there' cliff-hanger was saved for the show's finale, when Fallon sees a great fire in the sky and is promptly adbucted by little green men.

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Lost: Lost it

The third season of air crash survivor drama Lost cliff-hanged with rocker Charlie Pace, played by Dominic Monaghan, being killed off. He drowned. A rather sad and limp ending for a man who survived a plane crash, only to be scuppered by a torrent of water. Rumour has it that Charlie might resurrect and return to the show. Probably in a shower.

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Emmerdale: Plane Crash

Perhaps the most famous disaster in Emmerdale happened in December 1993 when a plane crashed into the village. Four characters, Mark Hughes, Elizabeth Pollard, Archie Brooks and Leonard Kempinski died.