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7 soap characters who just wouldn't LEAVE

Photo credit: Channel 5/ITV/Rex Shutterstock/DigitalSpy / BBC
Photo credit: Channel 5/ITV/Rex Shutterstock/DigitalSpy / BBC

From Digital Spy

While some soap characters are written out of their shows quicker than you can say "See ya", others prefer a bit more of a long goodbye and leave us hanging for months on end (in some cases over a year).

Sometimes it's a comfort knowing that you're still going to get to see your favourite actor or actress on screen for a while longer, then there's other times when their characters' exits become so drawn out and tedious that it would be quicker (and more exciting) to watch paint dry.

Let's take a quick look at some soap characters who had no intention of leaving the party early...

1. Carla Connor in Coronation Street (2016)

After nearly a decade of being at the centre of Corrie's most explosive and emotionally draining storylines, no-one was overly shocked when it was rumoured in summer 2015 that Alison King was going to take some much-needed time off from the soap. Her break was initially badged as a sabbatical for "creative reasons", but the story changed in January 2016 when it was announced King was actually quitting the role of Carla for good.

Fans were devo at the prospect of losing their beloved CC, but the good news was they had another five months before she actually left. And in true Carla style, she packed a lot into that time – a one-night stand with Robert, five-minute marriage to Nick, trying to kill Tracy, and actually nearly killing Cathy.

In the end, her exit was quite low-key with her having a cry on Roy Cropper's shoulder, then hopping in a car to Devon.

And of course she's back, now…

2. Masood Ahmed in EastEnders (2016)

Ah, Mas and his bloody mid-life crisis. He didn't know whether he was staying or going, and neither did we. First he wanted to go to Thailand with Tamwar and Nancy (we had to endure nearly a week's worth of this back-and-forth nonsense), but ultimately he decided three's a crowd and cancelled his ticket.

Then the former postie put his pad up for sale so he could take son Kamil travelling around the world for 10 months. They waved goodbye to Walford, only to return a few weeks later (Kamil was homesick, apparently).

Masood's next move was to get jiggy with Belinda, but that romance barely got started when he got a call from former wife Zainab to say she was getting divorced.

Deciding Zee needed him, Mas did a full 360 and booked a plane ticket to Pakistan. This time he actually followed through, and he and Kamil finally left the Square in November 2016.

And just like Carla, he's back too!

3. Lindsey Roscoe in Hollyoaks (2016)

We hoped the end was nigh for loopy Lindsey when it was revealed she was the Gloved Hand Killer in October 2015. After already slaying seven unlucky souls, it was surely only going to be a matter of weeks before she was brought to justice, but Hollyoaks managed to drag it out another eight months.

For a while lethal Linds went undetected, but things started to ramp up at the start of 2016 when it was confirmed actress Sophie Austin was leaving the soap. On borrowed time, and with detective Mercedes hot on her case, evil Lindsey was forced to call in the big guns and recruited Silas Blissett to help dispose of the McQueen.

The plan was going swimmingly, until Mercedes let slip to Si that Lindsey had screwed both Joe and Freddie Roscoe. Big mistake. Huge. Silas saw red and strangled Linds to death for being a slapper, before leaving her body on the settee. And that was the end of that.

4. Tina McIntyre in Coronation Street (2014)

When Michelle Keegan announced she was hanging up Tina McIntyre's hooped earrings back in April 2013, we didn't imagine she'd still be walking the cobbles over a year later. Speculation was rife over how T would leave the Street, but fans had to wait a good number of months until the show's bosses revealed in January 2014 she would be murdered.

First it looked like former lover Peter was going to silence her after she threatened to expose their affair, but it was actually Carla's bad brother Rob who did the deed by pushing poor Tina off a balcony. Only thing was, the fall didn't finish her off. When Rob discovered she was still alive, he picked up an iron bar and bashed Tina's brains in. And guess what? She still survived!

After undergoing emergency surgery in hospital, it looked like Tina had escaped a visit from the grim reaper, but her luck ran out when she suffered a fatal heart attack. It definitely ranks as one of soap's most drawn-out deaths ever.

5. Darryl "Brax" Braxton in Home and Away (2015, 2016)

Brax has done a fair amount of popping back and forth to the Bay, so viewers never really knew if the leader of the River Boys was gone for good or not. After taking a break from the soap in 2013 so he could film a role in Hercules: The Thracian Wars, it was just over a year before Hollywood came calling again for actor Steve Peacocke.

He initially quit the show in late 2014 and we saw Brax departing in June 2015 when the car transporting him to prison crashed into a lake. But fast forward to later that year and Peacocke was back filming a return for Brax, which involved a special two-hander episode between him and Ricky.

That aired in February 2016, then the fans were treated to one final surprise later that year when Brax came back – again – and reunited with Ricky. The couple got their happy ending, but if past performance is anything to go by, this might not be the last we've seen of Brax.

6. Aunt Babe in EastEnders (2017)

In September 2016, 'Enders revealed that Aunt Babe's reign of terror would be coming to an end in early 2017. In the six months that followed, how many second, third and fourth chances did Mick and Linda give the poisonous old cow? We lost count! Even after landing Mick with a hefty £20,000 fine when she she illegally sold booze after hours in the Vic, it looked as if bad Babe was never going to get her comeuppance.

But the slip-up came when the cruel cook tried to force Sylvie to drown herself in Walford's canal. Confused Sylv didn't follow Babe's orders, and exposed her wicked plan to a horrified Mick.

With her back against the wall, Babe let her true colours show by verbally abusing pretty much everyone in the Carter clan and was promptly kicked out of the pub. Ding, dong, the witch is dead! For now...

7. Becky McDonald in Coronation Street (2012)

Becky's departure from Corrie was another one we had a long time to get our heads around – nearly a year, to be precise. Super-talented Katherine Kelly revealed she'd be leaving the Street in early 2011 to pursue new acting ventures, but her last on-screen appearance was January 2012. At least it was a memorable departure, though.

After getting the evidence she needed to prove that arch nemesis Tracy had wrongly blamed her for losing her unborn babies, victorious Becks exposed toxic Trace's lies in the middle of her and Steve's wedding reception (yes, they broke up after that). Mission complete, Becky pied off Steve when he asked her to give things another go, and boarded a jet with her yummy boyfriend Danny (played by Jeremy Sheffield, aka Hollyoaks' Patrick Blake) to start a new life together in Barbados.


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