Tragic soap characters who should never have been killed off as Craig brutally axed

Soaps like Emmerdale, EastEnders and Coronation Street have given us some of the heartstopping and dramatic deaths. From falling off buildings to being pushed onto train tracks, or dying in a limousine crash, the soaps have seen it all!

After the sad and shocking death of Craig Tinker on Coronation Street, we've looked back at some other heartbreaking deaths from the Dales, from the Cobbles and also from Albert Square.

From the death of fan favourite and Dales favourite Rishi Sharma, to the iconic but devastating double death of Roxy and Ronnie Mitchell, we take a look back at six deaths that should have never happened!

Much-loved policeman Craig Tinker - played by Colson Smith - was killed in shocking scenes this week. Craig was murdered by Mick after finding out the truth about his son Brody and the police officer was caught in the firing line.

Speaking about his exit, he said: "When I was in the chat with Kate [Brooks] I'd already braced myself for what was about to happen. I have been in that building since I was 12 years old, so I know exactly how it works.

"I knew that my time was up and I knew that Craig had backed himself into a corner that was going to be really hard to get out of, so I fully expected the chat to go that way. There had been about 20 minutes of Kate talking to me, but we hadn't touched on when or how, or who or what. So I kind of stopped Kate and said, 'Look, I have two questions, and one is when, and two is do I get killed?.'"

He added: "And she kind of like, stopped and stumbled a little bit. And I said, if it makes it easier for you, the right answer for me is yes. Like for me to go, I would want to leave. I would want to die, I would want the door to be shut, so then I can kind of know in my head that Corrie has been this, Corrie has done that, and it is now done, and Craig's journey is over."

In tragic scenes, fans bid a heartbreaking goodbye to Paul Foreman, played by Peter Ash. Paul was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in the months before his death and he drew his last breath in sad scenes last year.

Billy didn't make it in time for Paul to die but he believed he had spoken to Paul on the phone, with Bernie having lied that Paul was alive at that moment, leading to fans in tears at what happened.

"With a storyline like that there's a lot of pressure to get it right. Obviously you don't want to misrepresent it or anything, so there is a lot of research being done. It's tough and it's been such a heavy storyline, but it feels good knowing we're getting it right," he said.

"The response to it has been amazing from people living with MND themselves, and also their families responding to it, so it's been amazing in that regard ... I massively thank Iain and Verity [MacLeod] for trusting me with this story. It's a double-edged sword. I always knew it would be an eventual exit unless we were lucky enough to find a cure [for MND] in that time..."

Still one of the saddest soap deaths ever, Roxy and Ronnie Mitchell died in a swimming pool. The pair died back in 2017 when Ronnie drowned in her wedding dress while trying to save her sister.

Rita Simons recently reprised her role for a brief stint as her daughter Amy Mitchell struggled with her mental health. Speaking about the moment, Executive Producer Chris Clenshaw said of her return: "I’m thrilled to welcome the fabulous Rita back to the iconic role of Roxy Mitchell for these special scenes.

"Although the character was last seen on-screen in January 2017, Roxy still remains a fan favourite. We know our audiences will be thrilled at her short return as Amy seeks some all-important answers from her mum at this point in the storyline."

Kush was died in shocking scenes when his arch nemesis and villain Gray Atkins murdered him. Kush had tried to save Gray's life but the serial killer decided to end things for Kush and pushed him in front of a train.

"I have really enjoyed being part of that final storyline, my time over the six and a half years has culminated in something that people will remember. He’s the first character to be killed in this way so it’s an EastEnders first, and when you leave a show like this and the door's open, that question can stay over you for a very long time, but this is very definitive, of course, and I’m happy with that," Davood Ghadami - who played Lush - said.

A more recent but equally heartbreaking death on Emmerdale was actually part of some wider sad scenes when Leyla was one of the three victims of the harrowing limousine crash in the village lake earlier this year.

Roxy Shahidi exited the soap after several years, with the actress breaking her silence on her exit. She said: "Of course, it's sad to see my character die, and I have loved playing Leyla because she is so funny, camp, and a brilliant character. But at the same time, if I had left it another five years, I might not have felt as excited as I do now.

"I have had a long time to process everything and I am looking forward to my next chapter. I've always wanted to explore other things and now I've got the opportunity."

No one was expecting Rishi to die! An Emmerdale icon, he lost his life when his villainous brother pushed him down the stairs to his death. As his son Jai tied the knot, Rishi was lying dead at the bottom of the stairs.

Bidding his farewell to his character, Bhasker Patel said: "When the producer rang me and said: 'I need to talk to you and we're killing you off because we want a big story and it's going to be a big surprise.'

"Because my 12 years at ITV, they let me do a lot of other work, so I felt a part of ITV, a part of Rishi, but at the same time... I was working in London as well. So when the producer said 'we're going to kill you off', I was like: 'Okay, that part of my life with this guy is over and I'm going to move on.''

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