10 TV Characters Nobody Expected To Survive

6. Rupert Giles - Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Given that Joss Whedon has a borderline-sadistic penchant for killing off fan favourite characters across his various TV shows and movies, it's a genuine shock that Buffy's beloved mentor and father figure Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) received a stay of execution for the show's entirety.

He's exactly the sort of character Whedon typically kills off with savage abandon - near-universally liked among the fanbase, smart and charming as hell, and a figure of major emotional significance to the protagonist.

His demise would've been a truly shocking, potentially devastating moment for both Buffy and fans, yet despite having his fair few run-ins with death across the series, Giles survived all the way to the very end.

Whedon evidently had great fun teasing Giles' death-by-axe in the show's seventh and final season, but it mercifully never came to pass, and he also survived the climactic battle in the series finale. Phew.