When audiences associate the festive holiday of Christmas with TV soaps, it is unlikely they will recall any particularly happy moments. Or very few if they do. It seems a little strange that during a holiday all about togetherness and unity, we can't help but be enthralled by the bleak happenings unfolding right in front of us on our TV screens year after year. Whilst we say that we wish all of the characters could just be happy for once, we continue to watch each year just to see what they can come up with next, in a sense it could be simply because Christmas is, for the most part, so traditional that we just want to add a bit of extra excitement to the day, watching explosions or fires take place with no lasting damage to any real people in the process. Hell, maybe it's even a way of relieving the stress the big day can occasionally bring with it! Whatever you think of the dark Christmases that are presented by each of the big soaps each year, it is undeniable that they have brought some classic memorable moments and are usually the highlight of the year for each show. Time to explore some of the most brilliantly depressing moments that have been brought to us at Christmas time for our viewing pleasure.
10. Tiffany's Death In Eastenders (1998)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m19Zer-UPpE Martine McCutcheon had become one of the most popular characters in Eastenders when she decided to leave in order to pursue a musical career (which went well, obviously) in 1998, but despite her hopes to someday return to the soap, its producers decided that her character Tiffany would instead be killed off on New Years Eve. The biggest storylines that Tiffany was involved in all included her combustible relationship with Grant Mitchell, whom she married after falling pregnant, even though at first she was unsure the baby was his or her ex-boyfriend Tony. Grant engaged in various affairs behind Tiffany's back whilst they were married, the latest of which involved Tiffany's own mother Louise, which prompted Tiffany to tell Grant that she was leaving the Square forever and taking their baby, Courtney, with her. However, Eastenders being Eastenders, that wasn't as easy as she had hoped and upon her attempt to leave she slipped down the stairs, leaving her in hospital and Grant arrested by Beppe, Tiffany's new boyfriend, who attempted to frame Grant for Tiffany's attempted murder. Tiffany left the hospital on New Year's Eve and once again tried to leave the Square with Courtney, but not before penning a letter that would clear Grant of all blame for her accident. Unbeknownst to Tiffany, Grant was out of prison on bail and attempted to flee with Courtney, leading Tiffany to give chase and ultimately run straight into the path of a car driven by Frank Butcher. Tiffany died right there on the spot as Walford's residents looked on, powerless to help her, in one of Soap's most saddening Christmas moments of all time.