10 Most Brilliantly Miserable Soap Christmas Moments

7. Arthur Fowler's Breakdown In Eastenders (1986)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYgZ4P3CBS4 Arthur Fowler's story is one that can resonate with fathers all around the world, as in truth he was just a man that wished to provide for his daughter by giving her a wedding that everyone in the family could be proud of. Unfortunately, the only way Arthur felt he could do this, due to his lack of employment, was by stealing money from the Walford residents' Christmas club savings scheme that he was running. When Christmas began to approach, Arthur announced to everyone taking part in his scheme that he had withdrawn their money, before faking a burglary at his house and telling the police that the Christmas savings money had been stolen, in order to cover up what he had done. It was not long before the police realised that Arthur himself was in fact the thief and he confesses after his arrest. Following these events, Arthur became depressed and withdrawn, distancing himself from other residents of Walford and eventually having a nervous breakdown whilst home alone on Christmas Day. The breakdown itself was harrowing and upsetting, watching a once loved character smashing up his own house, pushing down his Christmas tree and flipping his table, before collapsing in a shivering wreck on the floor. This was a brave storyline for Eastenders and it proved that they were not afraid to broach tough subject matter in an effective and sympathetic light.