2. Explosion At The B+B In Eastenders (2011)
Christmas day 2011 involved another soap fire, but one that had been built up for a long time. Yusef Khan arrived in Albert Square in 2010, immediately causing trouble for Masood and his wife Zainab, because he had once been married to her when they all lived in Pakistan, before she had an affair with Masood and he set her on fire, an act he later blamed on his family. Masood, with the help of Phil Mitchell, kidnapped Yusef soon after he arrived in the Square, threatening him with water that they pretended was oil in an attempt to scare him away from the Square for good. Unfortunately because Yusef returns home with cuts on his face, he is able to convince Masood's family to reject him from his own home. Masood later divorced Zainab, believing he was the cause of her depression when in fact Yusef had secretly been feeding her pills through her food. When events came to a head at Christmas, Yusef's plan was to escape the Square and return to Pakistan with Zainab and her baby Kamil. Zainab however discarded her passport in at attempt to stay in the Square, whilst Masood promises that he will do anything to keep her away from Yusef. When Zainab eventually stands up to Yusef, he starts a fire at the Bed and Breakfast and leaves Masood to die. Whilst the fire is originally halted by Christian and Shirley, it returns to trap Phil, Masood and Denise, as well as Tamwar and Yusef who have entered the B + B in an attempt to save Yusef's daughter Afia after Zainab warned them she was trapped inside. Despite all of this, there was a hint of a happy ending to some extent. Yusef was eventually consumed by the flames and killed, shortly after realising Zainab had lied and that Afia was safely outside all along. Although no one else perished in the explosion, Tamwar was left with serious burns over his body, which also affected his psychological well being. This Christmas moment was one of the most interesting plots that have played out in recent soap history, especially when you consider the lengthy back-story of the relationships at its centre. The fact that it also involved Yusef kidnapping Kamil from Zainab shortly before only made the events even more exciting, he quickly became one of the most evil yet charismatic villains that Eastenders has offered audiences over the years and that is not a light accolade by any means, earning this the 2nd spot as a brilliantly miserable Christmas moment.