10 TV Character Deaths Not Even The Actors Saw Coming
8. Rita (Julie Benz) - Dexter
Played to perfection by the superb Julie Benz, Rita was a pivotal addition to the cast of Showtime's darkly comic "serial killer killer", er, serial Dexter, with her role as the eponymous sociopathic avenger's wife adding some necessary humanity to the show's otherwise glib tone.
When it came time for the series to off this lone light of hope in a show which regularly revelled in the worst of humanity, the actor playing her murderer John Lithgow was given an entire season to prepare for the shocking twist.
However, Benz herself says the secret was kept under such tight wraps that she only learned of Rita's fate a day before the rest of the cast, which must be a rough way of encountering what one critic called the most shocking TV scene ever.