10 TV Characters Cut From Shows (In The Worst Way)

5. Prue - Charmed

The entire point of Charmed is that the combined power of the central three sisters - Prue, Phoebe and Piper - is the unifying force that can always overcome any evil. Alone, they're weak, but together they can do anything.

It threw everything into disarray, then, when Prue's actress Shannon Doherty left after the Season 3 finale. Not only would her sudden absence threaten the core of the show regardless, but it couldn't have come at a worse point in the story. The third season ended on a cliffhanger, with Prue and Piper being left for dead after being attacked by the demon Shax, and Phoebe trapped in the underworld, unable to help.

In the jarring start to Season 3 though, it's revealed that cliffhanger was actually solved off screen. Phoebe was randomly rescued from the underworld by Leo and Cole (somehow) and Piper was able to be saved, but it was too late for Prue.

It perhaps couldn't have been handled better bar a total recast, but what was left was a total mess that only makes sense if you know the behind the scenes drama.