A look back at the most shocking soap moments of 2021

13 December 2021, 15:43

From Meena's murderous streak, to Roy Cropper's shock exit - here's the most shocking moments from the soapworld.

It’s been another huge year of drama over on Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks.

Yep, there’s been more lying, scandals and murders than ever before - and that’s just from Meena Jutla…

So, let’s take a look back at the biggest moments of the year in soap land…

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EastEnders - Sonia’s fake dad

Terry Cant started acting very shifty when he arrived in Walford earlier this year and it became clear very early on that he wasn’t who he claimed to be.

Viewers swiftly found out the conman - played by Brian Connelly - is actually Dotty’s Uncle Tom, aka Rocky, but has been pretending to be Sonia’s dad to scam her out of cash.

Feeling bad about his deceit, Rocky recently decided to fess up and wrote letters for Sonia and Kathy, finally explaining the truth.

As he went to leave, he then collapsed of a heart attack over the kitchen table and sent the letter flying on the floor.

Emmerdale - Meena’s murders

David horrified as Victoria Sugden goes over a waterfall on Emmerdale

This year Meena Jutla became one of the most iconic Emmerdale characters after going on a murderous rampage.

Since joining in September 2020, it has been revealed that Meena has killed five people.

Before she moved to the Dales, she murdered her best friend Nadine Butler but managed to cover it up as suicide.

This became the downfall of Leanna Cavanagh, who discovered the news article about Nadine’s suspicious death in Meena’s belongings.

Meena said Nadine took her own life, but Leanna started digging and Meena finally admitted she killed Nadine.

She then killed Leanna and made it look like an accident, before hitting Andrea Tate over the head with a piece of wood during ‘survival week’.

Her fourth victim was Ben Tucker after he came across footage of Meena trying to drown Victoria.

Coronation Street - Roy’s departure

Coronation Street fans were left sobbing when the legendary Roy Cropper seemingly left the cobbles for good.

The drama started when the police started asking questions about the gun used in relation to Seb Franklin's father, as well as the sinkhole at the Platts' house.

And after being caught up in a web of lies, Roy (played by David Neilson) decided to leave for South America after bagging a job serving food to conservation workers.

We have a feeling he’ll be back…

EastEnders - Kush’s death

Unfortunately, Kush met his grisly end just as he was about to head off into the sunset with Whitney Dean.

As the couple waited for their train to get out of Walford, Arthur revealed that he needed to go to the toilet so Whitney went with him.

Out of nowhere, evil Gray Atkins then emerged from the shadows and the pair got into an argument when he accused Kush of ruining Whitney’s life.

He then lunged at Kush but ended up falling in the tracks. But as Kush then pulled Gray to safety, the evil killer saw an opportunity and pushed him into the path of the oncoming train.

Hollyoaks - Darren’s kidnapping

The abduction of Darren Osborne was a huge storyline on Hollyoaks.

Viewers saw Darren wake up in a mysterious hotel room with his hands bound together by tape.

The unknown kidnapper was seen towering over him, with a gun in their pocket.

In November, it was revealed that Maya and Ethan were holding up the jewellery shop Darren visited the day of his abduction.

Becoming a witness to the crime, Darren was abducted.

Emmerdale - Kim Tate’s poisoning

Kim Tate confronts Jamie over poisoning her on Emmerdale

One of Emmerdale’s longest storylines involved the secret poisoning of Kim Tate.

And viewers were shocked when it was finally revealed that her son Jamie had been trying to take his mum down with diazepam for weeks.

Kim then got her own back when she tricked Jamie into thinking she’d died.

Recruiting Will, she hired actors to play fake police and doctors to create the illusion she had been killed.

Kim then claimed she’d poisoned Jamie and he was going to die, before revealing the truth that there was no poison.

Janine’s return

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Janine Butcher finally made her dramatic return in September when EastEnders legend Charlie Brooks was back on the soap after 7 years.

In classic Janine style, she posed as a doctor, tricking the unsuspecting Zack Hudson.

Obviously, she’s been at the centre of the drama ever since, even setting Jay up for stealing a car.