The top ten most evil soap villains

By David Edwards 20/11/2009

Corrie killer Tony Gordon (above) was poised to make sure Roy came a cropper... until the evil one suddenly had a pang of conscience.

Last night's gripping scenes of Roy's dramatic rescue from the murky canal and Tony's shocking confession to the cops were watched by millions of Street fans.

But then baddies always make good viewing - no wonder soaps are full of wicked women and menacing men.

So from JR in Dallas to Brookie's Barry, here's a look at some of the best soap villains - with their kill counts...

RICHARD HILLMAN - CORONATION ST

Corrie's smooth-talking financial adviser knew how to make a killing - and not just when it came to business.

Richard Hillman (played by Brian Capron) wasn't about to let anything - or anyone - stand in his way.

After a late-night row when his partner Duggie Ferguson fell through a stair railing, Hillman stole a wad of cash instead of calling for help. From then on, murder was easy.

Increasingly unstable, Hillman bashed his ex-wife Patricia over the head with a shovel. He then tried to silence his suspicious motherin-law, Audrey Roberts, by setting her house on fire.

And after Maxine caught him trying to murder Emily Bishop, he took a crowbar to the crimper's head in an episode watched by 15 million fans. Tricky Dicky went to a watery grave in 2003 when he drove Gail Platt and her family into the Weatherfield canal.

MURDER COUNT ***

GRAHAM CLARK - EMMERDALE

Handsome, charming, intelligent - schoolteacher Graham seemed like the perfect addition to the not-so-sleepy Dales village.

Problem was he was a control freak who'd driven his first wife to commit suicide through his obsessive behaviour and dictatorial ways.

Not long after setting up his blackboard in 1998, Graham (played by Kevin Pallister) set about seducing unlucky-in-love Rachel Hughes.

He soon moved in, but her pals became suspicious of his domineering ways. Rachel herself began to doubt her man when he made her dye her hair and dress like his first wife.

Their affair came to an abrupt and dramatic end in 1999 with a cliffhanger in every sense of the word - as Graham pushed Rachel off the side of a hill.

He later perished in a car crash. Good riddance!

MURDER COUNT **

NICK COTTON - EASTENDERS

He didn't earn the nickname Nasty Nick for nothing.

His murder of pensioner Reg Cox provided the drama for the show's very first episode in 1985 - although Nick (played by John Altman) got away with probation.

In 1991, he was at it again. While attempting to come off heroin, he killed Queen Vic landlord Eddie Royle.

Not even his family could escape his nefarious activities. He unwittingly caused the death of his 17-yearold son Ashley, who stole Mark Fowler's motorbike - unaware that his dastardly dad had slashed the brakes.

More recently he tried to poison long-suffering mum Dot to get his mitts on her £1,000 bingo win.

No wonder Walford's wickedest son is one of British soap's most notorious figures.

Truly, a Nasty piece of work.

MURDER COUNT ***

JANINE BUTCHER - EASTENDERS

She started out as an irritating little madam, but graduated quickly from brattish schoolgirl to double killer - and along the way, Janine became a character everyone loves to hate.

A former cocaine addict, alcoholic and prostitute, she hit an all-time low after romancing used-car dealer Barry Evans simply to fleece him of his cash.

After they tied the knot in Scotland in 2003, she pushed him off a cliff, right, then sat and watched him die.

Janine (played by Charlie Brooks) was later tried - but cleared - of the murder of long-term rival Laura Beale.

But she just couldn't stay out of trouble and in April she ran over and killed Danielle Jones.

MURDER COUNT **

BARRY GRANT - BROOKSIDE

Brookie's shady businessman would do anything to protect his naive pal Terry Sullivan - even commit murder.

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In one of the Scouse soap's most famous storylines, Barry (played by Paul Usher) killed Terry's wife Sue and her young son Danny, by pushing them off some scaffolding.

And all to stop Sue spilling the beans to Terry about her and Baz's affair.

In 1994, Barry's ruthless streak surfaced again when brain-dead Terry got brainwashed by a sinister cult that had moved into the Close. When the cult leader Simon tried to gas himself and Terry in a car, Barry was there to pull his mate to safety - and leave Simon to perish.

He also offed gangster Callum Finnegan by locking him in a container in the 1997 spin-off The Lost Weekend. Nice!

MURDER COUNT ****

WARREN FOX - HOLLYOAKS

The thuggish ex-con turned up in the Chester-based soap in 2006 to wreak revenge on Sean Kennedy, who he blamed for his time in the nick.

During his three years on the show, Warren cheated, blackmailed and killed anyone foolish enough to get in his way. All that bad behaviour was good news for Jamie Lomas, the actor who played him. He won three Villain Of The Year gongs at the British Soap Awards.

In 2007, Warren killed business rival Sean and forced a terrified Justin Burton to dig the grave. Insult was added to injury when, a year on, he killed his victim's ex-wife Louise, on their wedding night.

MURDER COUNT **

KIM TATE - EMMERDALE

Kim earned the dubious honour of being soap's ultimate superbitch with a lot of stealing, scheming and swindling - oh, and by seeing off anyone who got in the way of her evil plans.

She only married haulage boss Frank Tate, right, to get her hands on his money and regularly cheated on him.

Kim (played by Claire King) even faked her own death and framed Frank for the murder. Later she taunted him into having a heart attack to claim his vast fortune.

MURDER COUNT *

STEPH FORSYTHE - EMMERDALE

The mother from hell began her four-year reign of terror at her daughter's engagement party, when she punched future sonin-law Marlon Dingle.

Steph (played by Lorraine Chase) soon earned a reputation in Hotten as a shrewd businesswoman. But she was even more devious in her personal life.

She jilted fianc› Rodney Blackstock on learning he wasn't as rich as she thought. Then she tried to drive her dad's new love Shelly Williams mad and was later tried for her murder - although the case collapsed when it was revealed Shelly wasn't actually dead. But it was only a matter of time...

In 2005, when Shelly fell overboard while on a ferry, Steph did nothing to help.

But a year later, she was behind bars for the murder of her brother Terence - even though the crime was committed by her husband, Adam.

MURDER COUNT *

ROBERT ROBINSON - NEIGHBOURS

Behind the chiselled good looks of businessman Paul Robinson's son, lurked the mind of a psycho - one who went to increasingly twisted lengths to slaughter the good people of Erinsborough.

In 2005, he caused the death of three people by planting a bomb on their aircraft. Then he killed the man accused of the crime.

Robert (played by Adam Hunter) also bumped off a friend of his girlfriend Katya Kinski, who he later kidnapped.

Still, you have to blame the parents. Dad Paul wasn't much better. In 2004, he started the fire at Lassiter's Hotel in which Gus Cleary died. He also abandoned lover Kirsten during a bushfire to save his own skin.

MURDER COUNT *****

FAMILY MURDER COUNT ******

J R EWING - DALLAS

Soap baddies don't come much more ruthless and manipulative than oil baron JR.

He would do ANYTHING, to keep control of the family business, Ewing Oil.

When not taunting his nemesis Cliff Barnes or bedding his latest secretary, JR (played by Larry Hagman) was busy indulging in a spot of murder.

When his long-suffering wife Sue Ellen finally left - taking their son JR Jr - JR threw an almighty tantrum. Then he threw her lover off a balcony.

In another cliffhanger, he was implicated in the drowning of ex-lover Kristin - the woman who shot him in one of TV's most-watched moments.

MURDER COUNT **

http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2009/11/20/the-top-ten-most-evil-soap-villains-115875-21836550/

Emmerdale has not been the same according to me, after Lorraine Chase (Steph) departured, i miss her so much, one of the most complex soap villainesses & psychos ever

Emmerdale has not been the same according to me, after Lorraine Chase (Steph) departured, i miss her so much, one of the most complex soap villainesses & psychos ever

I enjoyed her. I haven't seen some of her later run but I did enjoy the story with Shelley. Steph was the villain in that story, yet, Shelley was so sniveling, I couldn't help feeling sorry for Steph. The thing with Steph was she had valid reasons to be what she was, which made her more understandable, as well as more dangerous. And Lorraine Chase had such a unique little girl voice, and that long, long dark hair, she used those to great effect. My favorite was when she decided to redeem herself and went around annoying everyone through her work at the vicarage.

As for Nick Cotton, he stopped being a big villain many years ago. His last return finished him off as bad panto.

For other villains, I would include:

Mad Maya from Corrie, a smart lawyer who was strung along and finally rejected by pig Dev Alahan in favor of much put-upon Sunita, "sniveling", as Maya called her. Maya had a great exit where she kidnapped Sunita, and then went to each of Dev's businesses and set them on fire. Dev would frantically go from store to store, as he would get a call saying an alarm had went off. By the time he got there, it would be in flames. Maya ended up knocking him out at the last store, taunting him and reading him the riot act as she planned to blow him and Sunita up. She left, and some of the residents saw them and freed them in time. Maya returned, in her red sports car, and saw her plans had been foiled. She barreled towards Sunita, only for Sunita to get out of the way. Maya crashed into a store window, but planned to reverse and try again. Then a huge truck slammed into her car, and she was seriously injured. She was last seen in the hospital...so she could return one day.

Niall - Hollyoaks. This story went on too long but the guy who played him was chilling, as his simultaneous longing for and hatred of the mother who had given him up at birth regularly left him on the brink of madness. I still remember that awful scene where he poisoned the hunky gay priest.

Alan Bradley, Corrie. This was THE psycho of Corrie for many years. In the mid 80s, Rita Fairclough took in a teenage girl whose mother had recently died. Eventually this girl contacted her long lost father, Alan. Alan eventually got involved with Rita, while carrying on with other women on the Street. He married a somewhat reluctant Rita, and began taking her money to help his business ventures. His downfall was trying to rape his secretary. She told Rita everything, even that he had taken out a loan in her dead husband's name. When Rita confronted him, he would have strangled her if someone hadn't walked in. He fled, but returned after a while and took local jobs and tried to make Rita clear his name. She refused. She was slowly driven mad and finally ended up in Blackpool, with 20 years of her life missing. Alan found her and was going to force her to go to the police, as everyone had believed he'd killed her. She ran away from his car and he chased after her. She just missed being hit by a streetcar. Alan did not miss, and was mowed down right before her eyes.

Maya was awesome - she's still languishing in a coma on life support, so the potential is still there, just waiting to be tapped.

Others I think who should have gotten a mention are:

Pete Callan & Trish Wallace (Family Affairs) - What didn't he do?! Married Cat as part of a con to get her house; killed Josh Mathews and framed then-wife Siobhan, sending her to prison; nearly embarked on an incestuous affair with unknown daughter Lucy Day; blackmailed and schemed against wife Eileen; covered up the self defence killing of Mike, who had attempted to rape Eileen; Trish arrived to exact revenge on old friend Eileen, by blackmailing her over Mike's murder; she cooked up some baby plot in an attempt to ensnare Pete, and steal Eileen's husband; Pete shot and killed Trish in an armed stand-off, before being killed by police. [Long time villainy over a period of, what, 8 years? Pete has got to be the most remembered character out of the entire show. Awesome character! As for Trish, well by the end, she was nuttier tham a fruit cake.]

Mad May (Eastenders) - After May's husband Rob, had an affair with Dawn Swann, getting her pregnant, the desperate doctor in need of a baby of her own, convinced Dawn to sell her baby in exchange for money. Rob tricked Dawn into believing that they, together, were going to double cross May, but Dawn realized that she was being had. May kidnapped Dawn, and held her hostage, ready to induce labour and steal her baby! But Dawn escaped. Several months later, May returned, taking Mickey, Dawn and baby Summer hostage, before blowing up the house, killing herself instantly.

Trevor Morgan (Eastenders) - Violently abused his wife, Little Mo, for years; raped Little Mo, who later killed him in self defence with a blow to the head. [He was evil - enough said.]

Sarah Lewis (Home & Away) - Psycho Sarah accidentally killed her boyfriend Felix, while high on crystal meth. She wrongly assumed that Dani Sutherland, or one of her friends had killed Felix. Sarah stalked the town by breaking into houses; poisoned the air con at Noah & Hayley's and Kane & Kirsty's wedding reception; shot Jesse; burnt Dani's hands with acid; took everyone hostage, and killing Noah. During rehab, Sarah's nurse, Eve Jacobson fell in love with her, and after Sarah shot herself, Eve became the Summer Bay Stalker, several weeks later. [sarah was the best constructed villain to ever grace H&A; shame her follow up wasn't as good, especially when Eve came back from the dead - this was not a crash hot idea at all.]

Terence Chesterton & Charlotte Stone (Neighbours) - Terrance was a phoney spiritualist, and Charlotte was a fake doctor - together, they were the perfect con. Conspiring to fleece the residents of Erinsborough, Charlotte posed as the local doctor, misdiagnosing Paul's brain tumour, and getting Carmella addicted to strong painkillers. Terrance tricked Sky into believing that he could talk to her dead "husband" Stingray, while trying to seduce her on Stingray's say-so. When Sky tried to escape, she hit him over the head with a sugar dispenser. Jealous Charlotte finished the job by clubbing him to death with another blow, pocketing the murder weapon. Sky went to jail, and Charlotte got off scot free. Boyd struck up a relationship with Charlotte, and soon realized she had killed Terrance. He taped her confession, which resulted in a high speed police chase, where Boyd and Charlotte crashed the car. The cops fell for Charlotte's claime that Boyd tried to frame her, after kidnapping her, but the game was up when Max & Steph found the confession tape, and Sky was released. [i know a lot of people didn't like this storyline, but I enjoyed it; lots of twists, and kind of original for Neighbours.]

Dr. Darcy Tyler (Neighbours) - Darcy had a secret affair with girlfriend, Dee's, best friend, Tess; he tried to steal Karl's doctors surgery from him; sold prescription drugs in night clubs; schemed to break-up Toadie and Dee; stole from the Kennedy's (his own family); accidentally shoved a heavily pregnant Lyn to the ground, knocking her unconscious, and fleeing the scene; blackmailed Izzy over her baby lie, then "fell" down the hospital stairwell, falling into a coma; woke up and began blackmailing Izzy again. [OK, so Darcy never killed anyone, but he was a well rounded villain, who knew how to be entertaining.]

Great picks. I wish I'd seen some of Family Affairs, that doesn't seem to be anywhere.

I thought the woman who played Mad May was fab, but I was very disappointed in her return. She was just a random psycho for a few days, then she blew herself up. Yet another interesting character who was outlived by the selfish, gobby dead space that was Dawn Miller.

Yeah, Family Affairs was awesome, but it's nowhere to be seen. I don't really get why it never picked up a solid audience, seeing as it was much better than some of the other soaps at that time. Strangely, 1.1/1.5 million viewers today would be excepted. It will forever remain a mystery.

Strange when you consider Dominic Treadwell-Collins wrote for it.

I know. But I guess you can put that down to FA being more suited to him, than EE.

And I guess, again, that there are only so many revamps a show can go through, before the network decides they're flogging a dead horse... or a horse on life support, struggling to be noticed in a sea of soap operas.

A sea? It's quickly becoming a tiny little pond.

Now it is, but back then there was more variety.