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Hana Carter

Wildest soap endings - Crossroads to Brookside as Neighbours finally wraps

Neighbours fans are preparing to mourn the loss of their favourite Aussie soap as it will be axed from UK TV screens after nearly 40 years.

Kylie Minogue, Guy Pearce and Jason Donovan are just a few of the beloved cast members to return for the finale.

Neighbours will be joining the graveyard of loved bygone soaps after the final episode airs today, but will its ending be the last hurrah Ramsay Street deserves?

We take a look at some of the best soaps that went out with a bang.

Crossroads - 1964 to 2003

It was Britain's first daily serial and followed the dramas that unfolded in Crossroads motel in the Midlands.

The establishment was first ran by Meg Richardson (Noele Gordon), her daughter jill (Jane Rossington) and her son Sandy (Roger Tonge).

It was often mocked for its low budget and bizarre storylines, but Crossroads scooped over 15 million viewers at the time.

The final episode of Crossroads was due to "tie up all the loose ends from all the outstanding storylines".

And while it did just that, it was certainly an unusual way to conclude a series.

For Crossroads, it was all just a dream (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

The final episode saw Crossroads hotel boss Angel, played by Jane Asher, realise that her job has actually all been a dream.

She returned to her actual job as a supermarket checkout assistant in Birmingham and remembered that her name was actually Angela.

"I've just woken up from an amazing dream and dreamt that I owned a hotel called Crossroads," she told a co-worker.

As the supermarket staff were alerted that the store was closing, the lights went out and the last words to be heard were: "Oh, fudge."

A spokesperson for the show at the time said: "As a special twist at the end, the scene cuts to Angel checking through a floret of broccoli and chatting to the person on the next till. We hope to give our viewers a smile on their faces as the show finishes."

The show was forced to end due to plummeting viewing numbers (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Brookside - 1982 - 2003

It was the first pre-watershed programme to show two women kissing on British TV and the fans went wild for it.

The soap opera followed the residents of a cul-de-sac in Liverpool and the show reached its peak in the late 80s and early 90s.

It soared in popularity thanks to its realistic and taboo-busting storylines.

The last episode was explosive to say the least, and saw drug dealer Jack Michaelson, played by Paul Duckworth, murdered after the road ganged up on him.

The episode saw an audience peak of two million after he was hanged from his bedroom window.

Producer Phil Redmond worked on the show since it begun in 1982 as part of the newly launched Channel 4.

"I'd like to thank them for sticking with the show, especially in its later days when it was being moved around the schedules," he said.

"With the last episode, I'm saying 'This is just for you, guys'."

The show featured the first same sex kiss on British television (Mirrorpix)

Heartbeat - 1992 - 2010

Heartbeat followed the lives of the police, doctors and residents of Ashfordly and Aidensfield.

The first episode in 1992 drew in a 10 million viewers and was often in competition with other primetime shows.

The last episode was fairly low-key as far as endings are concerned as there were no deaths, marriages or births.

"We are overhauling our schedule to reflect the changing demands of our audience [and] refreshing the mix of programming we commission and broadcast.

Heartbeat ended on a pretty disappointing note (ITV/REX)
It's first episode scooped 10 million viewers (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

We will continue to maintain our significant investment in the genre, the biggest of any commercial broadcaster, but ITV1's future focus will be on new and varied drama commissions."

"Heartbeat has been an important part of the television landscape over the last 18 years and we are incredibly proud of what it achieved in its heyday as one of ITV1's top rated dramas."

The Bill - 1983 - 2010

The popular police series spanned cross 26 seasons before concluding with a two-part episode.

The finale was brutal and gruesome and opens with a dying teenager who has been stabbed by gang members.

Investigations into his murder leads to former informant Jasmine Harris, who was later tragically beaten and gang raped after returning to her estate.

The finale, titled "Respect" concludes at a press conference, where Superintendant Jack Meadows briefs reporters before breaking into a speech about respect.

The Bill was one of the most popular cop dramas (Fremantle Media/REX/Shutterstock)

Holby City - 1999 - 2022

After 23 years on our screens, Holby City's final episode aired in March this year.

After being kept in the dark about whether Jac Naylor's fate, it was finally revealed that tragically the show's favourite didn't make it.

Despite saving hundreds of lives throughout her career, Jac, who was struck with an incurable tumour, was unable to be saved.

Many fans were desperate that she might have been saved at the last minute, but had their hopes dashed.

Viewers sobbed as Holby favourite Jac died on the final episode (BBC/Kieron McCarron)

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Paying homage to the NHS, Jac's voice read over the final scene: "This is what the NHS means to us,"

"It's not a badge, it's not a number down the side of a bus. It's a nurse missing her break to sit with a lonely patient.

"It's a surgeon grinding out a 15-hour op. The sound of sirens coming to the rescue, Thursday-night applause floating across the rooftops. It's all of us doing the best we can in impossible circumstances."

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