There are many way an actor can be written out of a soap, and for every character killed off, there’s usually (at least) one other who was responsible for their death.
As a result, fictional jails up and down the country are all home to a number of ‘Coronation Street’, ‘Emmerdale’, ‘EastEnders’ and ‘Hollyoaks’ characters from years gone by, and plenty of fan favourites and iconic villains have made their way back onto our screens after leaving prison.
Max Branning (eventually) returned to Walford after his release in 2016 and even more recently, Rob Donovan broke out of prison and snuck back to Weatherfield.
There are still a number of soap villains locked up behind bars, though, which leaves us with one question: which of them could make a return?
Well, panic not, because we’ve worked it out…
Imprisoned Soap Characters
Chrissie Watts ('EastEnders')(01 of10)
Crime: The murder of Den Watts in 2005
Sentence: An unspecified time in jail, likely to have been a life sentence (boo!)
Yeah, yeah, she murdered Den, but wow, do we miss Chrissie. Tracy-Ann Oberman was in Walford for just over a year and wasted no time in becoming one of the most iconic 'EastEnders' characters of all time.
Chances of a return? 5/5. (Disclaimer: We have no logical reason for thinking there's a 100% chance Chrissie will come back, it's just that we really want to see her in the Square again.) (credit:BBC Pictures)
Sentence: An unspecified time in jail, likely to have been a life sentence (boo!)
Yeah, yeah, she murdered Den, but wow, do we miss Chrissie. Tracy-Ann Oberman was in Walford for just over a year and wasted no time in becoming one of the most iconic 'EastEnders' characters of all time.
Chances of a return? 5/5. (Disclaimer: We have no logical reason for thinking there's a 100% chance Chrissie will come back, it's just that we really want to see her in the Square again.) (credit:BBC Pictures)
Jim McDonald ('Coronation Street')(02 of10)
Crime: Bank robbery
Sentence: 7 years behind bars in 2011
Jim's prison stint has featured in the soap a number of times in recent years, most notably in 2014, when Peter Barlow tracked down his fellow inmate.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, upon finding Jim, Peter learned he'd earned the nickname 'The Landlord', by sourcing and selling contraband items.
Chances of a return? 4/5. Actor Charles Lawson has struggled to stay from Weatherfield over the past decades, and we really wouldn't be surprised if an early release for Jim meant he was back on the Street for good in the years to come. (credit:REX/Shutterstock)
Sentence: 7 years behind bars in 2011
Jim's prison stint has featured in the soap a number of times in recent years, most notably in 2014, when Peter Barlow tracked down his fellow inmate.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, upon finding Jim, Peter learned he'd earned the nickname 'The Landlord', by sourcing and selling contraband items.
Chances of a return? 4/5. Actor Charles Lawson has struggled to stay from Weatherfield over the past decades, and we really wouldn't be surprised if an early release for Jim meant he was back on the Street for good in the years to come. (credit:REX/Shutterstock)
Lucas Johnson ('EastEnders')(03 of10)
Crime: Multiple murders
Sentence: Life imprisonment in 2011
Lucas's initial imprisonment finally came after the murder of three people and the kidnap of his own family.
Before escaping form prison to cause more problems for Denise in 2016, the terrifying Lucas tried to contact her on multiple occasions.
Chances of a return? 3/5. However, we hope for Denise's sake that Walford has seen the back of him. (credit:BBC Pictures)
Sentence: Life imprisonment in 2011
Lucas's initial imprisonment finally came after the murder of three people and the kidnap of his own family.
Before escaping form prison to cause more problems for Denise in 2016, the terrifying Lucas tried to contact her on multiple occasions.
Chances of a return? 3/5. However, we hope for Denise's sake that Walford has seen the back of him. (credit:BBC Pictures)
Karl Munro ('Coronation Street')(04 of10)
Crime: Arson and murder
Sentence: 25 years behind bars in 2013
Remember him? Karl arrived in Weatherfield as the boyfriend of Stella Price, and later had an affair with Sunita Allahan - who was one of two fatalities when Karl set fire to the Rovers Return.
Chances of a return? 1/5. As his character has a release date of 2038, we don't think actor John Michie will be planning a return for anytime soon. (credit:ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Sentence: 25 years behind bars in 2013
Remember him? Karl arrived in Weatherfield as the boyfriend of Stella Price, and later had an affair with Sunita Allahan - who was one of two fatalities when Karl set fire to the Rovers Return.
Chances of a return? 1/5. As his character has a release date of 2038, we don't think actor John Michie will be planning a return for anytime soon. (credit:ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Darryl Parkins ('Coronation Street')(05 of10)
Crime: Career criminal, beginning with a bank robbery
Sentence: Unknown
Darryl was in prison when he was introduced to the soap, as viewers saw Craig visit his estranged father in prison.
When he got there, Craig discovered that his dad wasn't quite so bad... until he tried to get him to smuggle drugs in, that is.
Chances of a return? 5/5. Soap fans would love to see more of Paul Loughran, who played Emmerdale's Butch Dingle (yes, that's where you know him from) and we reckon bosses would be silly not to explore his storyline further. (credit:ITV Pictures)
Sentence: Unknown
Darryl was in prison when he was introduced to the soap, as viewers saw Craig visit his estranged father in prison.
When he got there, Craig discovered that his dad wasn't quite so bad... until he tried to get him to smuggle drugs in, that is.
Chances of a return? 5/5. Soap fans would love to see more of Paul Loughran, who played Emmerdale's Butch Dingle (yes, that's where you know him from) and we reckon bosses would be silly not to explore his storyline further. (credit:ITV Pictures)
Steph Stokes ('Emmerdale')(06 of10)
Crime: None! Steph took the blame for her brother's murder
Sentence: Unspecified jail time
In a shock twist, Steph confessed to the murder of her brother - which she didn't commit - while on the stand.
Chances of a return? 3/5. Lorraine Chase briefly reprised the role for her on-screen father's funeral in 2013, arriving at the church in handcuffs.
Given that Steph is falsely imprisoned, we're hopeful that Steph could be arriving in the Woolpack sometime soon. (credit:ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Sentence: Unspecified jail time
In a shock twist, Steph confessed to the murder of her brother - which she didn't commit - while on the stand.
Chances of a return? 3/5. Lorraine Chase briefly reprised the role for her on-screen father's funeral in 2013, arriving at the church in handcuffs.
Given that Steph is falsely imprisoned, we're hopeful that Steph could be arriving in the Woolpack sometime soon. (credit:ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Bobby Beale ('EastEnders')(07 of10)
Crime: The unlawful killing of his sister, Lucy Beale
Sentence: Three years in custody in 2016
It took a year for 'EastEnders' viewers to find out that Bobby was responsible for his sister's death, and even longer for the police to learn the truth.
It was an attack on his stepmother, Jane, that eventually led to Bobby's murder confession.
Chances of a return? 4/5. We're pretty sure Bobby will return to Walford eventually - the main question is whether the character will be recast or not. (credit:BBC Pictures)
Sentence: Three years in custody in 2016
It took a year for 'EastEnders' viewers to find out that Bobby was responsible for his sister's death, and even longer for the police to learn the truth.
It was an attack on his stepmother, Jane, that eventually led to Bobby's murder confession.
Chances of a return? 4/5. We're pretty sure Bobby will return to Walford eventually - the main question is whether the character will be recast or not. (credit:BBC Pictures)
Cameron Campbell ('Hollyoaks')(08 of10)
Crime: EIGHT murders
Sentence: 114 years in prison. Yes, 114. That isn't a typo.
Well... they didn't call him 'Killer Cameron' for nothing.
Chances of a return? 2/5. We're not ready for the stress of him breaking out of jail and returning anytime soon but, obviously, this is 'Hollyoaks', where literally anything can happen.
*gulps* (credit:Lime Pictures)
Sentence: 114 years in prison. Yes, 114. That isn't a typo.
Well... they didn't call him 'Killer Cameron' for nothing.
Chances of a return? 2/5. We're not ready for the stress of him breaking out of jail and returning anytime soon but, obviously, this is 'Hollyoaks', where literally anything can happen.
*gulps* (credit:Lime Pictures)
Brendan Brady ('Hollyoaks')(09 of10)
Crime: Multiple murders before being caught in 2013
Sentence: An unspecifiedamount of time in jail, but it's likely he received at least a couple of life sentences.
Brendan is one of soapland's most ferocious villains, and clocked up a number of killings during
Chances of a return? 1/5. Actor Emmett J. Scanlan has gone on to great things in the US so given that - and, of course, Brendan's gigantic sentence - he probably won't be back anytime soon. (credit:Lime Pictures)
Sentence: An unspecifiedamount of time in jail, but it's likely he received at least a couple of life sentences.
Brendan is one of soapland's most ferocious villains, and clocked up a number of killings during
Chances of a return? 1/5. Actor Emmett J. Scanlan has gone on to great things in the US so given that - and, of course, Brendan's gigantic sentence - he probably won't be back anytime soon. (credit:Lime Pictures)
Natasha Wylde ('Emmerdale')(10 of10)
Crime: Murder in 2010
Sentence: At least 21 years in prison
Natasha and her husband Mark arrived in the Dales in January 2009, but within two years, he was dead - and Natasha found guilty of the killing.
Chances of a return? 1/5. Natasha isn't eligible for parole until 2031, and she also has no remaining ties to the village. (credit:ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Sentence: At least 21 years in prison
Natasha and her husband Mark arrived in the Dales in January 2009, but within two years, he was dead - and Natasha found guilty of the killing.
Chances of a return? 1/5. Natasha isn't eligible for parole until 2031, and she also has no remaining ties to the village. (credit:ITV/REX/Shutterstock)