British soaps including Emmerdale, EastEnders, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks love to air shock whodunnit storylines, with a gruesome murder often setting the scene for one of the biggest plots of the year.
Over the years, some of soaps’ much-loved characters have even gotten away with murder, whether they pass the blame onto another character or simply pull off a convincing alibi.
While several soap favourites have faced justice of some sort for the murders they have committed, including EastEnders' Bobby Beale and Ben Mitchell, and Hollyoaks' Ella Richardson, others are still hiding their killer secrets.
There's also the likes of Sharon Watts and Phil Mitchell who have attempted to murder fellow characters and have almost succeeded, but have carried on with their lives as if nothing happened.
So which current residents of the four main soaps have managed to escape justice? You may be surprised how many there are…
Emmerdale
Kim Tate
There are a number of characters in the Dales who have gotten away with serious crimes, including those who have been involved in the deaths of others.
One such character is Kim Tate, the original soap bad girl, who watched her husband Frank Tate die from a heart attack and did nothing to help him.
It's been suggested that over the years Kim has had others killed, and one character who would be dead if Kim had had her way is Joe Tate, who remains on the run.
Moira Dingle
Moira is another character who killed someone on the soap, but only a few people know the truth.
The character murdered killer Emma Barton in 2017, after learning Emma had killed her own husband James Barton and son Finn.
Emma had left Moira and her newborn son Isaac in danger too moments after he was born at the farm, as she fled the scene despite Moira bleeding heavily - with the barn also on fire at this point.
Moira's son Adam Barton took the blame for the crime and went on the run.
Kerry and Amy Wyatt
Kerry and Amy were trying to steal from the factory when they accidentally sparked a blaze in 2019.
Tracy Metcalfe was trapped in the burning factory at the time, and Frank Clayton raced in to save his daughter.
While both of them got out, Frank was injured when the building exploded and he died instantly. Amy and Kerry covered up their crime, and only a few residents know the truth.
Dawn Taylor
Dawn killed evil cop DI Malone in self-defence, after he tried to kill her - amid a long-running feud with her father Will Taylor.
Malone tried to force Dawn to take a heroin overdose, only for Harriet Finch to walk in and stop him by whacking him over the head.
The villain got back up though and went to kill Harriet instead, only for Dawn to shoot him dead - and the characters went on to bury the body, covering up the crime.
EastEnders
Stacey Slater
Stacey confessed to then partner Bradley Branning in 2010 that she murdered Archie Mitchell, after he raped her.
But after evidence left Bradley the main suspect, the pair tried to flee only for Bradley to fall off The Queen Vic roof to his death – this led to Stacey confessing the truth to his dad Max Branning.
Later that year, after Janine Butcher rumbled the truth, she was forced to flee the country and go on the run with daughter Lily to escape arrest.
Returning in 2014, Stacey eventually headed back to the Square and decided to clear Bradley’s name, confessing to Archie’s murder.
While she was initially given a five year sentence, this was reduced and Stacey returned home later that year.
Ravi Gulati
A new character on the soap, Ravi has certainly made his mark. Last year Ravi murdered the man he, until recently, believed was his dad - Ranveer Gulati.
But Ravi made Suki Panesar believe she was the killer after she had hit him over the head, following him sexually assaulting her.
When Suki's son Kheerat Panesar learned the truth, he took the blame and went to prison to save his mum.
Coronation Street
Tracy Barlow
One soap character who many often forget is a killer is Tracy Barlow, the stepdaughter of Ken Barlow and mother to Amy.
In 2007, Tracy murdered her partner Charlie Stubbs, while planning it out so that it looked like self-defence.
After seducing him, she hit him over the head with an ornament before claiming he tried to stab her.
This didn’t stop her from being sent to prison though, only for her to be released three years later due to the forensic evidence being proved unreliable.
Sarah and David Platt
While Sarah and David did not physically murder Callum Logan, they were part of the cover-up after his wife Kylie accidentally killed him.
Kylie was trying to protect Sarah after Callum attacked her, hitting him over the head and killing him instantly.
Not wanting to go down for the crime, they hid the body under the house only for it to be discovered months later.
The trio managed to set up Jason Grimshaw’s dad Tony for the crime after a feud he had with Callum, with Tony also having died by this point.
Gary Windass
One character who has got away with his crimes time and time again is Gary, who murdered one character before causing the death of another.
Gary killed Rick Neelan in self-defence, before burying his body in the woods and making it look as though the villain had done a runner.
Not long after, he caused the factory roof collapse which claimed the life of Rana Habeeb. Gary pinned this crime on Rick, and has managed to hide both crimes - while a few residents do know the truth about Rick.
Stephen Reid
A current soap killer causing chaos is Audrey Roberts' son Stephen, who has so far killed Leo Thompkins and his dad Teddy Thompkins.
Stephen became an accidental killer, but he's already eyeing up his next target it seems, with Carla Connor now at risk.
Toyah Battersby
Toyah killed her own husband Imran Habeeb in a car crash last year, but managed to get away with the crime.
After months of claiming to not remember what happened, she finally confessed that as far as she was aware she was in control of the car.
While Toyah has admitted to Spider that she intended to crash the car, she believes, the character wasn't found guilty of the crime in court.
Hollyoaks
Warren Fox
Long-time killer Warren has been in and out of the village over the years, and has had his fair share of prison visits.
But given his long list of crimes, he should not be free to roam around - yet he's literally got away with murder.
His victims include Sean Kennedy, Cormac Ranger, Louise Summers, Bart McQueen and Brody Hudson, while he was also involved in the deaths of Danny Houston
Now, Warren's killer mother Norma is in the village causing as much chaos as he is.
Ethan Williams
Ethan is also a secret killer in the village, having murdered his own girlfriend Maya Harkwell last year.
At the time he had Sienna Blake and Ste Hay help him bury the body before blackmailing them, while since then others have been alerted to the crime.
Ethan hasn't killed anyone since, while he has found himself caught up in Warren and Norma's drama.
Mercedes McQueen
Hollyoaks favourite Mercedes McQueen murdered her husband Paul Browning in 2013.
Paul grew obsessed with her and even killed Clare Devine to protect her, before trying to kidnap her.
As they headed back to her house, he was confronted by Mercedes’ pals Lindsey Butterfield and Cindy Cunningham and a deadly showdown ensued, forcing Mercedes to hit him over the head with a shovel.
The trio then proceeded to hide the body, before enlisting the help of Fredde Roscoe who placed his body in his car before pushing it off a cliff.
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV, while EastEnders airs at the same time on BBC One on Mondays to Thursdays.
Corrie airs straight after Emmerdale at 8pm on Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays. Hollyoaks airs Mondays to Fridays at 6:30pm on Channel 4, with the next episode at 7pm on E4.
