Emmerdale has often used the festive season as a backdrop for some of its most dramatic character exits.

The soap is notorious for its Christmas-time fatalities.

In 2023, Damon Harris, portrayed by Robert Beck, met his end at the hands of Charity Dingle, played by Emma Atkins. This isn’t a recent trend either, with the show’s first Yuletide demise occurring nearly three decades ago.

While it remains to be seen if any villagers will meet their maker this year, speculation is rife that Celia Daniels could face a grim fate following the announcement that actress Jaye Griffiths is departing the ITV soap.

Here are some of the Christmas deaths that have sent shockwaves through the village and altered lives forever.

Louise Appleton killed Ray Mullen in Emmerdale (Image: ITV)

Beloved postmaster Vic Windsor, played by Alun Lewis, met his untimely end on Christmas Day 1998. The character was killed during an armed robbery orchestrated by Andy Sugden’s (Kelvin Fletcher) convict father, Billy Hopwood (David Crellin).

Desperate for cash to fund his new life abroad with Andy, Billy chose to rob the Post Office on its quietest day of the year, not anticipating Vic would catch him in the act.

Armed with a shotgun, Billy threatened Vic, leading to a struggle that resulted in Vic crashing into a set of shelves and sustaining fatal injuries.

Despite Vic’s pleas for help, Billy fled the scene, leaving Vic to die alone. His tragic death was witnessed by 11.1 million devastated fans who mourned his loss.

Heath Hope was killed in a New Year’s Eve crash (Image: ITV)

The festive murder of Tom King (Kenneth Farrington) in 2006 saw the King patriarch tie the knot with gold-digger Rosemary Sinclair (Linda Thorson), much to his sons’ dismay. The reception at Home Farm was in full swing, but a chilling twist was about to unfold.

Tom was upstairs when an unidentified figure entered his room and assaulted him with a bronze statue.

Moments later, Tom plummeted through the window in front of his horrified guests, dying from a broken neck. His shocking demise sparked the soap’s most significant whodunit, implicating many locals.

The investigation lasted for months before Tom’s son Carl King (Tom Lister) was revealed as the murderer.

Dave Glover (Ian Kelsey) played a dangerous game by having an affair with the lady of the manor, Kim Tate (Claire King), which ended disastrously. Kim and the attractive farmhand carried on their clandestine relationship behind her husband Frank Tate’s (Norman Bowler) back for two years.

When Kim found out she was pregnant in December 1995, she was unsure who the father was. Despite her feelings for Dave, when Frank offered her a million pounds to abandon her lover and name him as the father on the birth certificate, Kim chose the money.

Baby James was born the following year, and a DNA test later confirmed he was Frank’s. Despite this, Kim and Dave couldn’t resist each other and planned to elope and start anew, but their plans never came to fruition.

On Christmas Day 1996, a devastating fire engulfed James’s nursery at Home Farm. Dave heroically braved the inferno to rescue the child, managing to pass him through a window, but he wasn’t as fortunate. He was rushed to hospital but tragically succumbed to his injuries the next day.

Tom King was murdered by his own son Carl King (Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

The Emmerdale plane crash, also referred to as the Beckindale air disaster, signified a monumental shift in the soap’s narrative. The episode, which aired on 30 December 1993, attracted a record-breaking audience of 18 million viewers.

Farmer Joe Sugden (Frazer Hines) was driving his mother Annie Sugden (Sheila Mercier) and her husband Leonard Kempinski (Bernard Archard) to the airport when he had to veer the car to dodge wreckage from the ill-fated aircraft. The collision resulted in Leonard’s death and left Annie comatose for three months.

Leonard wasn’t the sole casualty that night. The plane crash also took the lives of three others – Elizabeth Pollard, Eric’s second wife, Zoe Tate’s ex-boyfriend Archie Brooks, and local father Mark Hughes.

Additionally, it inflicted life-altering injuries on Home Farm heir Chris Tate (Peter Amory), leaving him wheelchair-bound for the remainder of his life.

Vic Windsor was killed during an armed robbery (Image: ITV)

Sinister stalker Ray Mullen (Seamus Gubbins) met a gruesome fate on Boxing Day 2003. The unsettling businessman was dating Woolpack landlady Louise Appleton (Emily Symons), unbeknownst to her that he was also her stalker.

For months, Louise had been plagued by threatening letters from an unknown harasser. Ray, having instilled fear in Louise for her safety, convinced her to relocate with him to Italy.

After bidding farewell, the pair made their escape on Christmas Day, but during the journey, Louise discovered Ray’s true monstrous nature.

In a struggle, their car veered off the road. Ray was knocked unconscious and Louise fled the scene, but her ordeal was far from over.

The drama escalated on Boxing Day when Ray reappeared at Mill Cottage for a final, lethal confrontation.

The two fought, resulting in Louise killing Ray in self-defence. Her friend Terry Woods (Billy Hartman) stumbled upon the gruesome scene and assisted Louise in making it appear as though Ray had died accidentally, preventing her from facing charges.

Their plan succeeded, and Louise escaped punishment for murder. Emmerdale viewers were left stunned when young Heath Hope (Sebastian Dowling) was killed off on New Year’s Eve 2023.

Heath, his twin sister Cathy (Gabrielle Dowling), and their friend Angelica King (Rebecca Bakes) were eager to welcome 2024 at a house party in Hotten.

The trio decided to steal nurse Wendy Posner’s (Susan Cookson) car to reach the party, but disaster struck enroute when the vehicle veered off the road.

Heath’s father Bob (Tony Audenshaw) and Wendy stumbled upon the accident scene, finding a wounded Angelica and Cathy in shock. Tragically, there was no hope for young Heath, whose lifeless body was found slumped in the back seat at just 16 years old.

Initially, Cathy shouldered the blame for the crash, but it later emerged that Angelica had been driving. She admitted her role and was subsequently imprisoned for causing death by dangerous driving.