It doesn’t matter how much time has passed, we won’t ever get over some of these devastating demises.

Nothing hurts quite like the death of your favourite television character.

Whether it’s a tragic accident you never saw coming or a slow drawn out goodbye, farewelling a favourite can haunt us forever.

How can we forget the horrific car accident that took Claire McLeod’s life on McLeod’s Daughters or the shattering realisation the John Doe fighting for his life at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital was in fact George O’Malley in Grey’s Anatomy?

Grab the tissues, and take a painful stroll down memory lane with the most shocking and heartbreaking deaths on our screens…

Patrick Reid

Offspring – 2013

Patrick’s (Matthew Le Nevez) death in a car accident in the penultimate episode of Offspring’s fourth season destroyed women everywhere – and some men, too! While audiences were aware that someone would be killed long before the episode aired, no-one had anticipated that the much-loved dishy doctor and father of Nina’s (Asher Keddie) unborn child would be the one to meet such a tragic fate – knocked down by a car on his way to his partner’s baby shower, no less. Though he seems fine at first, later at home, his speech becomes slurred and he falls unconscious due to a bleed on the brain. Fans were outraged and the hashtag #Offspring started trending worldwide.

Mel Rafter

Packed To The Rafters – 2010

A whole generation of kids learnt the dangers of being on your phone while driving thanks to Mel Rafter (Zoë Ventoura). Running late on her way home from her shift, nurse Mel smiles to herself as hers and Ben’s (Hugh Sheridan) favourite song – Coldplay’s “Fix You” – comes on the radio, turning up the volume. Dialling into her voicemail inbox on her phone, she hears Ben telling her not to go home – he’s organised a surprise night away in the city. Glancing down to disconnect the call, it only takes a split second for Mel to run through a stop sign – and into the path of an oncoming car. The moment in which Nathan (Angus McLaren) turns up to the hotel to break the news to his brother Ben – who opens the door with a rose in his mouth, expecting his wife – will haunt us for an eternity.

Sonya Rebecchi

Neighbours – 2019

Poor Toadie (Ryan Moloney) must have thought he was cursed when his second wife, Sonya (Eve Morey), was diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer. Wanting to spend as much time as she has left with her loved ones, the couple packs their bags for a beach getaway – with Sonya’s sister Jade (Gemma Pranita) taking their kids Callum (Morgan Baker) and Nell (Scarlett Anderson) ahead to the house while Sonya meets with her specialist. Sadly, the news isn’t good: the cancer had spread. Arriving at the beach, Sonya finally tells her husband she has less time than they’d hoped – far less. Right there, in the arms of the man she loves, Sonya takes her last breath.

Claire McLeod

McLeod’s Daughters – 2003

After three seasons of sexual tension, Claire McLeod (Lisa Chappell) and Alex Ryan (Aaron Jeffrey) had finally got their act together when it all came crashing down. With Tess (Bridie Carter) getting the cancer all-clear, the girls, along with Claire’s baby daughter Charlotte, head off to get supplies to celebrate. But tragedy strikes on the way, when a Brumby runs across the road – causing Claire to hit a pothole, clip a tree and crash through a fence, leaving the ute dangling precariously on the edge of a cliff. Tess reluctantly jumps out with Charlotte, but Claire’s door is stuck and her leg is pinned. “Look after Charlotte,” Claire tells her sister as she pushes her away from the vehicle, which then plummets off the cliff as Tess watches on in horror.

Bea Smith

Wentworth – 2016

The fourth season of Wentworth went out in epic style. With Ferguson (Pamela Rabe) having admitted to Bea (Danielle Cormack) that she gave Allie (Kate Jenkinson) the hotshot that landed her on life support, Bea goes to Vera (Kate Atkinson) with a plan to get her confession on tape. Upon her release, Ferguson is confronted by a screwdriver- wielding Bea. A tussle ensues and Ferguson grabs the weapon. In a shocking turn of events, Bea impales herself on the tool several times, before Ferguson finishes the job. “I win,” Bea tells her before collapsing. Looking up at the sky, Bea sees two clouds in the shape of seahorses and smiles. As she loses her life, Allie regains hers.

Molly Jones

A Country Practice – 1985

One of the most popular series of the ’80s, a whopping 2.2 million viewers tuned in to witness beloved character Melissa “Molly” Jones (Anne Tenney) lose her battle with leukaemia in 1985. After contracting pneumonia, Molly spends much of her last few weeks isolated from her loved ones in hospital. All she wants is to be at home on her farm with her family, friends and animals. Thankfully, she gets her wish. It’s here, lying on a couch in the garden, that the environmentalist and Wandin Valley favourite tragically succumbs to the disease, watching on with a smile as her nurse husband Brendan (Shane Withington) flies a kite with their daughter Chloe (Emily Nichol).

Lou Jackson

Love My Way – 2005

The death of Frankie (Claudia Karvan) and her ex Tom’s (Dan Wyllie) eight-year-old daughter Lou (Alex Cook) in season one of Love My Way shattered viewers’ hearts into a million pieces. One of the most shocking episodes in Australian TV history, the little girl’s fall from her scooter just minutes into episode eight seems innocent enough – until it quickly becomes clear that her heart has stopped. Rushed to hospital by ambulance, sadly it’s too late. Having suffered a massive heart attack, she’s gone. Claudia’s restrained performance as a mother coming to terms with such unimaginable loss proves why she’s one of our country’s best acting talents.

Maggie Doyle

Blue Heelers – 2000

The death of Frankie (Claudia Karvan) and her ex Tom’s (Dan Wyllie) eight-year-old daughter Lou (Alex Cook) in season one of Love My Way shattered viewers’ hearts into a million pieces. One of the most shocking episodes in Australian TV history, the little girl’s fall from her scooter just minutes into episode eight seems innocent enough – until it quickly becomes clear that her heart has stopped. Rushed to hospital by ambulance, sadly it’s too late. Having suffered a massive heart attack, she’s gone. Claudia’s restrained performance as a mother coming to terms with such unimaginable loss proves why she’s one of our country’s best acting talents.

Helen Daniels

Neighbours – 1997

As the matriarch of Ramsay Street, Helen Daniels’ (Anne Haddy) death in 1997 was a cornerstone of the show. The head of the Robinson family makes sure to heal the long-held rift between the Robinsons and the Ramsays before passing away peacefully of natural causes. The doting grandmother takes a trip down memory lane watching the video of her grandson Scott’s (Jason Donovan) wedding to Charlene (Kylie Minogue) as she sits on her sofa, surrounded by her great-granddaughters Debbie (Marnie Reece-Wilmore) and Hannah (Rebecca Ritters), and their father, Philip (Ian Rawlings), as well as friends Harold (Ian Smith) and Madge (Anne Charleston). Drifting to sleep, she never wakes up.

Casey Braxton

Home And Away – 2014

As the matriarch of Ramsay Street, Helen Daniels’ (Anne Haddy) death in 1997 was a cornerstone of the show. The head of the Robinson family makes sure to heal the long-held rift between the Robinsons and the Ramsays before passing away peacefully of natural causes. The doting grandmother takes a trip down memory lane watching the video of her grandson Scott’s (Jason Donovan) wedding to Charlene (Kylie Minogue) as she sits on her sofa, surrounded by her great-granddaughters Debbie (Marnie Reece-Wilmore) and Hannah (Rebecca Ritters), and their father, Philip (Ian Rawlings), as well as friends Harold (Ian Smith) and Madge (Anne Charleston). Drifting to sleep, she never wakes up.