EMMERDALE residents have been watching their backs for weeks since serial killer Meena Jutla did a runner after being exposed.
But the psycho nurse – who bumped off Leanna Cavanagh, Andrea Tate and Ben Tucker, not to mention torturing her own sister Manpreet – is back this week, and out for blood.
In a dramatic trailer, Meena – played by actress Paige Sandhu – has her murderous sights set on wrecking Billy and Dawn’s wedding.
Fans will be hoping her plans fail and she gets her comeuppance – with Emmerdale having received Ofcom complaints about her brutal killing spree.
But Meena’s one in a long line of deadly villains. Here we take a look at what the actors who played some of soaps’ most infamous murderers are up to now…
Lindsey Roscoe – Sophie Austin
Over the course of 10 months in 2015, The Gloved Hand Killer was doing the rounds in Hollyoaks’ hospital, murdering patients with a lethal injection while they lay incapacitated in their beds.
The identity of the murderer was one of Soapland’s biggest ever whodunits.
But, after seven killings and the attempted murder of countless others, they were revealed to be Lindsey Roscoe, played by Sophie Austin.
Just as it looked like she was going to get away with it, after she framed former gangster Trevor Royle for her crimes, fellow serial killer Silas Blissett strangled her to death (only in Hollyoaks!).
After Sophie left the soap in 2016, she divorced her husband Graeme Rooney, and got together with former Corrie star and X Factor winner Shayne Ward soon after.
The pair had a whirlwind relationship and Sophie fell pregnant with their now-five-year-old daughter Willow in 2017.
They’re now expecting their second child, having previously gone through IVF to try to conceive.
Despite getting engaged in 2017, Sophie and Shayne say they’re in “no rush” to get married, and had to postpone their wedding due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine last year, Shayne said: “Everything can wait, there is no rush and we can definitely do this next year, but we’re together for life and that is the main thing.”
The couple also transformed their bodies last year after taking up intense workouts and cooking from scratch.
Shayne said he’d worked off more than three stone since exiting Corrie, adding his fiancee had done the same.
He explained: “Sophie is doing it with me. She cooks fresh food every single day, I’ve lost over three and a half, she’s lost three stone.”
Pat Phelan – Connor McIntyre
As it stands, psychotic builder Pat Phelan is the most prolific killer in Coronation Street‘s 61-year history – with a body count of four.
The sinister Scouser first set foot on the cobbles in 2013 – and then proceeded to go on a killing rampage, all behind the back of his wife Eileen Grimshaw.
After accidentally shooting his own daughter, Pat’s reign of terror was finally brought to an end by Anna Windass when she stabbed him to death in 2018.
Since leaving Corrie, Connor McIntyre – who earned an MA in contemporary art practice at the University of Plymouth in 2015 – has thrown himself into his art, and launched The Alamo Project, an independent artist-led studio space.
He regularly shares his artwork online, and teamed up with the Marie Curie Great Summer Art Auction in August 2020 to auction off his paintings in the name of charity.
Most recently, he was seen as the much more loveable character Grandad Cooper in Channel 4 drama Ackley Bridge.
Lachlan White – Tom Atkinson
Spoilt little rich kid Lachlan White – who arrived in Emmerdale in 2014 – was given two years on the sex offender’s register after sexually assaulting Belle Dingle.
Then, just as his family were going to take him to Australia, he ploughed their car into an oncoming lorry, killing his mum Chrissie and grandad Lawrence.
He then killed a couple more people, and even tried to bump off his aunt Rebecca, stepdad Robert Sugden, and girlfriend Belle.
He’s currently serving maximum time in prison – so there’s every opportunity for actor Tom Atkinson to return.
But he’s moved on to bigger and saucier things since leaving the soap at the beginning of 2019.
Tom has been seen in Netflix’s hit comedy Sex Education as Nick, Anwar’s more experienced boyfriend, who gives him a few lessons in the bedroom.
John Stape – Graeme Hawley
When English teacher John Stape – played by Graeme Hawley – arrived in Weatherfield in 2007 he seemed something of a geeky bore.
But he went on to have a steamy steamy affair with student Rosie Webster, before later stealing ex-colleague Colin Fishwick’s identity and watching him die.
He then bashed his accomplice Charlotte’s head in with a hammer and smothered Colin’s mother to death.
John eventually died in a dramatic car crash, but his daughter Hope – whom he shared with Fiz – is still on Corrie, and seems to be taking after her dad.
Graeme is still acting, and since leaving Corrie has gone on to star in TV shows Casualty, Doctors and Peaky Blinders.
He’s been married to actress Elianne Byrne – who has starred in Emmerdale and Corrie – since 2008. They have two children together; Audrey, 12, and Henry, 10.
Richard Hillman – Brian Capron
Richard Hillman – played by Brian Capron – is probably one of Soapland’s most infamous serial killers.
The moment he met a watery end when he drove wife Gail and her family into a canal after murdering Maxine Peacock and Emily Bishop with a crowbar drew in 20 million viewers.
After Corrie, Brian, now 74, played Nathan Detroit in the Guys and Dolls musical tour in 2007.
The same year he was the first contestant to be eliminated on Strictly Come Dancing.
He has also starred in everything from Midsomer Murders to BBC dramas New Tricks and Silk.
His most recent work was in 2020, when he was the narrator for Leslie Ash’s drama Broke.
Nick Cotton – John Altman
Nasty Nick Cotton was a villain from the start when he committed EastEnders’ first murder in the opening episode, all the way back in 1985.
Actor John Altman had a record six separate stints in the show over the years – with his evil character even trying to kill his “old ma” Dot.
But his final appearance came in the 30th anniversary episode in 2015, when Dot watched her nasty son die of an overdose.
Away from Walford, John has starred in the musical Chicago, made pantomime appearances and done stints on Daz adverts.
His autobiography, In The Nick of Time, was released in June 2016 and, in 2020, he appeared in The Real Marigold Hotel.
John has two films coming up, both in production – I Am Khama and 1066 – and he recently revealed he’s still making money in royalties from his time as Nick.
Cameron Murray – Dominic Power
Back in 2011, Cameron Murray – played by Dominic Power – joined Emmerdale, shacking up with new lover Debbie Dingle.
But when Carl King found out Cameron was having an affair with Debbie’s aunt Chas and threatened to spill the beans, he snapped and bashed his brains in with a brick.
He went on to kill his best mate Alex Moss and Gennie Sharma – after they both found out his secret.
But Cameron’s final act came in 2013, when he orchestrated a siege in the Woolpack – and ended up electrocuting himself on a wet light bulb.
After Emmerdale, Dominic went on to write and direct a four-part film, Blinds, highlighting the complex nature of mental health.
Most recently, the 48-year-old actor has been seen in Hollyoaks as Dave, the dad of the Chen-Williams family, the soap’s newest brood.
His character also happens to be the long-lost father of Maxine Minniver – played by Nikki Sanderson.
