Previous Explosive Soap Fires

As we prepare to say goodbye to the Queen Vic as we know it, it is time to look back at some of soap's biggest and fiery pub fires.  Tomorrow night, EastEnders will provide the latest drama in this long tale, but it won't be the first, nor the last.


EastEnders - The Queen Vic - 1992
Phil Mitchell sets fire to the Queen Vic tomorrow night, but he is sixteen years too late.  His brother Grant did it back in 1992, desperate to claim on the insurance.  However, his estranged wife Sharon was in the building at the time of the blaze.  Grant eventually went to jail for a while and Sharon ended up having an affair with Phil.  Now, that's brotherly love for you.....

Hollyoaks - The Dog in the Pond Explosion - 2006

Sam Owen had escaped from prison and wanted revenge on Sophie Burton for setting him up and putting him in jail.  When he kidnapped his sister Nicole and found out that his brother Russ was sleeping with Sophie, it got Sam even more angry.  So, he took a lighter and a can of petrol to The Dog in the Pond, when Russ was meant to be meeting Sophie.  After a tense struggle between Sam and Sophie, and a vain attempt from Calvin Valentine, the pub exploded in a bull of flame.  Sam, Sophie, Mel Burton and students Olivia Johnson and Joe Spencer lost their lives.  This explosion storyline was under the guidance of Bryan Kirkwood, now the producer of EastEnders.

NOTE: The music used is from the BBC America edition, 'Club Foot' by Kasabian was used on the Channel 4 edition.

Coronation Street - The Rovers Return - 1986

Coronation Street's famous bar, The Rovers Return is not totally extinct to fire.  In 1986, the pub went up in flames, after Jack Duckworth fitted a damaged fuse which only had the potential to cause a deadly explosion.  The quick reactions of Sally and Kevin Webster saved the life of landlady Bet Gilroy, who was sleeping upstairs at the time of the blaze.

Neighbours - Lou's Place - 2004

The 2004 season finale of Australian soap opera Neighbours proved to be one of the most dramatic in the show's established history.  A mysterious individual set fire to the storeroom at Lou's Place, which led to the whole Lassister's complex being set alight.  Max Hoyland was knocked unconscious, whilst Stu Parker and his girlfriend Cindi were trapped in the rubble of the collapsed pub.  Harold Bishop's coffee shop also went up in flames and the end marked the return of Erinsborough's golden bad boy, Paul Robinson.