The shooting of Phil Mitchell in Eastenders. The murders of Richard Hillman in Coronation Street. Or what about the explosion at the fair in Hollyoaks?
Soapland is never far away from a bit of drama: a fire, a shooting, a car crash. They are meant to be representative of real life but occasionally they have to be over-the-top to keep us glued to the TV each night of the week.
But how closely do they resemble the real world in which we live?
Credit: Channel 4/ Hollyoaks
It can now be revealed that the most dangerous place to live in soapland is... (cue dramatic drum roll featured at the end of one legendary soap)...
Eastenders! Yes, the residents of Albert Square are one step closer to death (or, at least, a hospital bed) than any of their soap counterparts.
The BBC One programme came out on top of a list of characters most likely to be affected by crime, compiled by security system experts ADT.
The people of Walford were 10 times more likely to witness break-ins and fires than those in BBC radio drama, The Archers.
9.5 people in Albert Square, per 100 residents, were likely to be victims of theft or fires than the real-life area where the soap is set - London suffers only 3.4 per 100.
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The Queen Vic, the show's local pub, has seen nine break-ins and two fires (like when Phil Mitchell burned the place down) in the last 10 years, at an estimated cost of £128,000.
Credit: BBC / Eastenders
Hollyoaks came in second, with 5.1 crimes per 100 people, effectively 50 percent up on Chester's actual rate of 3.2 per 100.
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Realism fans, take note: Emmerdale most accurately represents its people. Filmed in Esholt in West Yorkshire, there are an average of 4.5 incidents per 100 people for both the real world and soap life.
And yet some soaps are actually safer than their real-life equivalent settings. Coronation Street is one of those places, as its crimes only affect a total of 2.8 people for every 100, while Salford, where the soap is filmed, has an actual figure of 4.2 per 100.
Credit: ITV / Coronation Street
Glenda Young worked on the research, but is also a fan of the soap, commenting: "What's most extraordinary is that our lives can be as dramatic as those in soaps - we're just as likely to experience a fire or a break-in at home or work as our favourite soap characters.
"Thankfully though, we probably won't encounter the soap villains behind most of them."
Scotland's River City, set in Glasgow, also lagged behind. The real-life figure sees crime affect 5.7 people per 100, but the soap only averages 3.6.
Welsh soap Pobol Y Cym hits 2.4 incidents, but Llanelli has crime stats of 3.6.
Credit: BBC One / Eastenders
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The security company looked at each soap in detail to identify the weak spots. From 'The Loft' in Hollyoaks (with no window bars, and only one lock on each door), to 'Café Main Street' in Emmerdale (no monitored burglar alarm and no fire alarm).
Being a Salford resident myself, I think it's time I looked at purchasing a nice flat in Victoria Court, right by Coronation Street. Mind you, there was that fire in 2015...
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Coronation Street, Eastenders, TV