From scheming street rogues to long-running EastEnders icons, some of Britain’s most notorious soap villains have unexpectedly become fan favourites. With the Soap Awards fast approaching on May 31st, the question remains: which soap baddie has truly captured the hearts and fears of UK audiences over the years?
It remains to be seen whether these rankings reflect fan sentiment or just a social media snapshot
To find out, VSO analysed over 35 famous soap opera villains, ranking them across major shows. They measured positive social media reactions related to online content about each character, as well as the number of posts they are tagged in on Instagram and TikTok. Each metric was weighted equally to create a 'Popularity Score' out of 10, revealing the internet’s most loved soap opera villains.
Since his EastEnders debut in 1990, Phil Mitchell has become an icon of British soap operas - and the internet’s favourite soap villain. Ranked as the number one most loved villain in the genre, Phil’s intense, no-nonsense style has earned him legendary status. Backed by over 38,000 combined posts on Instagram and TikTok, he tops the list with a perfect popularity score of ten.
In second place is Robert Sugden from Emmerdale, whose complicated storylines and fiery relationships have kept fans invested for years. Despite a more modest number of positive online reactions, his enduring popularity is evident in the over 30,000 social media mentions he’s received. Fans were recently treated to his return to the screen, as actor Ryan Hawley guest-starred in the period drama Miss Scarlet in March.
However, the ranking raises questions about the methodology. Max Branning from EastEnders is ranked in seventh place with a popularity score of 2.24, despite that number being higher than Robert Sugden, who is ranked second with a score of 1.9. Yeah, I get some odd press releases drop in the inbox, and this is one of them.
Other notable mentions in the top ten include Jack Branning (3.8), Grant Mitchell (2.04), and Cain Dingle (2.38), proving that EastEnders and Emmerdale dominate the villain rankings.
With the Soap Awards looming, it remains to be seen whether these rankings reflect fan sentiment or just a social media snapshot. Until then, keep your eyes on the screen and off Phil Mitchell’s bad side.
