Do you play it out in your mind the character will suddeny shot up and and shout boo because they are playing dead

I'm sure their are lots of outtakes.

I always try to see them breathing.

breathe breathe breathe
!!!

I don't think I've ever seen that in a soap before last week's EastEnders.

So you're saying your Paul's not dead Les?!

Kylie in Coronation Street is first time I remember seeing it. Don't think they ever used to show the body before then. Maybe in Hollyoaks with all their deaths - but I never watch it!

I've never seen that in Hollyoaks.

I'm not sure if this is even possible but could they "freeze frame" one part of the shot but keep the other going?

Me too!

I remember Lucy Beale was seen in the mortuary, Peter slept next to her there

I think in movies and serious dramas (like Silent Witness or CSI) they make a mask/cast of the actor's face and put it on a mannequin for scenes when the body will be in shot for a long time to avoid the breathing thing. I'm not sure if soaps have the time/budget to do this though.

What I did notice with Paul Coker was that the scene was shot so you couldn't see Paul's chest, so it very well could have been Johnny Labney in the coffin wearing make-up to look dead.

I wondered that because on Silent Witness, which we have been watching recently, they have taken to show whole nude bodies and touching faces etc. so I wondered how on earth the bodies show no sign of life.

Silent Witness special effects lady talks about fake autopsy bodies.

I know

And i have always wondered those bodies that lie on the slab in CSI, where the bloke is doing an autopsy on them, and they lie there so still for about five minutes or so

Tiffany was seen in the mortuary in eastenders

I always think how awkward it would be if the actor needed to sneeze during the play dead scene.

I don't know how Paula Lane on Corrie managed it, they had Kylie in a coffin when David saw her, didn't they? Too creepy.

I also think it must be surreal as an actor watching their character's funeral. It would almost be like watching your own funeral, except with a different name and loved ones.

I always imagine them lying there pulling faces out of shot, trying to make the other actors crack up laughing when they're meant to be sad and heartbroken. Suppose it would be a good way to lighten the mood if they are really heavy emotional scenes too.

I imagine they leave off a massive ripper once "cut" is called