Obviously I hope the soaps will be with us for years to come. But all things come to an end eventually, and how should each soap end?

Coronation Street: I think one of the Barlows should have the final scene (Peter?) walking around the street and remarking to numerous residents about events that have happened there. Before walking away with the shot panning out onto the street.

Emmerdale: Maybe a motorway is due to be built through the village?

EastEnders: Ian Beale walks round the square on his way out of Walford, standing outside numerous places as the audience hear voiceovers of iconic moments and phrases that happened there (You ain't my muvva, Merry Christmas Ange, Get outta my pub) before he leaves Walford for the final time.

Hollyoaks: No longer watch, but knowing HO maybe a nuclear bomb blow up

What are your opinions? How should the soaps end?

When Alfie and Jade discovered Comet Jalfie I genuinely thought Hollyoaks was lining up for the soap to end by meteor strike haha.

To answer your question though, I liked your Ian Beale one, that would be a nice end. Perhaps they could all end on a similar note.

Eastenders: the bins get emptied and the camera pans out and we see the residents cheer.

I like the EE one! But first all residents will move out and start being replaced with new residents who would just be 'extras'. As Ian walks through the square one last time he sees these new residents having little scuffles/dramas, as he walks by each drama the voice plays over of the classic EE lines. It will be a nice way to show that even the residents have moved on, life in the square will always be the same just with a new set of people.

CS - Erm I only watch Corrie now and again, but maybe the streets residents all have happy conclusions to their then problems and a Barlow walks past each happy family and life goes on for them in the street.

ED - Again don't really watch this but maybe a theme park similar to Alton Towers is to be built in the village & all residents move out and then we flash-forward to them all meeting up at the theme park one last time!

HO - I watch HO all the time so it will probably be something like a giant bomb explodes the whole of the village lol. Or maybe a killer virus that starts to wipe out the residents one by one. Either way, HO should leave the same way it lived life in dramatic style! Would be good for all villains and iconic charcters like Silas, Clare, Jacquie, Brendan, Mitzeee etc to return for one last showdown with each other - even the dead ones should return in a fake death plot for one final dramatic conclusion.

Looking back at all of the soaps that have gone before, the final episode always seems to involve the return of at least one old face and a plot involving someone setting off to start a new life away from where the show is set. A wedding is also a favourite final episode plot.

As preachy as the writing was, the finale of Brookside was at least original in that the houses were all bought out and everyone left the Close. It brought some real closure to the show. A lot of others leave you with the impression that life goes on after the show ended but with Brookside they really drew a line under it. US soap The Colbys had quite a left field final episode when the relatively normal soap ended with one of it's lead characters being taken away in a UFO.

Blanche should accompany Peter Barlow as he walks around - she was such a hoot!

For EastEnders, my ideal ending would be similar to above but with a few changes. Either Dot or Phil will die in the final episode, once they've died, Ian and Sharon are grieving in the square comforting each other and reflect in the past. They look at a group of teenagers, a skinny brown haired boy, a girl with wavy blonde hair and a another brunette talking discussing the death on a street corner, the blonde then drops a piece of jewelry on the ground ('can't believe I dropped mums anniversary present'- similar to Shaz's first scene asking her friends for approval in her anniversary present for Angie). The adult Sharon smiles at them reflectively whilst Ian asks why Dot or Phil went. Sharon replies 'all things come to an end, but life goes in' still looking at the kids. Ian and Sharon walk down the road with linked arms as memorable quotes are heard before transforming into Julia's theme

On current form, I'd say Emmerdale will probably end with Cain on the crapper in his caravan, being towed away into the distance.

Fade to black.

well since william roache has some real life cult experience maybe he could declare corrie an independent state and turn it into a commune or something :P maybe sacrifice norris, wicker man style!!!

For EE I think there should be two massive weddings in the Vic: Denny and Amy, and Will and Lily. During the wedding someone storms into the pub and starts terrorising everyone, smashing the place up and injuring people. On the roof of the Vic, we see the ghosts of the main EE legends, Den, Angie, Pauline, Pat, Peggy and more. Some may return to film their parts but obviously some may need old clips . They gather on the roof talking about how things in Walford will never change etc. Then someone's body is thrown through the window of the Vic onto the street but we don't see whose face it is and the show ends the way it started, with a death and a massive duff duff.

Obviously EE should end with the return of the mighty Simon Wicks and a piano so he can sing us out with Every Loser Wins.

If Sharon attempts to get in on the act with Something Outta Nothing, Vincent will need to procure another gun.

The cast of EE climb on board and double decker bus and do 3 laps of the square listening to Julia's theme

Imo, thank god you don't work at EE!

Terminate CS when William Roache dies, and cancel all future episodes after his last appearance - he's been there since episode 1, and so it would be an appropriate and landmark way to 'complete the circle' of a long-running soap.

Once one does it, the others will feel less inhibited about following suit.

I think CS could have an amazing two hour farewell episode if they did it in a flashback style, some might argue they'd be breaking the realism, but there's a precedent for special occasions breaking the realism with Jack's death.

I'd have Ken and Emily sat in the rovers, chin wagging about old times, if the actress and actors health permits. They're having a right old chinnywag about some of the faces of the street, Ken talking about Ena, Minnie, his parents etc, as this happens we get classic clips of the show intertwined. As they move through the years other living iconic characters from different periods join them based on when the were first regular in the show to chime in - Rita then Gail then Sally the Norris and Roy etc etc etc (it should be limited to ten or fifteen really really iconic characters though - maybe a ).

It might come off as cheesy if done wrong, but if done right it really could chart the history of the show and give fans one last chance to admire it, you'd be able to hear the cat-fights between the battle axes of the 60s, watch some of the most groundbreaking moments on the show (Sarah's pregnancy etc). The idea would to get the viewer to bound from nostalgia, to despair, to excitement to laughter in a real sort of fans farewell. Say 90 minutes of rather mundane street storylines and 30 minutes of the big stunts (tram crash, Richard Hillman, Ernie's death)

Whilst William Roache is a huge huge part of Coronation Street, the idea the show wouldn't stand up without him seems daft. I'd even go as far as to argue there's other characters who are now as much of the furniture as him that would be more missed.

If Hollyoaks ended they have just GOT to reunite Brendan and Ste!

The sad thing is, most of our favourite soaps are likely to go out with a whimper rather than a bang so by the time the end does come, they may not bother with a lot of effort. Given how big the shows currently are, I'd imagine that attempts will be made to save the shows once they really begin to slide in the ratings. A change in style and timeslot like they did with The Bill, a move to a smaller channel like they did with Neighbours. A few of the lucky ones managed to keep their original timeslots throughout their run (Family Affairs, the original Crossroads) but others ended up dumped in late night (Brookside, Night & Day) where they were left to die.

Something like Doctors, I could see just being wound up in it's current form. Hollyoaks will probably go to E4 only before finally ending for good. The "Big Three" are a different story as there's much bigger investment in them. These are the ones that I could see being moved around the schedule or being reformatted in hour longs in an attempt to keep the show going before finally ending.

If Steve McFadden ever decided to leave EE which resulted in Phil being killed off or leaving forever that would very much be the end of EE that's for sure.

Lol I knew someone would say that. Well I like it so who cares

Obviously the shows would put out some big episodes but I liked how The Bill ended. Not technically a soap. I loved the final scenes going through the corridors. It felt reassuring to know life would just go on as normal.

I'd hope thats how other soaps would end.

EastEnders: Morning. Ian walks through the square saying good morning to everyone. Julia's theme. Walks into the cafe. "Ah, smells great in here."

For EE it should be Reg Cox waking up to the sound of Den knocking on his door, turned out it was all a dream

The reality is the shows will not go out with creativity or nostalgia they will die slowly so that by the time of their last episode it won't matter anymore to the vast majority

If only they had thought to film that in the 80s they could show the footage on the final episode

EE - Phil, Kathy, Sharon and Ian walk out of The Vic and say "Life Goes On" then Julia's Theme plays over.

CS - Ken and Rita discussing about the old days in The Rovers, and walk together hand in hand.

ED - The village is bought out and Eric Pollard and Kim Tate is bought back for the final ending as Eric's new wife - they drive away in a Rolls Royce.