EastEnders at 40: Best ever villains from Nick Cotton to Nish Panesar

Villains are a huge part of the genre, so it seems only right to reflect on the most powerful baddies throughout the show's tenure.

From murderers, abusers and gangsters, EastEnders has had them all - but who has earned RadioTimes.com's top spot on the list?

In honour of this imminent milestone birthday, join us on a trip down memory lane through the years as we rank EastEnders' top 15 Villains.

EastEnders at 40: Top 15 best ever villains

15. Gray Atkins (Toby-Alexander Smith)

What started as a powerful domestic abuse storyline, culminating in Gray's harrowing murder of wife Chantelle (Jessica Plummer), turned into a farce where this villain was concerned.

It took over a year for Gray to be caught, during which time he murdered twice more.

But Smith's portrayal was haunting, as he played the horrific narrative so well that we were genuinely scared of vile Gray.

14. Johnny Allen (Billy Murray)

Johnny's savage killing of Andy was just the start of his reign in Walford, as it transpired he had history with Pat Evans (Pam St Clement) and Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor).

With Johnny behind Dennis Rickman's (Nigel Harman) brutal murder, it was only a matter of time before Johnny paid the price, with Phil (Steve McFadden) and Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) out for his blood.

Daughter Ruby (Louisa Lytton) was his undoing, ordering him to turn himself in. Johnny was handed a life sentence.

In prison, Johnny suffered a heart attack and died while ordering a hit on Ruby's boyfriend Sean Slater (Robert Kazinsky), which was wrongly presumed to be for Jake Moon (Joel Beckett), who luckily wasn't killed off the back of this.

While his legacy lives on, Johnny's weakness over Ruby was his ultimate foil.

13. Andy Hunter (Michael Higgs)

Still holding a candle for his ex Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace), Andy took dark action when he coerced her into sex with the offer of paying off her husband Alfie Moon's (Shane Richie) debts.

Later, Andy married Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf), but in Phil's absence, Andy was using her to get his hands on her family's empire.

When their assets no longer benefited his scheme, Andy dumped Sam and kicked her out of their home. He also orchestrated the murder of Paul Trueman (Gary Beadle).

But, usurped out of his top dog position, Andy was promptly and fatally dispatched when fellow gangster Johnny Allen (Billy Murray) pushed him off a flyover!

Despite being overpowered by Johnny, wrong'un Andy still just about claims the edge in our top 15.

12. Michael Moon (Steve John Shepherd)

Janine met her match in the toxic but tormented Michael, and when they split things soon turned ugly over custody of daughter Scarlett.

After physically menacing Janine, Michael used smitten Alice Branning (Jasmyn Banks) in a plot to kill Janine.

But when Alice turned on him, Michael tried to strangle Janine, only to be stabbed by Alice. Janine finished the job by secretly stabbing Michael a second time in the exact same spot, killing him.

She framed Alice but eventually confessed, claiming self-defence.

11. Babe Smith (Annette Badland)

The Carters' evil aunt had a unique brand of wickedness that delivered one almighty open cliffhanger.

Babe was revealed to have taken part in baby farming, helped bully niece Shirley (Linda Henry) into giving up parental rights for son Mick, illegally served alcohol in The Queen Vic and blackmailed Les Coker (Roger Sloman) because he enjoyed dressing as a woman.

Mick finally threw Babe out after one misdeed too many, and Babe placed a curse on the pub and family. So, one could argue that all the distress the place has seen since is all down to Babe!

10. Doctor May Wright (Amanda Drew)

Dubbed 'Mad May' during her reign, she took the ultimate revenge on Dawn Swann (Kara Tointon) when the latter had an affair and got by pregnant with May's husband Rob's (Stuart Laing) baby.

May drugged Dawn and threatened to extract her baby from the womb, but Dawn managed to escape and, after giving birth, reported May to the police.

But May wasn't done yet, and upon her return she hired Dawn's oblivious fiancé Jase Dyer (Stephen Lord) for a job under a false name.

Erratic May held Dawn hostage again, planning to take Summer for herself. As the locals came to Dawn's rescue, May turned on the gas, shakily lit a cigarette and died in the ensuing explosion.

Actress Drew brought to life one of EastEnders' most unforgettable moments, with May still discussed to this day.

9. Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo)

Dean's rape of sister-in-law Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) cemented him as one of the biggest offenders of the genre. After sexually assaulting Roxy Mitchell (Rita Simons), he evaded justice and fled abroad.

But Linda was horrified when Dean returned to Walford and set up a home and business after almost 10 years away, and manipulated her into taking back her allegation.

Set up by Linda and The Six over Keanu's demise, Dean lost his temper during the trial, and Linda finally got justice when he admitted, on record, that he had attacked her in one of Di Angelo's most electric performances.

Dean was sentenced for his vile crime, and holds a rightful place on this extensive ranking.

8. Lucas Johnson (Don Gilet)

Serial killer Lucas believed he was doing God's work when he took lives and held ex Denise Fox (Diane Parish) captive. His comeuppance arrived when he was sentenced to life in prison, but this was not the last we saw of him.

After a failed escape attempt, Lucas was released a few years later and proved that he now had remorse for his sins, as he saved daughter Chelsea (Zaraah Abrahams) from drugs charges by taking the fall himself.

Lucas cut all ties with Chelsea to protect her, but Denise paid him a visit for advice, as she was struggling to cope with covering up Keanu Taylor's (Danny Walters) murder.

Lucas was concerned for Denise's mental health and reached out to her loved ones, and we haven't seen him since.

It's rare for a villain of this calibre to show such humility, but this doesn't change Lucas's status as one of EastEnders' best ever baddies.

7. Stella Crawford (Sophie Thompson)

Stella initially seemed like a rather meek choice of bride for Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), who wanted a wife and mother for son Ben (then played by Charlie Jones) and the easy life for himself.

But Stella was physically and mentally abusing Ben, who bravely spoke up during the couple's wedding ceremony.

Phil confronted her, but Stella jumped off a roof to her death.

Star Thompson's strong stint proved that a soap villain doesn't have to be the loudest person in the room, or dominate every scene, and Stella's insidious campaign helped to shape troubled Ben well into adulthood.

6. Nick Cotton (John Altman)

Nick was a blight on the life of his poor old 'Ma' Dot Branning (June Brown), but she never gave up on him.

Nick was a murderer with a heroin addiction, but his most memorable storyline was his callous plot to poison Dot for her money!

Over the years, Nick resorted to blackmail, caused the death of son Ashley (Frankie Fitzgerald), attempted to trick Dot into thinking she had dementia and even faked his own death.

Nick's end came when Dot bought drugs for him, and after a lifetime of suffering at his hands, she failed to get him help as he lay dying.

The character was the soap's first villain, and Altman's work certainly stands the test of time.

5. James Willmott-Brown (William Boyde)

James Willmott-Brown raped Kathy (Gillian Taylforth) when she refused his advances, and he eventually served time in prison for his crime.

He later returned and finally admitted what he had done, and Kathy gained a small sense of closure. However, word eventually came that Willmott-Brown had raped another woman.

Boyde powerfully carried his alter ego's sickening demeanour, and continued to do so when Willmott-Brown pitched up 25 years later to try and take over Albert Square.

He visited to Kathy and revealed he was dying, but Kathy took control of the conversation and Willmott-Brown was soon left to die alone.

One of the most chilling villains in EastEnders history.

4. Trevor Morgan (Alex Ferns)

Long before such storylines were commonplace in serial drama, Trevor inflicted a terrifying campaign of domestic abuse on wife Little Mo (Kacey Ainsworth).

He hit her, raped her and controlled every aspect of her life, until she fought back by striking him with an iron.

Trevor eventually perished in a fire, but Ferns gave a chilling set of performances, setting the benchmark for every future plot of this kind.

3. Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks)

Janine deserves a high rating due to her consistently shameless behaviour. Every time she returns to Walford, she gives us a fresh reason to despise her - yet Brooks has always been able to strip back Janine's bravado and showcase her vulnerable side.

Yes, she's a murderer, having bumped off husbands Barry Evans (Shaun Williamson) and Michael Moon (Steve John Shepherd), but the beauty of a villain like Janine is that she can find endless other ways to cause chaos.

Although partly responsible for the presumed drowning of her most recent spouse, Mick Carter (Danny Dyer), we would still welcome devious Janine back with open arms.

2. Archie Mitchell (Larry Lamb)

Charming Archie wooed and wed former sister-in-law Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor), but daughter Ronnie (Samantha Womack) knew his true colours through childhood abuse.

A rapist and a controlling manipulator, Archie had earned many enemies by the time he was murdered by Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) using the Queen Victoria bust.

Lamb perfectly embodied his hateful alter ego, and it's a testament to his talents that this role coincided with fellow BBC character Mick Shipman, loveable patriarch from Gavin & Stacey.

1. Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry)

We just loved to hate Nasty Nish, who spent his time in Walford exerting power and control over eventual ex-wife Suki (Balvinder Sopal).

Nish was an abuser who put Suki through hell via physical attacks and coercive control.

His every action was designed to suit his own narrative, and Nish tried to kill everyone from Suki to her wife Eve Unwin (Heather Peace) and son Vinny (Shiv Jalota).

His final stand came this New Year, when he poisoned Eve and goaded eldest son Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) into pushing him off a balcony, taking Suki with him.

With that, Nish's reign of terror came to an end, but we'll always hail Chowdhry's performances as iconic, keeping EastEnders at the top of its game 40 years on from its debut.

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