2011 Village arson/fire

The 2011 Village arson/fire was an event that occurred in January 2011.

Plot
In early 2011, crooked policeman Nick Henshall decided to set fire to his girlfriend's house late at night; Katie Sugden shared the news with her best friends Chas Dingle and Genesis Walker, so he could come by and save her and be deemed the hero of the hour. However, his plan went awry when Andy Sugden saw flames coming out of the house. When Carl King was driving back from Hotten, he nearly crashed into Nick's car on the bridge. He also saw the fire and he and Andy rushed to alert Katie, Chas and Gennie, by which time, the fire had spread to other houses. Katie, Chas and Gennie had been rescued at this point. Carl then rushed to save Betty Eagleton. Every resident was now awake and involved in rescuing people. Betty got out but need to go to hospital for smoke inhalation; Edna Birch and Pearl Ladderbanks went with her as she was in shock. Meanwhile, Viv Hope had been drowning her sorrows with a couple of bottles of wine and had passed out just when the fire had now reached her flat above the café, with the twins; Cathy and Heath in the next room crying. When Bob Hope and Terry Woods learned of this, they rushed to the café to rescue them. Terry's girlfriend, Brenda Walker, was trying to dissuade Terry from doing this but he shouted that he had to and he couldn't let them die. In the meantime, Chas became concerned with Carl's inhalation of the smoke but he angrily brushed her off. Bob and Terry wrapped their scarves around their mouths so they wouldn't succumb to the smoke and together they rushed into the inferno. Andy volunteered to go in after them but Katie, Chas and Carl told him not to as he had already risked his life. Bob then hurried out with the twins. A few moments later, when he said that Terry had been behind him getting Viv, it soon became clear that Terry and Viv may not come out alive. Rhona Goskirk had taken the twins to the hospital. The fire brigade arrived and just as they were about to go into rescue Terry and Viv, the café exploded, killing them, if the fire hadn't already done so. Bob and Brenda ran towards the shop but were held back by firefighters. By the next morning, it soon became clear that Terry and Viv had lost their lives in the blaze as the firemen brought out the bodies.

Andy had been accused of the crime and most the villagers turned against him, except for Debbie Dingle, Katie and his family; Diane Sugden, Victoria Sugden, Diane's sister Val Pollard and her husband Eric Pollard  also didn't believe that Andy was the culprit. The storyline lead to the brief return of Viv's step-daughter; Kelly Windsor, who wanted to see if her stepfather, Bob, was okay and she wanted her son; Elliot, to see the village where she grew up and to meet his father; Jimmy King. Terry had his funeral in the village whilst Viv's body was transported to her hometown in Essex where Bob had agreed this was best with her other children; Scott Windsor and Donna Windsor-Dingle rather than have her buried next to her second husband Vic Windsor who had died in 1998.

Background information
The storyline shocked many viewers, since Viv and Terry had been among the show's longest serving characters before they were killed off. Viv had been one the show for eighteen years, and was involved in many of the show's storylines since her arrival in 1993. Terry first appeared in 1995. Many fans were disappointed at the producers' decision to kill them off.