Ben Mitchell had the most 'duff duffs' on 'EastEnders' in 2019.

Max Bowden

Max Bowden

The longtime character - now played by newcomer Max Bowden following Harry Reid's exit in 2018 - topped the charts for the soap's infamous cliffhanger endings last year, with an impressive 23 dramatic conclusions over the current actor's first year in the role.

The annual 'duff duff' countdown was put together by fan Tomski12 on the Digital Spy soaps forum, with Mel Owen (Tamzin Outhwaite) and Sharon Mitchell (Letitia Dean) following closely behind with 21 and 18 respectively.

Martin Fowler (James Bye), Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) and Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) were the only other characters to have 10 or more cliffhanger scenes in 2019.

James recently heaped praise on the show's dramatic moments and admitted he was hoping for more in the future.

He said: "I'll be eternally grateful for these stories. It's been a collaborative process with the writers and producers."

Linda Carter - played by Kellie Bright - had just six of the dramatic endings all year, but two of those came during the December 30 and 31 episodes to bring 2019 to a close.

There were also a number of so-called 'non-character duff duffs', including a dog in the woods digging at Ray Kelly's (Sean Mahon) body after he was shot and killed by stepson Hunter Owen (Charlie Winter).

In the first of a two-parter back in June, the episode ended with a shot of the Carters' car on the way to a Spice Girls concert as the familiar drums rolled out.