2009's Staggering Death List

"Death is everywhere. There are flies on the windscreen, for a start. Reminding us we could be torn apart."

The above Depeche Mode lyric sums up the general morbid stench that pervaded plenty of cult shows throughout 2009, as many characters became lambs for the slaughter. So it's now time for Cult Spy to pay our respects to those who have fallen in the name of entertaining us during the last twelve months…

Ianto Jones - Torchwood

Cardiff will never be the same without Torchwood's loveable 'coffee boy'/chauffeur roaming the streets in his big, black SUV. He succumbed to a deadly virus released by the child-snatching 456 aliens, dying in the arms of his boyfriend Captain Jack. His increasing array of quirky one-liners in the series has ensured he will not be forgotten, although his death did prompt a very extreme internet campaign to get him reinstated in the next series. There's more chance of the Torchwood pterodactyl joining the team.

Laura Roslin - Battlestar Galactica

The brave former president of the Colonies finally lost her battle against cancer, but she lived to see the discovery of New Earth and died peacefully in her beloved William Adama's arms. Rest in peace – so say we all.

Michael Scofield - Prison Break

All those nosebleeds during the latter stages of the show weren't the Prison Break hero's brain melting due to the tedium of the whole Scylla plot, or the contrived procession of old characters coming back from the dead. Instead, it emerged that he was dying from a brain tumour and he rather touchingly sacrificed his life, via electrocution, to spring his other half Sara Tancredi from prison. Mind you, given Sara's quick recovery from decapitation, don't be surprised if Scofield starts planning his coffin escape sometime soon.

Daniel Faraday - Lost

Daniel's attempts to change history by delving into the past led to a very emotional final few gasps of breath for the scientist. After being shot by a young lady called Eloise after he storms the camp of The Others, he tells his murderer that he is actually her son from the future!

Anastasia 'Dee' Dualla - Battlestar Galactica

The home straight of the reimagined show's final season was always heading towards bloodshed, but the suddenness of Dee's death was a major fraking shock. The wife of the adulterous Lee Adama calmly walked into her quarters, looked at some old family photos, put a gun to her temple and pulled the trigger. The suicide appeared to be Dee's final attempt to gain control of her life, fresh from the ruins of a ravaged Earth and a collapsed marriage.

Daphne Millbrook - Heroes

The Speedster came crashing down after suffering an infection from being shot while escaping a government facility. Her partner Matt at least used his invasive powers to take her on a dreamy trip to the moon as she slowly passed away in hospital.

Nick Cutter - Primeval

Killing off the lead character in any programme is a bold move, especially in family fare like Primeval. So the dour Nick Cutter's demise came as a shock, as his good nature and sense of adventure proved to be his fatal flaws. After surviving an explosion caused by his evil ex Helen, Cutter went back into the wreckage on a rescue mission - only to receive a bullet for his troubles. He slipped away calmly in his friend Connor's arms and thus never did go for a drink with Jenny.

Helen Cutter - Primeval

Outlasting her heroic (and wooden) husband on the show, the megalomaniacal Helen finally met her maker when a very angry Deinonychus dinosaur attacked her and knocked her over a cliff, just before she could shoot new arch nemesis Danny. "Good boy," Danny tells the raptor after checking that Helen's definitely dead.

Bill Buchanan - 24

24's smooth silver fox perished in the line of duty, igniting a room in the White House filled with gas by firing a bullet and taking out heaps of General Juma's men along with himself. It was a fittingly heroic way to go for the CTU legend. His sacrifice was all the more poignant given that Jack Bauer was intending to carry out the task himself. Though don't expect any Tony Almeida-style resurrections for Bill – he received the silent clock treatment at the end of the episode.

John Cavil - Battlestar Galactica

With a cry of 'Frak!' the callous Cylon blasted out his Toaster brain after the negotiations with the Capricans turned into anarchy and bloodshed. With no functional Resurrection Ships left, this was the end for him.

John Locke - Lost

Suicide seems to be a big trend for cult characters in 2009, although poor John Locke's decision to put a noose around his own neck didn't pan out in exactly the way he thought it would. He convinced himself that the only way to return the Oceanic Six to the island would be via self-sacrifice. However, the dastardly Ben Linus talks him out of the act only to fatally strangle him with a telephone cord! Locke's eventual resurrection transpired to be in body only.

Charlotte Lewis - Lost

Prison Break's Michael Scofield wasn't the only cult character experiencing some severe nosebleeds, as Lost's redhead anthropologist endured plenty after too much time-jumping on the island. Just before she died from the effects, she told Daniel Faraday that he warned her as a child not to return to the island once she left.

Adelaide Brooke - Doctor Who

The Tenth Doctor's decision to intervene during the damp demise of the base in 'The Waters Of Mars' put his steely makeshift companion Adelaide in a sticky position. Does her cheating death mean that her future descendants won't fly so high in the future now that history has been altered? She took the decision into her own hands and shot herself dead – leaving a lump in the throat of a certain Time Lord and millions of viewers.

Jacob - Lost

Just who the hell is this Jacob dude? After frankly ages of speculation and murmurings on the island, he finally turns up on the show and answers look like they'll be forthcoming... only for Ben Linus to callously stab the ageless blond being to death at the end of the fifth season finale! His prophetic last words were "they're coming". Who are "they" exactly? A typically cryptic way for a Lost character to bow out...

> Click here for the 2009 Cult Spy Awards