'Lost' producers defend character death

Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have defended their decision to kill off Juliet Burke on Lost.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the show's producers described writing the character out as "really painful".

"As the story is now nearing its conclusion, some characters just aren't going make it all the way to the end," Cuse said. "Even beloved characters aren't going make it all the way to the end.

"And sometimes we have to do things that are really painful, like killing Juliet, because that’s what makes the story feel like the stakes are genuine, and people feel invested that characters who are beloved can actually perish on our show.

"It was an enormously powerful story that concluded the entire season of the show. So she was sacrificed in service of the story, and I think was hugely responsible for the season being viewed as successful because that was how it ended."

The pair then went on to praise Elizabeth Mitchell, with Lindelof declaring that "we just love working with Elizabeth".

Cuse added: "[Juliet] will always loom as one of our favourite characters, and even more importantly, favourite people that we've ever worked with on this show."

Lost returns for its sixth and final season in January.

> The first 'Lost' season six trailers