SOAP fans have been left raging after General Hospital and Days of Our Lives axed two major characters.

Last week General Hospital aired shock scenes that saw Evan Hofer‘s character Dex Heller killed off after the rookie cop was stabbed.

It looked like the reformed mobster would make a full recovery initially, but during the December 13 episode, Dex went into cardiac arrest and died.

And it was a double dose of fatal drama when Days of Our Lives villain Clyde Weston – played by James Read – was shot by Susan Elena Matus’ Catherina Greene in the December 11 show and left in a coma.

It’s been confirmed James will leave the show at least for now.

Soap fans have been left outraged by the soap exits, taking to social media to hit out at writers for “ruining” the shows.

One General Hospital fan wrote, “NO NO NO!! This is all too much. They are ruining the show!!”

Another said, “These GH writers need to go! I wonder are the writers trying to sabotage GH with all of these unnecessary and ridiculous murders.

“I am so shocked yet again that another actor has been fired! I am so going to miss Evan portraying Dex.”

Commenting on James’ Days of Our Lives exit, someone else said, “Clyde was the best villains.

“With so many of the more seasoned actors on the show leaving or dying, it’s a shame to kill of Clyde.”

After it was confirmed General Hospital’s Dex would not recover from his stabbing, actor Evan – who joined the show in 2022 – admitted he’d known about it for a few weeks before filming his final scenes.

He told Entertainment Weekly, “My last few weeks were really just trying to soak in how much I loved playing Dex, and how much I loved all the people over at GH.

“I had such a wonderful time there over the last two-and-a-half years, and I was just trying to make sure that I do justice to the character in those final episodes.”

Meanwhile, James, who was first seen as Clyde in Days of Our Lives in 2014, has teased the villain could make a return one day.

He told Deadline, “It’s been a fabulous run so far, only the soap gods know if it is meant to continue!

“I always think of Days as a family and have enjoyed every minute of working there since I started 10 years ago.”