Colin Firth

Colin Firth

Mr. Darcy's infamous lake scene in the BBC's adaptation of 'Pride and Prejudice' has been named the most memorable drama moment on British TV.

The swoon-worthy scene, which featured actor Colin Firth emerging from the water in a soaking wet shirt, was voted the top drama moment on the small screen in a new poll - ahead of the shocking death of Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock and Dirty Den's Christmas Day divorce surprise in 'EastEnders'.

The BBC's 'Pride and Prejudice' miniseries - which aired in 1995 - swept the poll of 2,000 Britons with 23 per cent of the vote, while the festive 'EastEnders' scene came second with 17 per cent.

The 1986 episode of the long-running BBC soap saw Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) shockingly serve his wife Angie (Anita Dobson) divorce papers on Christmas Day. The climactic moment was watched by 30 million viewers across Britain and helped 'EastEnders' become a staple of the Christmas schedule.

Representing more modern times, BBC's 'Sherlock' adaptation came in third place for its jaw-dropping second series finale, which aired in January 2012 and seemingly saw the titular character plunge to his death.

Meanwhile, ITV's flagship soap 'Coronation Street' came fourth for its tram crash episode in 2010, and hit new murder mystery drama 'Broadchurch' came in fifth place after viewers were gripped by the show's central storyline - the death of schoolboy Danny Latimer - earlier this year.

Other water-cooler moments which made the poll, conducted by new TV channel Drama, included the death of Lady Sybil Crawley (Jessica Brown Findlay) in 'Downton Abbey' and David Tennant's departure from 'Doctor Who'.

The top 10 most memorable TV drama moments:

1. Mr. Darcy's lake scene, 'Pride and Prejudice' (1995) - 23%

2. Dirty Den hands divorce papers to Angie, 'EastEnders' (1986) - 17%

3. Sherlock's 'death', 'Sherlock' (2012) - 14%

4. The tram crash, 'Coronation Street' (2010) - 12%

5. Who killed Danny Latimer?, 'Broadchurch (2013) - 11%

6. The tenth Doctor regenerates from David Tennant to Matt Smith, 'Doctor Who' (2010) - 10%

7. First lesbian kiss, 'Brookside' (1994) - 8%

8. Morse reveals his Christian name, 'Inspector Morse' (1997) - 8%

9. Zammo injects heroin, 'Grange Hill' (1987) - 7%

10. Lady Sybil's death, 'Downtown Abbey' (2012) - 7%