TV's 12 greatest first kisses

Most couples out there will be able to tell you when and where that very first kiss was - it's the one that matters most really as it kicked off their burgeoning romance.

TV would have you believe this is always some hugely romantic moment when the stars align and suddenly you and your future significant other can't resist each other any longer, which may be the case for some of you lucky ones out there.

However, in reality, it's usually a 2 am drunken shift. Don't deny it.

Love blossoms in all sorts of places, though, and while we may not get the appropriate song to soundtrack these special moments in our lives, we can always live vicariously through the characters of our favourite TV shows who do.

So for the week that's in it, let's have a gander at some of TV's best first kisses;:

• Jim and Pam - The Office

Yes, there's some that will argue that Tim and Dawn were the original Office couple but for us, it was all about the two season-long courtship that saw Jim fall hopelessly in love with his office bestie Pam, who just so happened to be engaged. It all came to a head in the second season finale, in what was actually the first episode written by Steve Carell.

(Not a great quality clip, but you get the idea.)

• Niles and Daphne - Frasier

These two possibly took the longest to get together out of all the TV couples on the list. For seven whole seasons Niles harboured feelings for his dad's physiotherapist, and they really did leave it until the last minute to finally get together. Daphne was set to walk down the aisle with Donny, while Niles, having given up all hope of being with Daphne, marries Mel. A situation that would rarely be surmounted in the real world, but the TV Gods can thankfully do what they like.

• Nick and Jess - New Girl

While New Girl did a pretty bad job at making these two a watchable couple, they are probably one of our favourite 'will they/won't they's' on the list, for the very reason that they really weren't one at first. These two genuinely started out as friends and bar the odd moment or two in the early days, their growing feelings for each other were very subtly played out. They may not have been able to make it work as a couple but we still all know they'll eventually end up together.

• Joey and Pacey - Dawson's Creek

Forget Dawson and Joey, that show was really only about one couple, and that was Pacey and Joey. Maybe it was our naive teenage years, but we really didn't see this one coming, and neither did Joey as it happened. Pacey may have stepped all over his best mate's heart in the process, but at least it gave the world cry face.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q44Xk-ylNw

• Rachel and Ross - Friends

Yes, yes, no need to roll your eyes, but of COURSE they are on the list. Back in the day when are only intake of Friends was weekly half-hour doses, the Rachel and Ross 'will they/won't they' was sheer torture. They came so close, so so many times, but finally one quiet evening in Central Perk, the world got what they were waiting for, and it was EVERYTHING.

• Sam and Diane - Cheers

This pair had so many sparks between them it could have burned the whole bar now, but they truly were the one of the first and best TV couples we couldn't help root for. They had absolutely nothing in common, and at times seemed to really just hate each other. As we all know, though, there's a fine line.

• Kevin and Winnie - The Wonder Years

Undoubtedly the sweetest first kiss of all on the list, and unusual in that it happened in the pilot episode of this iconic TV show. Winnie's brother Brian is killed in action in Vietnam and childhood friends Kevin and Winnie meet in a nearby woods and share this kiss together. It may have taken a long time after for a second kiss to come, but we always knew it was inevitable. We're still raging these two didn't end up together but the show's writer, Bob Brush gave a pretty good explanation of his reasoning behind this decision.

"The message I wanted in there is that that's part of the beauty of life. It's fine to say, 'I'd like everything to be just the way it was when I was 15, and I was happy,' but it seemed more nurturing to me to say that we leave these things behind and we go on to forge new lives for ourselves."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70wwYvkI2W8

• Angela and Jordan - My So Called Life

Another staple show of nineties television, sadly cut short far too soon. In fact, this show was more nineties than Nirvana, and George Clooney's mullet put together, and there was NO ONE more of a dream boat back then than Jordan Catalano - Angela knew it, and we knew it. This first kiss was made all the better by the cute little dance Angela did up to her front door afterwards. Ahh, the butterflies...

• Piper and Alex - Orange is the New Black

Okay, this is cheating slightly because we all know this wasn't their first kiss, but it was the first one we got to see. Piper arrives in jail only to find she's sharing her time with the ex that landed her in there. Nine episodes of insane sexual tension later, we got this...

• Jon and Ygritte - Game of Thrones

While there's a hell of a lot of smooching and riding in Game of Thrones, there's only one couple we ever really cared about. Jon had sworn himself to be a man of the Knight's Watch, but when he went undercover with the Wildlings back in season three, temptation just got a little too much. Turns out Jon Snow did know a thing or two...

• Charlotte and Harry - Sex and the City

Sex and the City was supposed to be all about Carrie and Big, but we all know the couple we really loved the most was Charlotte and Harry, with Miranda and Steve coming in a close second. Charlotte spent so long looking for her picture perfect husband, but it was her divorce lawyer Harry that would ultimately steal her heart...

• Luke and Lorelai - Gilmore Girls

It seemed like it took forever for these two to get it together, four seasons to be precise, but we knew from that very first episode that flannel-wearing Luke was only mad about Lorelai. It just took her some what longer to get there. Fans were left disappointed that these two didn't tie the knot in the end but never fear, the cast are returning for a reunion series on Netflix, so this love story ain't over yet.

While the award for Worst TV First Kiss Ever goes to...

• Miley and Fidelma - Glenroe

"Does Miley have tickles?"

Enough said.

(Thankfully, there is no online video evidence of this TV travesty.)