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Emmerdale
 

For Emmerdale, the 1994 debut album by The Cardigans, see Emmerdale (album).

Emmerdale (known as Emmerdale Farm until 1989) is a British television soap opera set in the fictional Yorkshire village of the same name (known as Beckindale until 1994). Much of the action takes place within the fictional village pub, The Woolpack. The show was created by Kevin Laffan. It is the third-highest ranking soap opera on British television, behind Coronation Street and EastEnders.

The series is produced by Yorkshire Television (YTV) and broadcast on the ITV network, and was first aired on October 16, 1972. It was originally conceived and broadcast as a daytime programme in an afternoon slot, moving to its current position as an early evening programme in the 1980s.

The village itself was originally played by the real village of Arncliffe in Littondale, one of the less frequented valleys of the Yorkshire Dales. In exterior shots, the town's hotel, The Falcon, was used to represent the fictional Woolpack Hotel. Eventually the location of the shooting location became publicly known, which is perhaps what prompted the move to the village of Esholt. This location also became a tourist attaction. Now a purpose built set in Harewood is used. Location footage of the fictional market town of Hotten is shot in Otley. The Benton Park School in Rawdon and the primary school in Farnley are also used as shooting locations. Indoor scenes are mostly filmed in the Emmerdale production centre in Leeds (located next to the main YTV building). Follow this link * and if you have Google Earth click on "Open This Placemark" to go to a high resolution satellite image of the YTV set on the Harewood estate.

Emmerdale is shown from Sunday-Friday at 7pm on ITV1. Catch-ups and the ominibus of the show can be seen on ITV2.

Origins of Emmerdale

Emmerdale Farm was originally modelled on the revolutionary soap-opera The Riordans, made by RTÉ, Ireland's broadcaster, from the 1960s to the mid 1970s. The Riordans broke the mould for soap operas by being filmed largely out of doors on a farm owned in the storyline by Tom and Mary Riordan, rather than, as was the norm in British and American soap operas, being almost totally filmed in studios. (Even 'outdoor' scenes were traditionally filmed indoors.) The Riordans pioneered location shooting, with real farm animals, actors driving tractors. In the 1960s and 1970s, outdoor filming of television programmes using OBUs (Outdoor Broadcast Units) was in its infancy, due to the far higher costs involved, and the reliance on things like the weather that were out of the control of the programme makers.

The success of The Riordans showed that a soap opera could be filmed out of doors. Yorkshire Television sent people to The Riordans set in County Meath in Ireland to see the making of the programme at first hand. On the basis of what they saw, the station began preparations for its own rural-based, outdoor-filmed, soap opera, called Emmerdale Farm. As with The Riordans, it was to be focused on one family, the Sugdens, with the name of the farm becoming the name of the show. As time went on, the show's focus moved to the nearby village of Beckindale. To reflect this change, the show's name was changed in 1989. Coinciding with the name change was the introduction of the Tates, who would emerge as the soap's leading family in the 1990s, overshadowing the Sugdens. In turn, the Tate family has been supplanted, with the Dingle and King families now taking centre stage.

Plane crash storyline

Until 1993, the show was largely ignored by press and viewers alike in the face of much more well known soaps such as Coronation Street, EastEnders and Brookside. However, a sensational plotline involving a plane crashing on to the village of Beckindale (which killed many long standing characters and led to the onscreen renaming of Beckindale to Emmerdale), gained a lot of press and audience attention and cemented the show's place among the top UK soaps. This plot line attracted controversy due to the similarity to the Lockerbie disaster: it was aired near to the time of the fifth anniversary of that disaster.

The house explosion

On Thursday 13th July 2006, The Kings unvailed their brand new showhome which was to house married couple, Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) and Donna Windsor-Dingle (Verity Rushworth). But when local resident, Noreen Bell (Jenny Tomasin) opened a cupboard door inside the house it triggered a spark and let rip a huge gas explosion which catapulted her down the stairs. Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) and Donna Windsor-Dingle (Verity Rushworth) ran towards the house but were also thrown back by the explosion. Debris started to fly towards the residents as the house started to explode in various different places. Jimmy King (Nick Miles) was set alight but was extinguished by water that fell through the roof. Diane Sugden (Elizabeth Estensen) was knocked out by a collapsing ceiling whilst Danny Daggert (Cleveland Campbell) and Dawn Woods (Julia Mallam) got caught up in an other explosion. Jimmy King (Nick Miles) fell through the bedroom ceiling, shortly followed by Sadie King (Patsy Kensit). The house then fully collapsed as the residents of Emmerdale stood in shock. Three have been confirmed dead: Noreen Bell (Jenny Tomasin), who died instantly, Dawn Woods, who later died in hospital as a result of her injuries, and an estate agent.

Popularity and scheduling

Emmerdale Farm started as an afternoon soap opera on the ITV Network in 1972. Soon after the start the majority of ITV regions chose to accommodate the programme in the 7pm Tuesday and Thursday slot. Anglia Television and Thames Television preferred a Monday and Tuesday 5:15pm slot and saw the week's episodes before the rest of the network. In January 1988, all ITV regions networked the show in the Wednesday and Thursday 6.30pm slot. Anglia Television and Central Television chose to move the programme to 7pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays in February 1989 as they were screening the new daily Australian drama Home and Away in the Emmerdale slot. This was the first time Anglia had screened Emmerdale in the 7pm slot. Central were simply returning to the slots they used until December 1987. For a period Anglia and Central saw episodes one week later than other regions. From January 1990 all other regions followed the Central and Anglia schedule in the familiar Tuesday and Thursday 7pm slot. During the mid 1990s Scottish Television used the 7pm slot to show daily regional programmes resulting in Emmerdale moving to 5:10pm. Scottish Television had always given preference to their own countryside soap opera Take The High Road which accommodated a 7pm slot. After only several months in the earlier slot Scottish returned Emmerdale to the 7pm slot. By this time ITV had opted to increas their output to three episodes a week with the additional episode being screened on Wednesdays. In 2000 a further two episodes were added on a Monday and Friday evening. A sixth one to air on Sundays began in 2004. The show is now ranked high in the British popularity stakes, being outdone regularly only by the two major mainstream British soaps, EastEnders and Coronation Street. However, recent hour-long episodes which have competed with EastEnders have won the battle for viewing figures.

On Christmas Day 2005 Emmerdale attracted 6.2 million viewers where the villagers searched for Daz and Belle who fell down a mine shaft.

On Monday 24th April 2006 8.5 million viewers watched as Sam and Alice get married.

Emmerdale is notable for being the first television soap opera in the UK (and possibly the world) to regularly produce six episodes a week, shown every night except Saturday at 7 p.m.

Overseas

Outside the UK, Emmerdale reaches viewers in the Republic of Ireland, where UTV from Northern Ireland is widely available, although TV3 also show the programme.

Although four years behind today's episodes, the programme is also popular in Canada on the CBC, three days a week at 2:00 p.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time). The programme is also aired in Sweden under the title Hem till gården which translates to Home to the Farm, In Sweden it has been shown since the 1970s (originally on TV2, and then on commercial channel TV4 since 1994). TV4 finished the programme for its regular summer break on 30 June 2006. Episodes are shown at 12.30pm with a repeat on their TV4+ channel in the evning around 5.15pm and a third opportunity to watch the following morning around 11am on TV4. Episodes most recently screened were from 2003. It also airs in Finland, where it is currently aired five days a week by MTV3. It has also been shown in New Zealand on TV One, and is currently shown on Granada UKTV in the Middle East.

Members of the British Forces and their families can watch Emmerdale on BFBS TV1, which is also available free-to-air in the Falkland Islands.

Trivia

All of the main characters in Bottom were avid fans of Emmerdale. When Emmerdale Farm changed its name to Emmerdale, the characters mused that this might be because it shortened the time needed for the audience to read its name, providing the writers with more screen time to fill with story arcs.

Although the show was renamed Emmerdale in 1989, the village was still named Beckindale until 1994.

Birthdays in Emmerdale

January

19: Kim Tate 19: Zak Dingle 22: Betty Eagleton 28: Andy Sugden

February

13: Dave Glover 14: Alice Bates 29: Laura Johnstone

March

01: Mandy Dingle 05: Linda Glover 07: Daz Hopewood 16: Bill Middleton 23: Marlon Dingle 25: Sarah Sugden 31: Victoria Sugden 31: Geri Cairns 31: Charity Dingle

April

01: Amos Brearly 10: Sam and Sally Skilbeck 22: Robert Sugden 27: Zoe Tate

May

03: Vic Windsor 03: Elizabeth Pollard 10: Tom King 10: Alice Dingle 19: Viv Windsor 25: Chloe Atkinson 31: Joe Sugden

June

06: Tricia Dingle 08: Joseph Tate 11: Eric Pollard 20: Roy Glover 21: Diane Blackstock 6 Sarah Dingle

July

01: Paddy Kirk 05: Annie Sugden 09: Kirk Daggert 11: Graham Clark 16: Charlie Cairns 20: Scott Windsor 30: Michael Feldmann

August

05: Alan Turner 11: Ollie Reynolds 16: Sam Dingle 23: Butch Dingle 28: Peggy Skilbeck 28: Peter Whiteley

September

02: Katie Sugden 03: Nick Bates 04: Ned Glover 15: Will Cairns 16: Rachel Hughes 24: James Tate 29: Kathy Glover

October

01: Frank Tate 04: Richie Carter 09: Dee Pollard 12: Sammy Winward 13: Katie Sugden 26: Debbie Dingle 29: William Bates 31: Bill Whiteley

November

12: Seth Armstrong 12: Archie Brooks 14: Ashley Thomas 19: Mark Hughes 28: Jack Sugden 30: Cain Dingle

December

02: Henry Wilks 05: Pete Collins 05: Kelly Windsor 11: Chris Tate 12: Marc Reynolds 23: David Skilbeck 25: Belle Dingle 25: Gabby Thomas 29: Bernice Thomas 31: Donna Windsor

Deaths in Emmerdale

  • 1972 - Jacob Sugden
  • 1973 - Sharon Crossthwaite
  • 1973 - Ian McIntyre
  • 1973 - Peggy Skilbeck
  • 1976 - Sam & Sally Skilbeck
  • 1976 - Beattie Dowton
  • 1977 - Jim Gimbel
  • 1981 - Enoch Tully
  • 1984 - Sam Pearson
  • 1986 - Harry Mowlem
  • 1986 - Pat Sugden
  • 1988 - Steven Fuller
  • 1989 - Dennis Rigg
  • 1989 - Jackie Merrick
  • 1990 - Pete Whiteley
  • 1991 - Paolo Rossetti
  • 1991 - Bill Whiteley
  • 1991 - Henry Wilks
  • 1993 - Meg Armstrong
  • 1993 - Leonard Kempinski
  • 1993 - Mark Hughes
  • 1993 - Elizabeth Pollard
  • 1993 - Archie Brooks (not confirmed)
  • 1994 - Shirley Turner
  • 1994 - Reg Dawson
  • 1994 - Ben Dingle
  • 1994 - Alice Bates (senior)
  • 1995 - Joe Sugden
  • 1995 - Luke McAllister
  • 1996 - Jed Connell
  • 1996 - Granny Hopwood
  • 1996 - Dave Glover
  • 1997 - Ron Hudson
  • 1997 - Frank Tate
  • 1997 - Linda Glover
  • 1997 - Kate Sugden
  • 1998 - Alex Oakwell
  • 1998 - Vic Windsor
  • 1999 - Rachel Hughes
  • 1999 - Liam Hammond
  • 2000 - Graham Clark
  • 2000 - Pete Collins
  • 2000 - Butch Dingle
  • 2000 - Sarah Sugden
  • 2001 - Mrs Strickland
  • 2002 - Angie Reynolds
  • 2002 - Ray Mullan
  • 2003 - Chris Tate
  • 2004 - Tricia Dingle
  • 2004 - Paul Marsden
  • 2005 - Shelley Williams (not confirmed)
  • 2005 - Max King
  • 2005 - Seth Armstrong (off-screen)
  • 2006 - Brian Addyman (off-screen)
  • 2006 - Terrence Turner
  • 2006 - Noreen Bell
  • 2006 - Dawn Woods

Disasters in Emmerdale

In addition to the sensational plane crash storyline, the Woolpack was blown up in the 1990s, and recently a jeep crash led to a massive explosion that claimed the life of Max King.

Other disasters include:

  • 1996 - Dave Glover dies in a fire after attending Biff and Linda's wedding.
  • 2000 - Pete and Butch are killed in a bus crash.
  • 2000 - Long-running character Sarah Sugden dies in a barn fire.
  • 2001 - Mrs Strickland, the headmistress, is struck and killed by a car driven by some of her students.
  • 2002 - The church is burnt down by a mad Zoe Tate.
  • 2004 - The village is hit by a storm; Tricia Dingle is crushed beneath a falling chimney when the Woolpack is struck by lightning, and later dies in hospital.
  • 2005 - Zoe Tate and Callum Rennie destroy Home Farm in a gas explosion for revenge on the Kings before leaving Emmerdale.
  • 2006 - The vicarage burnt down after a stray spark ignited spilt vodka, with Debbie Dingle trapped inside.
  • 2006 - The Kings' show home explodes and collapses, leaving several trapped in the rubble; Noreen Bell and the estate agent are killed in the explosion, whilst Dawn Woods later dies of her injuries in hospital.

Spin-offs

Several Emmerdale books, fiction and non-fiction, have been produced, a number written by Lance Parkin (who had been a storyliner on the TV show). At least one of these was also translated into Finnish. There are also several videos including The Dingles down under, The Woolpackers and Don't Look Now!- The Dingles in Venice.

See also

External links

ITV television programmes | Emmerdale | Fictional towns and cities in England

Emmerdale (televisiosarja) | Hem till gården

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Emmerdale".

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