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Emmerdale

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

Emmerdale title screen
Format Soap opera
Created by Kevin Laffan
Starring Present cast
Country of origin Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
No. of episodes 4877 [+]

(as of Friday January 4 2008)

Production
Producer(s) Yorkshire Television
Running time 22 minutes (excluding advertisements)
Broadcast
Original channel ITV
Picture format 4:3 (1972-2001),
16:9 (2002-present)
Original run 16 October, 1972 – present
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Emmerdale (known as Emmerdale Farm until November 1989) is an award winning and critically acclaimed British soap opera, set in the fictional village of the same name (known as Beckindale until 1994) in West Yorkshire, England. Much of the action takes place within the fictional village pub, The Woolpack. The show was created by Kevin Laffan, with Keith Richardson serving as Executive Producer since 1986 and Anita Turner as Series Producer from January 2008.[1][2] Emmerdale is the third highest-rating soap opera on British television, behind Coronation Street and EastEnders. The series is produced by Yorkshire Television and broadcast on the ITV network, and was first aired on 16 October, 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 1978. Emmerdale is shown from Sunday to Friday at 7pm on ITV. Repeat episodes and the omnibus of the show can be seen on ITV2. October 2007 saw Emmerdale celebrate its 35th anniversary in dramatic style with a huge explosion ripping through Annie's Cottage caused by Victoria Sugden pouring petrol over the furniture after demanding to know who had killed her mother Sarah Sugden, 7 years previously.

Contents

Origins

Emmerdale Farm was originally modelled on the revolutionary soap-opera The Riordans, made by RTÉ, Ireland's broadcaster, from the mid-1960s to the end of the 70s. The Riordans broke new ground 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 shot in studios (even 'outdoor' scenes were traditionally filmed indoors). The Riordans pioneered location shooting, with real farm animals, and 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, 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, and the name of their farm was also the name of the show.

Series background

The Miffield estate was the biggest employer in the village of Beckindale - situated 39 miles from Bradford and 52 miles from Leeds. Lord Miffield gave the lease of Emmerdale Farm, on the edge of the village, to the Sugden family in the 1850s out of gratitude, after Josh Sugden had sacrificed his life for the Earl's son in the Crimean War. Josh's grandson Joseph married Margaret and they had a son Jacob. In the 1930s, Jacob Sugden supposedly purchased Emmerdale Farm for his family. In 1945 he married Annie Pearson - daughter of farm labourer Sam Pearson. Jacob had run the farm into the ground, as he had drunk away most of the profits, leaving it in a sorry state. It was badly maintained, and the future of the farm looked bleak at the time of Jacob's death on the 10 October 1972. Jacob left a wife Annie and three grown children, two sons, Jack (the eldest) and Joe (the youngest of the three), and daughter Peggy. These characters would form the basis of the series Emmerdale Farm.

The first episode

The Sugden family in the first episode
The Sugden family in the first episode

The first episode of Emmerdale Farm opened with the funeral of Jacob Sugden on the 16 October 1972. Jacob had upset the family by leaving the farm to his eldest son, Jack, who had not been seen since 1964 when, at the age of 18, he left his family, heritage and Beckindale - for London. Jack Sugden returned to the farm in this opening episode, although he chose to stay away from the funeral - making his presence known only after the service, when the Sugdens returned to their home, Emmerdale Farm - where they found him waiting for them. The first lines uttered in this first episode were spoken by Peggy Skilbeck: "Matt, who’s she?" Peggy was referring to Marian Wilks who was watching the funeral cortege whilst out riding. The Wilkses proved to be new to the village; Marion's father Henry Wilks was a wealthy businessman. In subsequent months, Jack sold a share of the Farm to Annie, Joe, Peggy and his grandfather Sam Pearson. Emmerdale Farm Ltd was formed after Henry Wilks bought Sam’s share of the estate. The first episode is available free for UK viewers at ITV.com. The first episode was shown on Granada Plus on 1st January 2000.

Evolution

Initially the show focused on the farm, and the Sugden family who lived on and ran it. 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 November 1989 to Emmerdale, and later the name of the village changed from Beckindale to Emmerdale in 1994 after the infamous plane crash. Coinciding with the soap's 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 since been supplanted, with the Dingle and King families taking centre stage in the early to mid 2000s.

Emmerdale Online Channel

On the 21 May 2007 the Emmerdale online channel announced it would be continuing past the Who Killed Tom King? storyline. [1]

Village businesses

Despite being a small village, Emmerdale is a bustling place for business. The current businesses are:

Major storylines

Main article: Major Storylines of Emmerdale

Until 1993, Emmerdale was largely ignored by press and viewers alike, in the face of much more well-known soaps such as Coronation Street, EastEnders and Brookside. This, however, was changed when Emmerdale's plane crash storyline brought Emmerdale into the public eye, consequently keeping the show as one of the most watched soap operas on British television. As well as the plane crash storyline, there have been several other major storylines, including the famous storm of 2003, the Kings River explosion of 2006, and, more recently, the murder of Tom King on Christmas Day, 2006. Key Emmerdale Farm / Emmerdale storylines include:

  • 1972 - Jack's return to Emmerdale Farm, the revelation that he is a best selling novelist, the setting up of Emmerdale Farm Ltd. Rumours about the parentage of Jackie Merrick.
  • 1973 - The murder of Sharon Crossthwaite, the accidental death of local tramp Trash, Jack is horsewhipped by the squire, the birth of Matt and Peggy Skilbeck's twins, Peggy Skilbeck's death
  • 1974 - Joe Sugden's marriage to Christine Sharp, a dreamer, and the end of the marriage five weeks later
  • 1976 - Matt Skilbeck's twins are killed in a crash on a level crossing
  • 1976 - The Woolpack being relocated after suffering from subsidence
  • 1977 - Joe Sugden and Kathy Gimbel scandalise Beckindale by setting up home together, though unmarried
  • 1978 - Matt Skilbeck marries Dolly, an armed robbery at The Woolpack (available on ITV.com), a rare painting is unearthed at Verney's
  • 1979 - Wendy Hotson is raped, Joe is involved in a shooting incident, Dolly is pregnant
  • 1980 - Jack returns home, and so does Pat, Sandie and Jackie Merrick. Enoch Tolly uses illegal pesticides. Dolly suffers a miscarriage
  • 1981 - Jack and Pat agree to marry, Tom Merrick commits arson to implicate Jack, Tom Merrick steals Christmas trees
  • 1982 - Jack and Pat marry, Jack finds out he is Jackie's father, Jackie goes off the rails and burns down a caravan, Dolly has a baby
  • 1983 - Sandie Merrick becomes a teenage mother, Joe romances the vicar's married daughter then leaves for France, Annie is rushed to hospital
  • 1984 - Jack has an affair with Karen Moore, Sam Pearson dies in his sleep, Caroline Bates arrives as Alan Turner's new secretary
  • 1985 - Jackie is accidentally knocked off his motorbike by Alan Turner, Harry Mowlem commits armed robbery on a security van of £6000, Kathy & Nick Bates arrive in the village
  • 1986 - Pat Sugden gives birth to Robert - but is killed soon after, Harry Mowlem is murdered by Derek Warner, Eric Pollard becomes manager of Hotten Market
  • 1987 - The villagers gather to protest against a nuclear dump in Beckindale, Jack is arrested and imprisoned for seven days for contempt of court, Jackie Merrick falls down an old mine shaft while trying to rescue a sheep
  • 1988 - Nick Bates is hailed a hero after foiling a raid on the post office, Alan Turner sold his Home Farm shares to crooked businessman Denis Rigg, Dolly has an affair with timber consultant Stephen Fuller who is subsequently killed by a falling tree, Crossgill Farm catches fire with Annie trapped inside
  • 1989 - Annie battles with addiction to tranqualisers, Denis Rigg is crushed by a bull while threatening the Sugdens with eviction, Kathy suffers a miscarriage, Jackie Merrick accidentally shoots himself while hunting a fox for a £10 bet with Seth, Rachel Hughes has an affair with married man Pete Whiteley, The Tates take over Home Farm
  • 1990 - Joe Sugden was caught illegally implanting steroids into his beef cattle, Kate Hughes accidentally kills Pete Whiteley while driving her car, a chemical tanker crashed into a wall in Beckindale's main street - trapping Amos in the Woolpack cellar
  • 1991 - Amos retires to Spain, Alan Turner takes over the Woolpack, Kate Sugden is released from prison after serving 12 months for manslaughter, Sarah is kidnapped by Jim Latimer, Henry Wilks dies of a heart attack
  • 1992 - The Holiday Village is opened by The Lady Mayoress of Hotten, Lorraine Nelson comes clean about sexual abuse she suffered as a child, Kim Tate has an affair with the Rt. Hon. Neil Kincaid
  • 1993 - Neil Kincaid is horsewhipped by Frank Tate on new year's day, Emmerdale Farm collapses due to subsidence, Zoe comes out as a lesbian, Annie marries Leonard Kempinski, a plane crash devastates the village
  • 1994 - In an attempt to give the village a new start after the plane crash, the village's name was changed from Beckindale to Emmerdale in honour of the Sugden family, Shirley Foster marries Alan Turner but is tragically killed shortly afterwards after a raid on the post office.
  • 2005 - Emmerdale long standing resident Seth Armstrong dies
  • 2006 - Kings River House collapse, Dawn Hope dies

Disasters

In addition to the sensational plane crash storyline, the Woolpack was blown up in the 1990s, and recently Kings River showhome collapsed after several explosions caused by a gas leak. The collapse claimed threes lives: Noreen Bell and estate agent David Brown were killed in the explosion, and Dawn Woods later died in hospital from internal injuries. Other disasters include:

  • 1994 - Shirley Turner is shot dead in the aftermath of the post office raid by Viv Hope's ex-husband Reg Dawson.
  • 1995 - Luke McAllister died after his car crashed into a tree and exploded into flames.
  • 1996 - Dave Glover died in a fire after attending Biff and Linda's wedding.
  • 1997 - At Steve Marchant and Kim Tate's engagement party, Alex Oakwell took Linda Fowler for a late-night drive and crashed while trying to snort cocaine. He fled the scene of the accident, leaving Linda there to die.
  • 2000 - A van and minibus collide in the village. Van driver Pete Collins dies at the scene; minibus passenger Butch Dingle dies in hospital from his injuries the next day.
  • 2000 - Long-running character Sarah Sugden died in a barn fire.
  • 2001 - Miss Jean Strickland, the headmistress, was struck and killed by a stolen car driven by student Marc Reynolds on his way home from a night out with friends.
  • 2002 - The church was burnt down by schizophrenic Zoe Tate.
  • 2003 - A large storm hit Emmerdale, leaving parts of the village in ruins, with collapsed power lines and trees, The Woolpack was damaged by its chimney collapsing through the roof into the bar area, and also out the front, crushing Tricia Dingle and resulting in her dying in hospital a few days later; characters such as Ashley Thomas and Louise Appleton became stuck on the road as a result of the terrible weather. The disaster took place on the tenth anniversary of the plane crash.
  • 2005 - Shelly Williams fell off a boat in Scotland, and was never found.
  • 2005 - Zoe Tate and Callum Rennie destroyed Home Farm in a gas explosion for revenge on the King's before leaving Emmerdale.
  • 2005 - Max King died instantly when the Land Rover he was in went off the road and through a brick wall and exploded, although driver Andy Sugden escaped the car unharmed and gave a false story about the accident to avoid being arrested; and the police believed his version of events, as there were no witnesses to contradict his story.
  • 2006 - The vicarage burnt down after a stray spark ignited spilt vodka, with Debbie Dingle trapped inside.
  • 2006 - Tom King was murdered on Christmas Day when son Carl hit him over the head with a horse statue and pushed him out of a window.
  • 2007 - A tampered van driven by Billy Hopwood crashed into a lake and sank with him and Victoria Sugden inside, but they both survived.
  • 2007- DCI Grace Barraclough was killed instantly when she was run over by a lorry, while on the way to the police station to report Carl for killing his dad, Tom King.
  • 2007 - Victoria Sudgen threatened Jack & Andy in their home that if they didn't confess to who killed her mum Sarah, then she would light up her lighter and would set the house of fire with the petrol around that she poured out all over the living room and kitchen. After they calmed her down, the fumes ignited with boiler and set the house on fire. But everyone got out safe, but after Billy saved Jack he was held back notices a bin which jack used in the bathroom; left in Victoria's bedroom, full of flammable aerosols. The flames exploded the whole of Victoria's room while Billy was still inside.

Memorable exits

This article lacks information on the notability of the subject matter.
Please help improve this article by providing context for a general audience, especially in the lead section.

Emmerdale is famous for its dramatic exit storylines. These characters would have made some of the most memorable exits from Emmerdale while still breathing. (For characters who left through death, see below).

  • Kim Tate - Kim and her husband Steve Marchant stole a horse, intent on selling it, as they were experiencing a cash flow problem. As they were driving away from the scene, Steve ran over Kathy Glover. While in hospital, Kim managed to make Kathy believe that Steve had not stopped his vehicle when he had hit her, in order to make her husband seem to be the sole villain of the piece - even though she had helped to plan the thievery of the horse. On the day of trial in January 1999, with the lawyers questioning Kathy's validity as a witness for Steve's hit-and-run crime, Kathy herself came to question how true Kim's words had been. For this, and numerous other crooked tricks, the police were soon on her trail. She confronted Chris Tate to try to get hold of money as a means of escape, and knocked him out savagely with a paperweight when he would not comply. She left with her son James in a helicopter, never to be seen again. The pilot asked her if she was Kim Marchant, and with her final words on the soap she replied, "No, it's Kim Tate".
  • Charity Tate - After Sadie King tricked Tom King into believing that Charity was having an affair with Cain Dingle, Tom called off the wedding to Charity. Despite later realising the lie, Tom was unable to convince Charity to reconcile with him, as all Charity wanted was revenge. She managed to get Jimmy King into bed after making him realise what Sadie was all about, and filmed them in bed together, and got him to confess that Sadie set her up. She took this tape to Tom and showed it to him in front of his whole family. Charity gave Sadie a punch and left the soap, despite an emotional plea from Tom King.
  • Zoe Tate - Zoe was facing a court case for the attempted murder of Scott Windsor. After being blackmailed into selling Home Farm to Sadie King, she took revenge by blowing up the building; in her final scene, she waited in a car in front of the building waiting for the explosion, then drove off and out of the soap.
  • Cain Dingle and Sadie King - The couple kidnapped Tom King, with Sadie pretending to have been double-crossed by Cain. The story took a number of twists and turns, with Cain's car going over into a quarry, although it was later discovered to be empty, and Cain shooting Sadie, although it was later discovered that this was also faked. As they prepared to make their escape by plane, Cain betrayed Sadie, leaving her at the airfield, and he flew off over the village. Both Cain and Sadie left the soap.
  • Steph Forsythe - Steph finally did the right thing, even though it could have been in better circumstances when she pleaded guilty to the murder of brother Terence. This was to serve her dues for the death of Shelly Williams. Steph was then sentenced to life imprisonment, although it was in fact her estranged husband Adam who did the deed.

Filming locations

Location shooting originally occurred in the village of Arncliffe in Littondale, one of the less frequented valleys of the Yorkshire Dales. In exterior shots, the village's hotel, The Falcon, was used to represent the fictional Woolpack Inn. Eventually the location of the shooting location became publicly known, which is perhaps what prompted the move to the village of Esholt in 1976, where it stayed for the next 22 years. This location also became a tourist attraction and the village pub has retained the adopted name of The Woolpack inn. The original Emmerdale Farm buildings are near the village of Leathley. Creskeld Hall (Home Farm) is one of the few original filming locations used in the entire run of the series and has been involved in many storylines. From 1998 a purpose-built set on the Harewood estate is used, building on the Harewood estate started in 1996. The first scenes shot in the purpose-built set on the Harewood Estate were broadcast on 17th February 1998, from the front of the Woolpack (although some scenes were shot there from 1997). The houses in the new village at Harewood are timber framed structures covered in stone cladding. The village is built on green belt land so all the buildings are classed as "temporary structures" and must be demolished within ten years unless new planning permission is given. There is no plan to demolish the set and new planning has now been drawn up. Although no church was built on the Harewood set, there is a churchyard full of gravestones, some of them for the characters who have died in the serial. 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). See on Google Earth here. A guided tour of all the filming locations from 1972 onwards is available at Emmerdale Behind the Scenes.

Scheduling and popularity

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. There were varying seasons of Emmerdale Farm and some years only a few episodes were shown:

  • 1972 - 20 episodes
  • 1973 - 102 episodes
  • 1974 - 98 episodes
  • 1975 - 61 episodes
  • 1976 - 37 episodes
  • 1977 - 91 episodes
  • 1978 - 74 episodes
  • 1979 - 52 episodes
  • 1980 - 85 episodes
  • 1981 - 73 episodes
  • 1982 - 67 episodes
  • 1983 - 71 episodes
  • 1984 - 75 episodes
  • 1985 - 92 episodes
  • 1986 - 99 episodes
  • 1987 - 99 episodes

From 6 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 Farm slot. This was the first time Anglia had screened Emmerdale Farm 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. During this period, the following episodes were transmitted:

  • 1988 - 100 episodes
  • 1989 - 102 episodes

From January 1990 all other regions followed the Central and Anglia schedule in the familiar Tuesday and Thursday 7pm slot. Enjoying highs of 11 million viewers. 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 was accommodated in a 7pm slot. After only several months in the earlier slot Scottish returned Emmerdale to the 7pm slot. During this period, the following episodes were transmitted:

  • 1990 - 101 episodes
  • 1991 - 103 episodes
  • 1992 - 104 episodes

Between 1993 and 1995, Emmerdale was shown in a daytime slot with a repeat of the previous evening episode. During this period, the following new episodes were transmitted:

  • 1993 - 103 episodes
  • 1994 - 103 episodes
  • 1995 - 104 episodes
  • 1996 - 106 episodes

By 1 January 1997 ITV had opted to increase their output to three episodes a week with the additional episode being screened on Wednesdays. From 2 October 2000 a further two episodes were added on a Monday and Friday evening. A sixth episode to air on Sundays began in 2004. During this period, the following new episodes were transmitted:

  • 1997 - 157 episodes
  • 1998 - 161 episodes
  • 1999 - 164 episodes
  • 2000 - 187 episodes
  • 2001 - 260 episodes

Emmerdale is notable for being the first television soap opera in the UK to regularly produce six episodes a week, shown every night, except Saturday, at 7pm. The show is now ranked high in the British popularity stakes, being outdone regularly only by the two major mainstream soaps, Coronation Street and EastEnders.

Recent hour-long episodes which have competed with EastEnders have won the battle for viewing figures, establishing itself as a serious contender as the second most popular British Soap. The village soap has gone head to head with BBC's EastEnders on several occasions over the past couple of years and emerged on top.

  • Billy Hopwood, with Victoria Sugden, crashed his truck into a lake (1 February 2007): Emmerdale won here too, surprisingly since EastEnders episode involved an important storyline involving two of its most high profile characters, Martin and Sonia Fowler, leaving. Emmerdale attracted 8 million viewers with EastEnders gaining 6.5 million viewers.
  • The Who Killed Tom King? plot came to a close on Thursday 17 May, 2007, when the murderer was revealed. Emmerdale gained an average 8.6 million viewers, which peaked to 9.1 million viewers when Tom's son Carl confessed to the murder, between 7pm and 8pm. EastEnders could manage only 4 million between 7.30pm and 8pm.

Old episodes of Emmerdale Farm were repeated in the 1990s on Sky Soap, the episodes shown in March 1997 were from 1973, but by the time Sky Soap ended in April 1999 the episodes shown were from 1988. In July 1998, episodes from the first episode of the renamed soap were repeated on Granada Plus, and the 2001 episodes were being shown when the channel ended in October 2004. On the week beginning January 14 2008, like Coronation Street, ITV 1 announced they would cease airing Emmerdale on a Sunday night in order to produce more episodes of entertainment programming such as Dancing on Ice and Primeval. This means that Emmerdale will still air at the same time on a Monday-Friday, it's just that the Tuesday episode will run until 8pm because of the change. It is unknown if Eastenders will relocate it's Tuesday 7.30pm timeslot to an earlier/later time or even another day to avoid losing viewers to Emmerdale.

Overseas

Ireland

Emmerdale reaches viewers in the Republic of Ireland via both the widely available UTV from Northern Ireland and the TV3 Television Network in the Irish Republic. UTV and TV3 screen Emmerdale simultaneously in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Sweden

Emmerdale has been shown in Sweden since the 1970s – originally on TV2 and since 1994 on commercial channel TV4. Under the title Hem till gården ("Home to the Farm"), the programme is broadcast at 12.25 on Monday to Friday lunchtimes (apart from a regular summer break). The episodes currently being screened (early 2007) date from 2004. Currently TV4 are screening the 17th block of 150 purchased episodes.

Finland

The programme is shown in Finland on commercial channel MTV3, where it goes out at 17.30 Mondays to Fridays with a repeat of each episode at 10.20 on the following weekday.

New Zealand

TV One and TV 2 in New Zealand shows the programme each weekday at 4.00 in the afternoon and early morning 5.05 respectively.

Australia

Emmerdale was shown in Australia for the first time in July 2006 when cable television provider Foxtel began screening episodes from 2006 on its UK.TV channel.

Romania

On 2 February 2007 it was announced that Emmerdale would be broadcast on the Romanian free-to-air channel Pro TV. The station has bought 50 episodes of the soap dating back to 2000.

Elsewhere

Opening and closing credits

The original titles were on film and featured a slow panning shot of the Yorkshire dales, before slowly zooming in on Beckindale village/Arncliffe and then the farmhouse. The title caption zoomed out to the camera. The closing credits were on captions and the film underneath was the view from a helicopter of the Dales passing by Arncliffe. The theme, written by Tony Hatch, was performed on the cor anglais with piano and strings accompaniment. The opening titles changed for the 1974 episodes to an aerial panning shot of Arncliffe and a different view of the farmhouse and the font was changed to a bold yellow one. The end credits remained the same but with the different font. The farmhouse in sunset credits lasted the longest and were introduced in 1976, coinciding with the move to Esholt and the use of videotape for external scenes, and continued to be used until November 1989 when the programme's title was shortened to Emmerdale. This was replaced with a montage of images, shot around Esholt, of various activities such as someone hang-gliding, a Land Rover fording a stream, an oil tanker going over a bridge and someone out horse-riding at Home Farm, the credits rolled over a static shot of the farmhouse. This lasted until 1992 when the theme tune was changed. The credits used from 1992 until December 1993 were similar but used superimposed images the credits rolled over a static shot of some Yorkshire scenery. The opening titles changed again from the plane crash episode in 1993 to one without superimposed images and was in use until about 1995 when some of the scenes were changed and swapped about. From December 1993 until 1998, the credits rolled over a static shot of Esholt/Emmerdale. The exception to this was during the plane crash when the credits rolled over the destruction of the village. In 1998, the opening titles were replaced by another montage, this time of helicopter shots of the Yorkshire moors and farming areas. Superimposed were short scenes of actors (which were not members of the case) performing the various emotions seen in a soap. The closing credits rolled over a continuous shot of Emmerdale, filmed from a helicopter flying away from the village. At the same time, in 1998, a new version of the theme tune was introduced. A grand orchestral theme was introduced over the titles, credits and break bumpers. From 2003, a different version of the theme, played mainly on the piano, was used for the break bumpers only. In 2005, the opening titles were replaced with another helicopter montage, this time marginally slower and without the actors. The closing credits were generic ITV Network style credits over a continuous shot of the village, again from a helicopter, but filmed from a different angle.

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) and Hugh Miller. 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. The book titles for the original, popular series of novelisations, are:

  • "The Legacy" (1) by Lee Mackenzie - stories from the original 1972 episodes
  • "Prodigal's Progress" (2) by Lee Mackenzie - stories from 1973
  • "All That A Man Has..." (3) by Lee Mackenzie - stories from 1973
  • "Lovers' Meeting" (4) by Lee Mackenzie - stories from 1974
  • "A Sad And Happy Summer" (5) by Lee Mackenzie - stories from 1973/1974
  • "A Sense Of Responsibility" (6) by Lee Mackenzie - stories from 1975/1976
  • "Nothing Stays The Same" (7) by Lee Mackenzie - stories from 1976
  • "The Couple At Demdyke Row" (8) by Lee Mackenzie - stories from 1976/1977
  • "Whispers Of Scandal" (9) by Lee Mackenzie - stories from 1977
  • "Shadows From The Past" (10) by Lee Mackenzie - stories from 1977
  • "Lucky For Some" (11) by Lee Mackenzie - stories from 1978
  • "Face Value" (12) by Lee Mackenzie - stories from 1978
  • "Good Neighbours" (13) by Lee Mackenzie - stories from 1978
  • "Innocent Victim" (14) by Lee Mackenzie - stories from 1979
  • "False Witness" (15) by Lee Mackenzie - stories from 1979
  • "The Homecoming" (16) by Lee Mackenzie - stories from 1980
  • "Old Flames" (17) by Lee Mackenzie - stories from 1980/1981
  • "Wedding Bells" (18) by Lee Mackenzie - stories from 1981/1982
  • "Family Feuds" (19) by Lee Mackenzie - stories from 1982
  • "Young Passions" (20) by Lee Mackenzie - stories from 1983
  • "Another Door Opens" (21) by Lee Mackenzie - stories from 1983
  • "A Friend In Need" (22) by James Ferguson - stories from 1983/1984
  • "Divided Loyalties" (23) by James Ferguson - stories from 1984
  • Wives And Lovers (24) by James Ferguson - final novel of original series, stories from 1985

There was also

  • "Annie Sugden's County Diary" by Lee Mackenzie - Annie's life in the 1920s until 1945
  • "Early Days at Emmerdale Farm" by Lee Mackenzie - Annie's life from 1945 until the mid 1950s
  • "Emmerdale: Their Finest Hour" by Lance Parkin - Life in Beckindale in 1941

Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • 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.
  • In the episode broadcast on 24 July 2006, Val Lambert visits Noreen Bell's house for the first time since Noreen was killed in the blast. She picks up a television magazine turned to the day of the disaster. While most of the schedule is as would normally be expected on a Thursday night, the 7pm slot on ITV shows a programme called Castle Bridge rather than Emmerdale. The magazine also schedules The Bill at 8pm, where it would normally be broadcast, however, for this week only, it was actually replaced with PokerFace.
  • Creskeld Hall (Home Farm) is one of the few original filming locations used in the entire run of the series and has been involved in many storylines.

DVD Releases

Emmerdale Farm Vol 1
Emmerdale Farm Vol 1
The Best of Emmerdale
The Best of Emmerdale

Network DVD announced three special DVD Releases were released on October 15 2007 the releases are below.

  • The first twenty-six episodes of "Emmerdale Farm Volume 1" from 1972-73 on a four disc set.
  • "The Best of Emmerdale" twelve of the best episodes taken from 1993-2006 on a two disc set, starting with two episodes covering the plane crash.

The full list for the 'Best of Emmerdale' DVD:

    • Episode 1829 – Plane Crash - Part 1
    • Episode 1830 – Plane Crash - Part 2
    • Episode 1870 – Jack & Sarah’s wedding
    • Episode 1875 – Post Office Robbers Caught
    • Episode 2473 – Kim Flees Emmerdale
      Emmerdale 35th Anniversary Edition
      Emmerdale 35th Anniversary Edition
    • Episode 2668 – Bus Crash
    • Episode 3018 – Nicola Jilts Carlos
    • Episode 3215 – Zoe Gets Sectioned
    • Episode 3339 – Louise Kills Ray
    • Episode 3623/3624 – The Storm
    • Episode 4159 – Home Farm is Blown Up
    • Episode 4425 – Alice Dingle’s Euthanasia Pact


  • "Emmerdale 35th Anniversary Edition" is the other two releases together in a box set.

Controversially, for a 35th anniversary set, the years 1974-1993 were totally omitted. Further volumes of Emmerdale Farm will be released throughout 2008.

Series producers

  • David Goddard (October 1972 - January 1973)
  • Peter Holmans (January 1973 - July 1973)
  • Robert D Cardona (July 1973 - October 1976)
  • Michael Glynn (October 1976 - June 1979)
  • Anne Gibbons (June 1979 - October 1983)
  • Richard Handford (October 1983 - June 1986)
  • Michael Russell (June 1986 - March 1988)
  • Stuart Doughty (March 1988 - December 1991)
  • Morag Bain (December 1991 - 1993)
  • Nicholas Prosser (1993 - 1994)
  • Mervyn Watson (1994 - 1998)
  • Kieran Roberts (1998 - April 2001)
  • Steve Frost (April 2001 - 2005)
  • Kathleen Beedles (2005 - 2008)[3]
  • Anita Turner (2008 - )[1][2]

Lists...

References

  1. ^ a b "Emmerdale's new Producer", ITV.com. URL last accessed 2007-11-15
  2. ^ a b "New Corrie, 'Emmerdale' producers named", Digital Spy. URL last accessed 2007-11-15
  3. ^ "Frost, Beedles quit soap production roles", Digital Spy. URL last accessed 2007-11-14

External links

The Ian Kelsey (Dave Glover) Site

This box:  •  • edit
Emmerdale
Main characters
Jack Sugden | Alan Turner | Eric Pollard | Viv Hope | Donna Windsor-Dingle | Victoria Sugden | Betty Eagleton | Zak Dingle | Terry Woods | Sam Dingle | Andy Sugden | Lisa Dingle | Marlon Dingle | Ashley Thomas | Paddy Kirk | Belle Dingle | Diane Sugden | Shadrach Dingle | Edna Birch | Bob Hope | Rodney Blackstock | Nicola De Souza | Louise Appleton | Katie Sugden | Laurel Thomas | Chas Dingle | Debbie Dingle | Pearl Ladderbanks | Daz Eden | Val Lambert | Carl King | Jimmy King | Matthew King | Paul Lambert | Jasmine Thomas | Jo Stiles | Sandy Thomas | Jamie Hope | Perdita Hyde-Sinclair | Grayson Sinclair | Eli Dingle | Lily Butterfield | David Metcalfe | Carrie Nicholls | Jonny Foster | Scarlett Nicholls | Douglas Potts | Hilary Potts | Duke Woods | Lexi Nicholls | Greg Doland | Melanie Doland | Ross Kirk | Donald De Souza | Miles De Souza

Recurring and minor characters Past characters

Special episodes and storylines
Major storylines | Who Killed Tom King? | Emmerdale Village's 500th year anniversary episode
Related articles
The Woolpack | Births, birthdays, marriages and deaths | Residences

View More Summaries on Emmerdale
 
Copyrights
Emmerdale from Wíkipedia. ©2006 by Wíkipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. View a list of authors or edit this article.

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