JACI STEPHEN reveals how Emmerdale became a hotbed of scandal

Sex, drugs and serial killers! It began as a quaint show about farming folk, but as Emmerdale marks its 50th anniversary with a blockbuster episode, JACI STEPHEN reveals how it became a hotbed of scandal

• Yorkshire soap Emmerdale is celebrating fifty years with a blockbuster episode
• Emmerdale aired in 1972, the year Britain signed up to join what would be the EU
• Jaci Stephen reveals her favourite moments from over the past fifty years 

Fifty years is a long time in Soapland. Where Emmerdale’s concerned, 50 minutes is a long time these days, and as the soap celebrates its momentous five decades with a blockbuster special episode on Sunday, we can only marvel at the many changes over the years. 

Back in 1972, the year that Britain signed up to join what would become the European Union, there was welcome relief in a sweet little small-scale production that transported us way beyond the wranglings at Westminster – and we learned more about manure than we ever thought we would need to know. 

So how did it transform itself from a gentle drama in which the most frightening thing was a sheep’s squeal when a shearer approached to a hotbed of sex, drugs, violence and bloodshed on a scale that would have Dracula hiding behind his cushion? How did a happily married woman called Leyla become the Pablo Escobar of the Dales? 

Henry Wilks [Arthur Pentelow], Ruth Marrick [Lynn Dalby], Matt Silbeck [Frederick Pyne], Sam Pearson [Toke Townley], Annie Sugden [Sheila Mercier], Peggy Skilbeck [Jo Kendall], Joe Sugden [Frazer Hines], Marian Wilks [Gail Harrison], Jack Sugden [Andrew Burt], as the original cast of Emmerdale when it launched in 1972

In the village of the 21st century, all human life is here – accidents, overdoses, murders, natural disasters, illnesses – and while the show is an exaggerated version of how village people generally live their lives (well, let’s hope so), the storylines and issues it raises fuel considerable debate, while also managing to be hugely entertaining. Here then are some of my favourite moments… 

ALL THE CHARM OF THE YORKSHIRE FARM 

Originally the idea of actor and writer Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale Farm (as it then was) made its debut on 16 October 1972. Launched by Yorkshire Television to fill a lunchtime slot for 13 weeks, it was billed as ‘the living story of the Sugden family – the excitement of country life around’ (for ‘excitement’, read ‘watching grass grow’). 

It became an early-evening programme for most ITV regions in 1978, and in 1989 the word ‘Farm’ was dropped from the title in a shift of emphasis away from the Sugdens to the wider community. 

By the time of the building of the new village on the Harewood estate near Leeds in 1998, the number of episodes per week had increased to three. Today it’s generally five a week. 

And the original cast of nine main characters – Annie Sugden, Jack Sugden, Peggy Skilbeck, Sam Pearson, Henry Wilks, Amos Brearly, Marian Wilks, Matt Skilbeck and Joe Sugden (only the actors who played the last three are still living) – is a far remove from today’s impressive list of about 60 that reflects our multi-cultural society and broader social issues that affect the lives of both young and old.

The dangers of drugs have been powerfully expressed, most notably with the death by overdose of Holly Barton in 2016. Pictured: Moira Barton [NATALIE J ROBB], John [JAMES THORNTON] and Holly Barton [SOPHIE POWLES] 

MURDER, MAYHEM AND A TRACTORLOAD OF TRAGEDY 

As the intricacies of sheep shearing took a back seat, the village was transformed into a hotbed of sex, drugs – and serial killers. The dangers of drugs have been powerfully expressed, most notably with the death by overdose of Holly Barton in 2016. 

There’s always been a lot of death, often bizarre in nature. In 1989, for example, Denis Rigg was gored by a bull. 

There have also been several suicides – Chris Tate (2003), Alice Dingle (2006), Jackson Walsh (2011) and Donna Windsor (2014). 

For a small village, Emmerdale has harboured a disproportionate number of killers too – accidental or otherwise. Way back in 1986, Derek Warner battered Harry Mowlam, leaving him face down in the river, where he died. 

WEDDING DAY? IT’LL END IN DISASTER! 

To have and to hold from this day forward? In Emmerdale, you’re lucky if you make it to a single minute forward. 

In 2015, Debbie Dingle walked down the aisle with Pete Barton, who was unaware she was carrying on with his brother Ross. He found out at the reception. 

A helicopter crash put a damper on proceedings, too. 

Debbie’s mother Charity was unable to go through with her vows to Cain in 2010 when he planned a surprise wedding. 

What a fool. I’d have chained myself to him at the altar. 

Another wedding day not to remember was in 2012, which saw Katie Sugden and Declan Macey tie the knot but Chas Dingle and Dan Spencer fall apart at the news Chas planned to run away with Carl King. 

On Sunday it’s Kim and Will’s big day.

Robert Sugden, Graham Clark, Louise Appleton, Adam Forsythe and Moira Dingle are just a few who intentionally killed their victims. 

By far the most evil has been Meena Jutla, who killed her father by morphine injection, her friend Nadine by carbon monoxide poisoning, Leanna Cavanagh by pushing her off a bridge, Andrea Tate by whacking her over the head and leaving her to die in a burning maize field, and Ben Tucker, whom she bludgeoned with an oar. That’s not even taking into account her 15 attempted murders – and she tried three times with Victoria Sugden! 

Death doesn’t always come in violent form though, and while Ashley Thomas’s vascular dementia eventually led to his death in 2017, the storyline was an incredibly moving and poignant exploration of how this heartbreaking condition affects the lives of others. 

It’s not only human death that has been tenderly explored. On 11 February 2002, Edna Birch’s dear Yorkshire terrier Batley had to be put to sleep – and it was so well done that the dog won Best Exit at the British Soap Awards 2002. 

The same fate awaited the Dingles’ lovable shaggy dog Alfie in 2017. In real life, he retired aged 11 after nine years on the soap. 

The worst tragedy, and certainly the most controversial in its echoes of Lockerbie, was the plane crash in 1993. Achieving the highest viewing figures ever – over 18 million – four characters were killed off and big wig Chris Tate was left paralysed for life. 

In the aftermath, the village’s name was changed from Beckindale to Emmerdale, which was the name of the Sugdens’ farm. Another air disaster followed when a helicopter fell out of the skies in 2015, killing two villagers. 

The regularity of natural disasters (who can forget the lightning strike that did for Tricia Dingle on New Year’s Eve 2003?) at times makes one wonder if the village is on course to compete with the Ten Plagues of Egypt. 

When you add the Home Farm fire of 2013 and the Woolpack fire of 2021, not to mention the Woolpack flood of 2013 and this week’s devastating storm, don’t rule out a plague of locusts at some point in the future.

HANKY PANKY IN THE HAY, PASSION IN THE PAVILION 

There are many three-letter words that spring to mind when talking about the farming community – cow, pig, hen, dip, pen – but in the course of 50 years, there is one that has come to dominate the increasingly animal-free location that was once Emmerdale Farm: sex, sex and more sex. 

To have and to hold from this day forward? In Emmerdale, you’re lucky if you make it to a single minute forward. In 2015, Debbie Dingle’s wedding reception was interrupted by a helicopter crash

No haystack or barn is safe from groping hands; if a Land Rover is standing still for five minutes in a remote part of the Dales, rest assured there are two writhing bodies inside; and as for the cricket pavilion… you need several hands to count the number of illicit liaisons that have taken place there, and only one to count the matches actually played. 

Women tend to fare better than men in the sex department, particularly if they’re willing to switch sides. Take Charity (and many people have). 

Man or woman, she’s not fussy, yet why does she not see what is staring the rest of us in the face? She belongs with Cain who, among the men, has also not fared too badly in the pulling stakes. 

Then there’s Bernice, who, although undergoing a personality transformation every time she returns to the show, retains her love of men… Ashley, Liam, Will – not forgetting her passion for Chef Carlos. 

Every local woman came out in a sweat when he produced that thing that nobody north of Watford Gap had ever seen – his oyster knife. Bernice just wants to love and be loved, and Samantha Giles, who has played her since 1998, is one of the finest actors on the show. 

There have been many torrid affairs over the years – Debbie and Ross, Aaron and Robert, Zak and Joanie (that was a Christmas exposé lunch to remember), Moira and Nate – and sex is the fuel that keeps the village going, both literally and metaphorically. 

A young Jenna Coleman (before she starred as a Doctor Who companion and Victoria) gave the gossips a field day as vicar’s niece Jasmine Thomas, who had an affair with Debbie Dingle. Perhaps the most shocking sexual relationship, and certainly the one that garnered most publicity, was between teacher Maya – Liam’s ex-wife – and pupil Jacob, which began in 2018.

BEEFY AND A BARN FULL OF CELEBRITY GUEST STARS 

Celebrities are always honoured when asked to appear in soaps, and Emmerdale has a star-studded history of famous names playing themselves. Katherine Jenkins (pictured) was the celebrity guest at the opening of the pageant celebrating the village’s 500th episode in 2007

Celebrities are always honoured when asked to appear in soaps, and Emmerdale has a star-studded history of famous names playing themselves – Countdown’s Richard Whiteley, Wet Wet Wet’s Marti Pellow and ITV’s Phillip Schofield, who has made two cameo appearances: first as himself alongside his then co-host on This Morning, Fern Britton, in 2005, and then in 2015, when he appeared in the background in David’s shop for an ITV charity stunt. 

Katherine Jenkins was the celebrity guest at the opening of the pageant celebrating the village’s 500th episode in 2007. 

Her cover of the Judy Garland song Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas was also the incidental music in the penultimate scene on 26 December 2006, which showed the various suspects in Tom King’s murder. We Three Kings would have worked as well. 

Former cricketer and commentator Ian ‘Beefy’ Botham re-opened the Woolpack in February 1995, cutting the ribbon, drawing the raffle and chatting with Seth, Vic and Ned. 

AND THE AWARD FOR BEST SOAP GOES TO… 

In recent years, Emmerdale has increasingly landed awards previously shared mostly between Coronation Street and EastEnders. Earlier this year it won Best Soap at the British Soap Awards, in addition to Best Leading Performer for Paige Sandhu (Meena), Best Dramatic Performance for Mark Charnock (Marlon), and Best Family for The Dingles. 

The show has also won top prize at the prestigious BAFTA Awards in 2001, 2017 and 2020. 

• Emmerdale – 50 Unforgettable Years, Sunday, 6pm, ITV, followed by the first in a week of episodes. 

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