''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

that is broadcast on

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...

. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the historic county of Yorkshire, England, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954. The Dales comprise river valleys and the hills rising from the Vale of York w ...

. Created by

Kevin Laffan Kevin Barry Laffan (24 May 1922 – 11 March 2003) was a British playwright, screenwriter, author, actor and stage director. Laffan is best known for creating the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale Farm'', now titled ''Emmerdale''. Raised in a family ...

, ''Emmerdale Farm'' was first broadcast on 16 October 1972. Interior scenes have been filmed at the Leeds Studios since its inception. Exterior scenes were first filmed in Arncliffe in

Littondale Littondale is a dale in the Craven district of the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire, England. It comprises the main settlements of Hawkswick, Arncliffe, Litton, Foxup and Halton Gill, and farmhouses that date from the 17th century. ...

, and the series may have taken its name from Amerdale, an ancient name of Littondale. Exterior scenes were later shot at

Esholt Esholt is a village between Shipley and Guiseley, in the metropolitan district of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated east of Shipley town centre , south-west of Guiseley Main Street , north of Bradford City Ce ...

, but are now shot at a purpose-built set on the Harewood estate. The programme is broadcast in every ITV region. The series originally aired during the afternoon and was intended to be a three-month television series. However, more episodes were ordered and transmitted during the daytime until 1978, when it was moved to an early-evening

prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

slot in most regions. In the late 1980s, the soap was met with a new production team which oversaw the name change, more dramatic storylines and an increase in episode output. As a result of the changes, viewers and popularity surrounding the soap increased and ''Emmerdale'' began to be considered as a major British soap opera. The programme began broadcasting in high definition on 10 October 2011 and in 2016, ''Emmerdale'' won the award for Best British Soap at the

British Soap Awards The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV and has been presented by Phillip Schofield since 2006. The trophies gi ...

for the first time. Since January 2019, "classic episodes" of ''Emmerdale'' have been broadcast weekly on

ITV3 ITV3 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. The channel was first launched on Monday 1 November 2004 at 9pm, replacing Plus (Granada). ITV3 is the sixth-largest UK television channel ...

History

1972–1985: ''Emmerdale Farm''

''Emmerdale Farm'' was created when

was asked to write a lunchtime farming serial for ITV, as the network was looking to expand its daytime programming after government restrictions on broadcasting hours were relaxed. He initially said no as his agent advised him that writing a soap would tarnish his reputation as a playwright, which he found to be part of a snobbish attitude shown towards soap operas. Laffan eventually said yes and formed a 26-episode play that would act as a 13-week serial. Laffan had worked on a farm for six months in his youth, and said on writing about farm life: "I was intrigued by the idea that farming was a way of life, as opposed to simply a way of earning a living." The premise of ''Emmerdale Farm'' was similar to the

BBC radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

soap opera ''

The Archers ''The Archers'' is a BBC radio drama on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural set ...

'', focusing on a family, a farm and characters in a nearby village. The programme's farmyard filming was originally modelled on

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, whil ...

's ''

The Riordans ''The Riordans'' was the second Irish television drama serial made by Raidio Telefís Éireann (then called ''Telefís Éireann''). It ran from 1965 to 1979 and was set in the fictional townland of Leestown in County Kilkenny. Its location fil ...

'', an Irish soap opera which was broadcast from the mid-1960s to the end of the 1970s. ''The Riordans'' broke new ground for soap operas by being filmed largely outdoors (on a farm, owned on the programme by Tom and Mary Riordan) rather than in a studio—the usual practice of British and American soap operas. ''The Riordans'' success demonstrated that a soap opera could be filmed largely outdoors, and

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

sent people to its set in

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...

to see the programme's production first-hand. The first episode aired on 16 October 1972 at 1:30pm, and began with the

Sugden family The Sugdens are a fictional family in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Introduced during the show's conception in 1972, they were the main family for storylines between the 1970s and 1980s and remained as such for many years. The families orig ...

convening in the fictional village of Beckindale for the funeral of a relative. Peter Willes, the then-head of serial dramas at Yorkshire Television, did not like that the soap began with a funeral as he found it to be a "very downbeat way to start" and "a big switch-off". However, Laffan pushed the concept as he felt that a funeral would be the best option from a dramatic viewpoint. The show's early years as ''Emmerdale Farm'' centred on the Sugden family and rural farm life. The show was originally broadcast twice a week in the afternoon and was regarded by critics as a "sleepy soap" where not much happened. After its initial 13-week run, the positive viewer response led to an increase to 26 weeks and then a 6-month run, which led to the eventual year-long screening of the soap. The increase in episode output was accompanied by a move to a late afternoon time slot. By 1977, it was moved to a

evening slot in most ITV regions.

1986–1992: Revamp and becoming a major British soap

In the late 1980s, a new production team headed by executive producer Keith Richardson was brought in, and the show's focus moved to the nearby village of Beckindale, with more dramatic storylines such as Pat Sugden's 1986 car crash and the 1988 Crossgill fire. By 1988, the show had been moved to an evening time slot in all ITV regions. ''Emmerdale Farm'' also began broadcasting episodes year-round that year. Reflecting its change in focus, the title was changed to ''Emmerdale'' on 14 November 1989. Coinciding with the title change was the introduction of the wealthy Tate family, bringing with them racier storylines. Under Richardson, the soap's popularity gradually began to improve. Richardson produced the programme for 24 years, overseeing its transformation from a minor, daytime, rural drama into a major

UK soap opera. By 1993, ''Emmerdale'' was into its third decade on the air and December 1993 saw a major turning point in the show's history, when an episode featured a plane crashing into the village of Beckindale, killing four main characters, giving ''Emmerdale'' its highest-ever audience of 18 million and marked its "graduation" into a major prime time soap opera. The plane crash "allowed the writers to get rid of much dead wood, and reinvent the soap virtually from scratch," which included survivors changing the village name from "Beckindale" to "Emmerdale". The production team had continually had issues with the fictional village's geography, but they found that the plane crash allowed them to introduce a village that had continuity. Since the plane crash, ''Emmerdale'' has had increasingly dramatic storylines and glamorous characters. In 1994, former ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Orig ...

'' producer Mervyn Watson was hired to inject more humour into the show. New long-term characters, such as the Windsor and Dingle families, were also introduced in the 1990s. The Tates became the soap's leading family during the decade.

2000–2011: Continued success and more episodes

By 2000, ''Emmerdale'' episodes were regularly getting 12 million viewers, and the number of episodes per week was increased from three to five. An ITV

talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

, ''

Soapstars ''Soapstars'' is a British reality television show that aired on ITV from 3 September 2001 to 7 November 2001. The series featured thousands of contestants auditioning to be cast as part of a new family—consisting of a mother, father and thr ...

'', was held in 2001 to cast the new five-member Calder family; the Calders made their debut on the show in November that year, and all members had left by August 2002. In 2004, ''Emmerdale'' became the first British soap opera to broadcast six episodes a week. By 2006, ''Emmerdale'' was contending with, and at times beating, ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' in viewership. In 2007, an hour-long special episode revealing the murderer of Tom King ( Kenneth Farrington) aired; the episode gained an average of 8.6 million viewers, peaking at 9.1 million viewers when Tom's son

Carl Carl may refer to: * Carl, Georgia, city in USA * Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name * Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of ...

( Tom Lister) confesses to the murder. The episode received more than double the amount of viewership ''EastEnders'' did. The early and mid-2000s saw the introduction of major long-term characters, including the King family and

Cain Cain ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl/Qāyīn is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He ...

( Jeff Hordley) and

Charity Dingle Charity Dingle (also Tate, Sharma and Macey) is a fictional character from the British television soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Emma Atkins. Suranne Jones originally auditioned for the role of Charity prior to Atkins being cast in the ro ...

(

Emma Atkins Emma Jayne Atkins (born 31 March 1975) is an English actress, best known for her role as Charity Dingle in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Early life Atkins grew up in the village of Silverdale, Lancashire, and then went to study at the Uni ...

). This era also saw high-profile castings such as

Patsy Kensit Patricia Jude Kensit (born 4 March 1968) is an English actress and was the lead singer of the pop band Eighth Wonder in the 1980s. Beginning her career as a child actor, Kensit gained attention when she acted in a string of commercials for Bir ...

Sadie King Sadie Sinclair (also King) is a fictional character from the British television soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Patsy Kensit. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 10 May 2004. The character was introduced as the ex- ...

in 2004, and

Amanda Donohoe Amanda Donohoe (born 29 June 1962) is an English actress. She first came to attention as a 16-year-old living with pop singer Adam Ant, appearing in the music videos for the Adam and the Ants singles "Antmusic" (1980) and "Stand and Deliver" ( ...

and

Maxwell Caulfield Maxwell Caulfield (né Maxwell P.J. Newby; born 23 November 1959) is a British-American film, stage, and television actor and singer. He has appeared in ''Grease 2'' (1982), '' Electric Dreams'' (1984), '' The Boys Next Door'' (1985), ''The Su ...

Natasha Natasha (russian: Наташа) is a name of Slavic origin. The Slavic name is the diminutive form of Natalia. Notable people * Natasha, the subject of ''Natasha's Story'', a 1994 nonfiction book * Natasha Aguilar (1970–2016), Costa Rican sw ...

and

Mark Wylde Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

in 2008. Major storylines during this period included a bus crash, Sarah Sugden's death in a barn fire, a New Year's Eve storm, the Kings River explosion, and the Sugden house fire. In 2009, the longest-tenured character, Jack Sugden ( Clive Hornby), was killed off. Jack's funeral featured the first on-screen appearance in 13 years of Annie Sugden (

Sheila Mercier Sheila Betty Mercier (''née'' Rix; 1 January 1919 – 4 December 2019) was an English actress, of stage and television, best known for playing Annie Sugden in the soap opera ''Emmerdale'' for over 20 years, from the programme's first episode in ...

). Also in 2009, executive producer Keith Richardson was replaced by former series producer

Steve November Steve November (born Steven Frost) is a British television producer and executive. Originally known as Steve Frost during his early career, he became a writer for the Sky One drama ''Dream Team''. He also took roles as an assistant director until ...

(later replaced by John Whiston). Gavin Blyth became the series producer, followed by Stuart Blackburn after his death.

2012–present: Anniversary celebrations and beyond

''Emmerdale'' celebrated its 40th anniversary with its first-ever live episode on 17 October 2012. "

Emmerdale Live On 17 October 2012, a live episode of the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'' was broadcast, marking the 40th anniversary of the first episode in 1972. The episode was broadcast at the usual time of 7 pm on ITV1 for England & Wales and STV ...

" featured the death of Carl King ( Tom Lister) and a live music festival with performances by

Scouting for Girls Scouting for Girls are an English pop rock band. Their name is a play on the title of the 1908 Scouting handbook ''Scouting for Boys''. The band was formed in 2005 by three childhood friends from London, Roy Stride on piano and lead guitar/voca ...

and

the Proclaimers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

as part of the anniversary celebrations. The story of Carl's death took the show into 2013, when

Kate Oates Kate Oates (born 1979 or 1980) is a British television producer, who was born in Nottingham and graduated from Warwick University. She began her career working as a researcher and editorial assistant for Germaine Greer, before becoming a script ...

replaced Blackburn as the new series producer. One of Oates' aims was to feature more of the village and rural countryside locations and to bring more "balance" to the show instead of focusing on "a few very high-profile stories". Major storylines during this period included a helicopter crash that killed Ruby Haswell (

Alicya Eyo Alicya Eyo (born 16 December 1975) is an English actress, best known for her roles as Denny Blood in the ITV prison drama series '' Bad Girls'' and Ruby Haswell in the ITV soap opera '' Emmerdale''. Early life Eyo was born on 16 December 1975 ...

) and

Val Pollard Valerie "Val" Pollard (also Lambert) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, ''Emmerdale'', played by Charlie Hardwick. She made her first screen appearance in the episodes broadcast on 1 February 2004. Val was introduced a ...

(

Charlie Hardwick Claire Elizabeth Hardwick (born 3 November 1960)
''

Best British Soap for the first time at the

. In January 2019,

began airing episodes of ''Emmerdale'' from the beginning of the soap's inception. Billed ''Classic Emmerdale'', ten sequential episodes have been broadcast weekly since. In March 2019, an episode featuring an exclusively female cast and crew was aired in support of

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wo ...

. Executive producer Jane Hudson said that the episode was "a great opportunity for ''Emmerdale'' to show the female talent we have both in front and behind the camera." In 2020, the production and filming of ''Emmerdale'' was suspended due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. In order to prevent the programme from coming off air, the episodes shown per week were halved from six to three. They were later reduced to two episodes a week, but have since returned to the normal schedule. In September 2020, it was announced that there would be a "big autumn shake-up"; one of the changes included the casting of

Paige Sandhu Paige Sandhu (born 1996/1997) is a British actress. Sandhu began her acting career with appearances in '' Doctors'' and '' Endeavour'', before being cast as Meena Jutla in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''; for her portrayal of the role, Sandh ...

Meena Jutla Meena Jutla is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Paige Sandhu. Details surrounding her casting and Meena's characterisation were announced in September 2020 alongside that of two other new characters as pa ...

. She was later confirmed to be a serial killer and has been responsible for the murders of

Leanna Cavanagh Leanna Cavanagh is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Mimi Slinger. Leanna is introduced as the troublesome daughter of Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) when producers made the decision to explore Liam's c ...

(

Mimi Slinger Mimi or MIMI may refer to: People * Mimi (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Constantin Mimi (1868–1935), Bessarabian politician and winemaker * Mimi (footballer, born 1996), Bissau Guinean footballer * Mohanad Ali (born ...

Andrea Tate ''Emmerdale'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 16 October 1972. The following is a list of characters that appear during 2019, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the soap's executive producer, Jane Hudson. Th ...

(

Anna Nightingale Anna Nightingale (born 1990/1991) is an English actress. She is known for her roles in the television series '' Mouth to Mouth'' (2009), '' Doctors'' (2013) and in the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'' (2019–2021). Life and career Nightingale ...

) and Ben Tucker (Simon Lennon). All of the actors involved expressed a decision to leave the soap and their exits were incorporated into Meena's serial killer arc, a storyline which has seen Sandhu awarded Best Villain at the 2021 ''Inside Soap'' Awards. On 12 October 2021, it was announced that ''Emmerdale'' would partake in a special crossover event involving multiple British soaps to promote the topic of

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

ahead of the

2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP26, was the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference, held at the SEC Centre in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, from 31 October to 13 November 2021. The ...

. The event was first suggested by ''Emmerdales executive producer Jane Hudson. It was confirmed that a social media clip featuring two characters from ''Emmerdale'' would be discussed in ''

'', while ''Emmerdale'' itself would refer to events in '' Casualty''. In January 2022, it was confirmed that the production team were in the early stages of creating the 50th anniversary storylines set to air in October 2022. They hinted that the anniversary would see a "huge shake-up".

Setting and characters

''Emmerdale'' has had a large number of characters since it began, with its cast gradually expanding in size. The series has also had changing residences and businesses for its characters. The series is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the

. It has been noted that the fictional village spans 3,217 acres and is located 39 miles from

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

and 52 miles from

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

. A

farmhouse FarmHouse (FH) is a social fraternity founded at the University of Missouri on April 15, 1905. It became a national organization in 1921. Today FarmHouse has 33 active chapters and four associate chapters (formerly colonies) in the United State ...

, Emmerdale Farm, was the original focal point of the show when it first broadcast in 1972. The farmhouse was eventually written out of the series in the early 1990s. Local

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

The Woolpack is "the heart of the community". Owners of the Woolpack have included Amos Brearly ( Ronald Magill),

Diane Sugden Diane Sugden (also Blackstock) is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Elizabeth Estensen. Since her first appearance in 1999, she has been involved in several high-profile storylines, including her marria ...

(

Elizabeth Estensen Elizabeth Estensen (born 10 August 1949) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Diane Sugden on the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' from 1999 to 2021, with a guest stint in 2022. She has also made appearances in various British t ...

), Chas Dingle (

Lucy Pargeter Lucy Kate Pargeter (born 1 March 1977) is an English actress, known for her roles as Helen Raven in '' Crossroads'' (2002–2003) and Chas Dingle in ''Emmerdale'' (2002–present). She also finished third in the 13th series of the ITV reality ...

), and

(

). Home Farm is a mansion in Emmerdale; it was first introduced on-screen as Miffield Hall in 1973 and was renamed in 1978. Other locales include a factory, a bed-and-breakfast, a corner shop, an outdoor pursuits centre, and various cafés.

Families

''Emmerdale'' has featured a number of families: * The

(1972–present) * The Bates family (1984–2001) * The Tate family (1989–2005, 2009–present) * The Windsor/Hope families (1993–present) * The Dingle family (1994–present) * The Glover family (1994–2000) * The Thomas family (1996–present) * The Blackstock/Lambert family (1998–present) * The Reynolds family (1999–2007) * The King family (2004–present) * The Sinclair/Oakwell family (2006–2008) * The Wylde/Lamb family (2009–2011) * The Barton family (2009–present) * The Sharma family (2009–present) * The Macey family (2010–2019) * The Spencer family (2011–present) * The White family (2014–2019) * The Anderson family (2020–present) The Sugdens and their relatives, the Merricks and the Skilbecks, were at the centre of the show during the series' first two decades in the 1970s and 1980s (the ''Emmerdale Farm'' era). The Sugdens, owners of Emmerdale Farm, were its first family. Many of its members, and those of the Merrick and Skilbeck families, have left or been killed off since the mid-1990s. Sugdens remaining in the village are Jack's daughter, Victoria Sugden (

Isabel Hodgins Isabel Hodgins (born 23 November 1993) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Victoria Sugden in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' from 2006. Career Hodgins made an appeal in the '' Salford Advertiser'' for funding to allow her ...

), her son Harry, and

Andy Sugden Andy Sugden (also Hopwood) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, ''Emmerdale'', played by Kelvin Fletcher. He made his first on-screen appearance on 4 July 1996. Andy is the son of Billy Hopwood (David Crellin) and Trisha H ...

's ( Kelvin Fletcher) daughter

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pio ...

(Katie Hill). December 1984 saw the arrival of Caroline Bates; her teenage children, Kathy and Nick, followed in late 1985. Caroline left the show in 1989, returning for guest appearances in 1991, 1993–1994 and 1996. Nick was written out of the show when he was sentenced to ten years in prison in 1997. Kathy and her niece, Alice, remained in the village until late 2001; by then, Kathy had outlived two husbands. The wealthy Tates were introduced as the new owners of Home Farm in 1989, with the family consisting of Frank Tate (

Norman Bowler Norman Clifford Bowler (born 1 August 1932) is an English actor, best known for his role as Frank Tate in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Early life Norman Clifford Bowler was born on 1 August 1932 in London, England. His father, Clifford N ...

), wife

Kim Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese f ...

(

Claire King Jayne Claire King (born Jayne Claire Seed; 10 January 1962) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Kim Tate in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' and Karen Betts in '' Bad Girls''. She has appeared in the fourth series of ''Stric ...

) and children

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name *Chris Abani (born 1966), Nige ...

( Peter Amory) and Zoe ( Leah Bracknell). Other families followed: the middle-class Windsors in 1993, known as the Hope family after Viv's ( Deena Payne) 2001 marriage to

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with ...

( Tony Audenshaw), and the ne'er-do-well Dingle family in 1994. The Tate, Windsor-Hope and Dingle families predominated during the 1990s and 2000s. The era's storylines included the 1993 plane crash, the 1994 Home Farm siege, the 1998 post-office robbery, the 2000 bus crash, the 2003–04 storm and the 2006 King show-home collapse. By the mid- to late-2000s, the last of the Tates (Zoe, daughter

Jean Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

and nephew

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...

) had emigrated to New Zealand. In 2009, Chris Tate's ex-wife Charity and their son Noah returned to the village. In 2017, Joe Tate returned to the village. In 2018, Kim Tate returned to the village after nearly 20-year absence, and in the following year her son James returned as well. Members of the Windsor-Hope family left the village in early 2006, and Viv Hope was killed off in a village fire in February 2011 after nearly 18 years on the show. As of 2022, only Donna Windsor's daughter, April, and the Hope branch of the family (Bob and his children, twins Cathy and Heathcliff) remain. The King family arrived in 2004, as the Tates departed. All but

Jimmy King Jimmy Hal King (born August 9, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player. King played in the NBA and other leagues. He is most famous for his time spent on the famed University of Michigan Wolverines Fab Five along with Ray Jac ...

, his half-sister,

Scarlett Nicholls Scarlett Mary Nicholls is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, ''Emmerdale''. She is played by Kelsey-Beth Crossley and made her first appearance on 2 March 2007. It was announced on 8 May 2011 that Crossley was leaving the s ...

, and his three children, Elliott, Angelica and Carl, were killed off. By 2018, most of the Dingles still remained, having actually increased their numbers in Emmerdale over the years. Their circumstances had changed in their two decades in the village; Chas Dingle owned half of The Woolpack, with Charity Dingle owning the other half, and Marlon was a chef there. In 2014, the Dingles, Bartons and Whites were the central families; the Bartons are a farming family, and the Whites owned Home Farm. In 2022, Daniel Kilkelly of

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

stated that the Dingles were "arguably the best-known family from the current cast."

Storylines

Over the years, along with its stories of romance and family life, ''Emmerdale'' has highlighted a range of different social issues. The issues it has covered include:

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

(including

marital rape Marital rape or spousal rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one's spouse without the spouse's consent. The lack of consent is the essential element and need not involve physical violence. Marital rape is considered a form of domestic v ...

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

sexual exploitation Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership right over one or more people with the intent of coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in sexual activities. This includes forced labor, reducing a person to a s ...

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for '' intimate partn ...

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, childhood cancer, HIV,

mesothelioma Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops from the thin layer of tissue that covers many of the internal organs (known as the mesothelium). The most common area affected is the lining of the lungs and chest wall. Less commonly the lining ...

amyloidosis Amyloidosis is a group of diseases in which abnormal proteins, known as amyloid fibrils, build up in tissue. There are several non-specific and vague signs and symptoms associated with amyloidosis. These include fatigue, peripheral edema, weig ...

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrica ...

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. Aneurysms in the posterior circ ...

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

teenage pregnancy Teenage pregnancy, also known as adolescent pregnancy, is pregnancy in a female adolescent or young adult under the age of 20. This includes those who are legally considered adults in their country. The WHO defines adolescence as the period be ...

premature birth Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 weeks, very early preterm birth is between ...

sudden infant death syndrome Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden unexplained death of a child of less than one year of age. Diagnosis requires that the death remain unexplained even after a thorough autopsy and detailed death scene investigation. SIDS usuall ...

stillbirth Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The term ...

adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, fro ...

homosexuality Homosexuality is Romance (love), romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romant ...

bisexuality Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, ...

asexuality Asexuality is the lack of sexual attraction to others, or low or absent interest in or desire for sexual activity. It may be considered a sexual orientation or the lack thereof. It may also be categorized more widely, to include a broad s ...

, being

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, ...

infidelity Infidelity (synonyms include cheating, straying, adultery, being unfaithful, two-timing, or having an affair) is a violation of a couple's emotional and/or sexual exclusivity that commonly results in feelings of anger, sexual jealousy, and ri ...

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagoni ...

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats o ...

, depression,

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social w ...

anorexia Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gre ...

acid attack An acid attack, also called acid throwing, vitriol attack, or vitriolage, is a form of violent assault involving the act of throwing acid or a similarly corrosive substance onto the body of another "with the intention to disfigure, maim, tor ...

self-harm Self-harm is intentional behavior that is considered harmful to oneself. This is most commonly regarded as direct injury of one's own skin tissues usually without a suicidal intention. Other terms such as cutting, self-injury and self-mutilati ...

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

assisted suicide Assisted suicide is suicide undertaken with the aid of another person. The term usually refers to physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which is suicide that is assisted by a physician or other healthcare provider. Once it is determined that the p ...

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use oft ...

bereavement Grief is the response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or some living thing that has died, to which a bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, grief also has physical, cogniti ...

and

gambling addiction Problem gambling or ludomania is repetitive gambling behavior despite harm and negative consequences. Problem gambling may be diagnosed as a mental disorder according to ''DSM-5'' if certain diagnostic criteria are met. Pathological gambling is ...

. In January 2021, a poll was conducted by '' YorkshireLive'' to see which storylines in the soap's history viewers felt had impacted ''Emmerdale'' the most. The top ten, in order of first to tenth, was: the Emmerdale plane crash (1993), the storm that killed

Tricia Dingle The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'' in 1998, by order of first appearance. Barbara Kirk Barbara Kirk is the mother of Paddy Kirk. She appeared on and off from 1998 to 2002. Barbara ...

( Sheree Murphy) on the 10th anniversary of the plane crash (2003), the Hotten bypass crash (2016),

Belle Dingle Belle Dingle is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Eden Taylor-Draper. Belle made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 25 December 1998, originally played by twins Emily and James Ma ...

's (

Eden Taylor-Draper Eden Taylor-Draper (born 28 October 1997) is an English actress. She portrays Belle Dingle in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', a role she took over from Emily Mather in 2005. Career In 2005, at the age of eight, Taylor-Draper was cast in the ...

) mental health battle (2016), the mirror maze which led to

's (

Charlie Hardwick Claire Elizabeth Hardwick (born 3 November 1960)
''

Ashley Thomas' ( John Middleton) battle with dementia (2016), the post office robbery (1994), Dave Glover's (

Ian Kelsey Ian Kelsey (born 17 December 1966) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Dave Glover in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', Patrick Spiller in the BBC medical drama '' Casualty'', DI Richard Mayne in the ITV crime drama '' Blue Mur ...

) death (1996),

Ross Barton Ross Barton is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', portrayed by Michael Parr. He made his first appearance in episode 6600 of the soap, broadcast on 9 July 2013. Ross first appears as the carjacker of Laurel Thomas (Cha ...

's ( Michael Parr) acid attack (2018) and the 40th anniversary episode which saw Carl King's ( Tom Lister) death, two births and a wedding (2012).

Broadcast

''Emmerdale'' was first broadcast two afternoons a week in 1972, typically on Mondays and Tuesdays. From 1977, the series moved out of the daytime programming slot, with eight out of the fourteen ITV regions choosing to accommodate the programme in the 7:00pm Tuesday and Thursday slots. The other six regions, including all of Scotland and London, preferred the 5:15pm slots on Mondays and Tuesdays. From 6 January 1988, all ITV regions networked the show in the 6:30pm slot, but two years later, the transmission time reverted to 7:00pm, still twice weekly. By January 1997, ITV had opted to increase their output to three episodes a week, and from October 2000, a further two episodes were added, thus making ''Emmerdale'' a daily soap. A sixth episode begin to air on Sundays in 2004, making ''Emmerdale'' the first British soap to broadcast six episodes a week. In January 2008, as with ''

'', ITV announced they would cease airing ''Emmerdale'' on a Sunday night; this meant that ''Emmerdale'' would still air at 7:00pm each weekday, but to compensate, the Tuesday episode would run until 8:00pm. Producers of the soap explained that "each hour-long episode on Tuesday will be specially written and won't be two half-hour ones put together." On 8 July 2009, ITV announced that they were to revamp their schedule yet again. This time, ''Emmerdale''s Tuesday hour-long episode was reduced back down to 30 minutes, and replaced with a second Thursday episode. ''Emmerdale'' and ''EastEnders'' ratings improved due to this, with ''Emmerdale'' getting 7.7 million, its highest in over 6 months, on 1 October 2009. Between April and August 2019, ITV began airing an additional episode on Tuesdays at 8pm, bringing the total number of episodes a week to seven but it was reduced back to six due to the heavy amount of filming for cast and crew involved. In March 2020, due to the effects of the

, filming was suspended, and the episodes transmitted per week were decreased to three on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. For three weeks of June 2020, two episodes of ''Emmerdale'' were transmitted per week in order to preserve episodes. At the end of June, episodes returned to three per week. In September, ''Emmerdale'' returned to its regular transmission count of six weekly episodes. In January 2022, it was announced that after 32 years, ''Emmerdale''s transmission time would move to 7:30pm due to the '' ITV Evening News'' receiving a longer duration. Thursday's episodes have merged into one hour-long slot. The new scheduling began on Monday 7 March 2022.

Broadcast history

International broadcast

''Emmerdale'' reaches viewers in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

via

Virgin Media One Virgin Media One, also called Virgin One, is an Irish free-to-air television channel owned by Virgin Media Ireland (part of Liberty Global), operated through its subsidiary Virgin Media Television. The channel was known until 30 August 20 ...

, which broadcasts the series simultaneously with ITV in the UK. ''Emmerdale'' was formerly broadcast during the day on

RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís ...

from 1972 to 2001, before it moved to

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television * Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Channel 3 (Algeria), a public Algerian TV channel owned by E ...

, now known as Virgin Media One. RTÉ were several months behind; for many years, they broadcast the show five days a week (instead of ITV's three days a week) and took a break during the summer. As the series began a five-night week, RTÉ fell behind the ITV broadcasts; the gap between RTÉ One's last episode and TV3's first episode was approximately three months. In 2015, UTV (the Northern Irish ITV Region holder) decided to buy the rights to ITV programming for the Republic of Ireland. It was broadcast on UTV Ireland (now

Virgin Media Three Virgin Media Three, also called Virgin Three, is an Irish free-to-air television channel owned by Virgin Media Television. The channel was first launched by Northern Irish broadcaster UTV Media on 1 January 2015 as UTV Ireland; it primari ...

) in 2015 and 2016, it was then moved back to TV3 (now known as Virgin Media one) when

Virgin Media Ireland Virgin Media Ireland is Liberty Global's telecommunications operation in Ireland. It is the largest digital cable television provider within the country. As of 31 December 2014, the company offers broadband internet, digital television and d ...

, the owners of the TV3 Group (now known as Virgin Media Television Ireland) bought UTV Ireland from ITV, following the sale of UTV to ITV a few months previously. The series has appeared in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

as ''Hem till gården'' ("Home to the Farm") since the 1970s – originally on TV2, and since 1994, on TV4. ''Emmerdale'' is the most-watched daytime non-news programme in Sweden, attracting from 150,000 to 200,000 viewers daily. The programme appears in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

MTV3 MTV3 ( fi, MTV Kolme, sv, MTV Tre) is a Finnish commercial television station. It had the biggest audience share of all Finnish TV channels until Yle TV1 (from Yle) took the lead. The letters MTV stand for Mainos-TV (literally "Advertisem ...

where it attracts an average of 200,000 to 250,000 viewers per episode, making it the most watched non-Finnish every-weekday program in Finnish television. Ratings have, however, declined in the past few years, previously being consecutively around 350,000 to 400,000 per episode. ''Emmerdale'' is broadcast in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

TVNZ 1 TVNZ 1 ( mi, Te Reo Tātaki Tahi) is the first national television channel owned and operated by the state-owned broadcaster Television New Zealand (TVNZ). It is the oldest television broadcaster in New Zealand, starting out from 1960 as indep ...

, where it is the second-most-watched daytime programme, after the news. ''Emmerdale'' was broadcast in Australia for the first time in July 2006, when

UKTV UKTV Media Limited, simply known as UKTV, is a British multi-channel broadcaster, which, since 2019, has been wholly owned by BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It was formed on 1 November 1992 throug ...

began airing the series with episode 4288. ''Emmerdale'' has been available to viewers in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

via the

BritBox BritBox is an online digital video subscription service, founded by BBC Studios and ITV plc, operating in nine countries across North America, Europe, Australia and South Africa.

streaming service since March 2017. New episodes typically appear on the service within five hours of their original broadcast in the UK.

Production

Filming locations

The original ''Emmerdale Farm'' buildings are located near to the village of Leathley. The buildings are one of the few original filming locations used for the entire series and have been involved in numerous storylines. Scenes initially filmed in the farmhouse were filmed at Lindley Farm, owned by Arthur Peel, a farmer. Laffan and the researchers found his farm ideal for scenes and the location was large enough for cast and crew members to park their vehicles there. Yorkshire Television promised Peel to keep his identity and the location of his farm a secret, but viewers eventually discovered both and would visit in the hopes of meeting the cast there. Location shooting was originally filmed in the village of Arncliffe in Littondale, a quiet valley in the

. The Falcon, the village hotel, served as the fictional Woolpack Inn. After four years of filming there, it was moved to the village of

in 1976. The Woolpack's real-life location was changed to Commercial Inn in Esholt, and eventually, the real owner of the inn agreed to change the name to the Woolpack. After the soap began transmitting episodes 52 weeks of the year, the production needed more space. This led to the purchase of a four-floor mill in

Farsley Farsley is a town in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England to the west of Leeds city centre, east of Bradford. Farsley is situated between the two cities and near the town of Pudsey. Before April 1974, Farsley was pa ...

for £2 million, which a building team converted into the ''Emmerdale'' Production Centre. Construction of another purpose-built set began on the Harewood estate in 1996 and it has been used since 1997, after being opened by Prime Minister

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Hunting ...

. The Harewood set is a replica of Esholt, with minor alterations. Filming returned to Esholt for a one-off episode in 2016 for a special episode centred around Ashley Thomas' ( John Middleton) dementia which aired in December 2016. The location was used to represent Ashley's onset of dementia to the viewer. Location filming is also done in the

City of Leeds The City of Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre of Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Garforth, Guiseley, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, Rothwe ...

and other

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

locations; scenes set in the fictional market town of Hotten are currently filmed in

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 20 ...

, and previously in

. Benton Park School in Rawdon and the primary school in Farnley were also used for filming. Interiors are primarily filmed at Yorkshire Television's Emmerdale Production Centre in Leeds, next to Yorkshire's Leeds Studios. Four farms have been featured on ''Emmerdale'' over the years:

Reception

Ratings

As of 2022, ''Emmerdale'' generally attracts an average of 5 million viewers. During the 1990s, the series had an average of 10–11 million viewers per episode. On 30 December 1993, ''Emmerdale'' had its largest-ever audience of 18 million when a plane crashed into the village. On 27 May 1997, 13 million viewers saw Frank Tate (

) die of a heart attack after the return of wife

(

). On 20 October 1998, 12.5 million viewers saw the Woolpack explode after a fire. Kim Tate's departure from the show on 19 January 1999 was watched by nearly 15 million viewers. The village storm on 1 January 2004 attracted 11.19 million viewers. 18 May 2004 episode in which Jack was shot by his adopted son, Andy, attracted 8.27 million viewers. On 17 March 2005, 9.39 million watched Shelly Williams fall from the Isle of Arran ferry. Zoe Tate ( Leah Bracknell) left the show after 16 years on 22 September 2005 before 8.58 million viewers, marking her departure by blowing up Home Farm. On 13 July 2006, the Kings River house collapse was seen by 6.90 million viewers.

(

) and Cain Dingle ( Jeff Hordley) left on 21 September 2006, before an audience of 8.57 million viewers. On Christmas Day 2006, 7.69 million saw Tom King ( Kenneth Farrington) murdered on his wedding day.

Billy Hopwood William "Billy" Hopwood is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, ''Emmerdale'', played by David Crellin. Casting Crellin first appeared in ''Emmerdale'' in 1997, when Billy was one of a host of new characters producers introd ...

( David Crellin) crashed his truck into a lake on 1 February 2007, attracting 8.15 million viewers. The end of the "Who Killed Tom King?" storyline on 17 May 2007, had an audience of 8.92 million. On 14 January 2010, 9.96 million saw

shot dead by wife

. Natasha's 27 October confession to daughter Maisie attracted an audience of nearly 8 million. On 13 January 2011, 9.15 million saw a fire kill Viv Hope and

Terry Woods Terence Woods (born 4 December 1947 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish folk musician, songwriter/singer and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for his membership in such folk and folk- rock groups as The Pogues, Steeleye Span, Sweeney's Men, ...

. The live 40th-anniversary episode on 17 October 2012, drew an audience of 8.83 million. On 16 October 2013, 8.15 million watched Cameron Murray take the occupants of The Woolpack hostage and shoot Alicia. The next day, 7.65 million viewers saw Cameron die. In January 2022, their overnight viewing figures saw ''Emmerdale'' become the most watched soap opera in the United Kingdom. They beat ''

'', a fellow ITV soap that had consistently beaten ''Emmerdale'' in the ratings. The rise in viewers was accredited to Meena's serial killer storyline.

Critical and viewer response

Numerous ''Emmerdale'' storylines have been criticised by viewers due to feeling that they are too controversial. In March 2022, ''

Leeds Live Reach plc publishes many newspapers, magazines and news websites. This list of Reach plc titles is a non-exhuastive list of these. Before 2018, Reach plc was known as Trinity Mirror plc. The list includes titles owned by the Mirror Group Newspape ...

'' compiled a list of top storylines that viewers were disgusted by, with the list including: Cain Dingle ( Jeff Hordley) raping an underage

Ollie Reynolds The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'' in 1999, by order of first appearance. Ezra Dingle Ezra Dingle is Zak Dingle's brother. He appeared in 1999. Ezra appears a few times during 19 ...

(

Vicky Binns Victoria Jane Binns (born 27 August 1982) is an English actress, known for her two roles in the two veteran ITV soap operas ''Emmerdale'' and '' Coronation Street'' respectively. She had a lead role in ''Von Trapped'' opposite Caroline Quentin ...

(

) having a baby with her second-cousin Cain, Aaron Livesy ( Danny Miller) assisting a

quadriplegic Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or ...

Jackson Walsh Jackson Walsh is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, ''Emmerdale'', played by Marc Silcock. He made his first on-screen appearance on 22 March 2010. The character was introduced as a love interest for the established Aaron Li ...

(

Marc Silcock Marco "Marc" Silcock (born 4 November 1988) is an English former actor, best known for his portrayal of Jackson Walsh in the British soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Career Silcock studied acting at City College Manchester and has a Diploma in Perfo ...

) to die,

Maya Stepney ''Emmerdale'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 16 October 1972. The following is a list of characters that first appeared during 2018, by order of first appearance. Leanna Cavanagh ( Mimi Slinger) and Maya Stepney (Louisa Clein) were i ...

(

Louisa Clein Louisa Clein (born 6 July 1979) is a British actress, known for portraying the role of Maya Stepney in the ITV soap opera '' Emmerdale''. Life and career Clein was born in Poole, Dorset to Jewish parents, Peter and Channa Clein (née Salomon ...

) grooming step-son

Jacob Gallagher The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'' in 2010, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by the soap's executive producer, Steve Frost. Charlie Haynes Charles "Ch ...

(

Joe-Warren Plant Joseph-Warren Plant (born 12 April 2002) is a British actor, best known for his role of Jacob Gallagher in the British soap opera ''Emmerdale''. He has played the role since 2010 and was nominated for a British Soap Award in 2014 in the Best Youn ...

) and

Pierce Harris ''Emmerdale'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 16 October 1972. The following is a list of characters that appeared in 2016, by order of first appearance. Pierce Harris ( Jonathan Wrather), the husband of established character Tess Har ...

(

Jonathan Wrather Jonathan Wrather (born 16 March 1969) is an English actor. He is known for his soap opera roles in '' Coronation Street'' as Joe Carter from 2002 until 2003, and in ''Emmerdale'' as Pierce Harris from 2016 until 2017, making a guest appearance in ...

) raping Rhona Goskirk (

Zoë Henry Zoë Henry (born 3 September 1973) is an English actress, known for her roles in four soap operas on British television; ''Emmerdale'', '' Doctors'', '' Coronation Street'', and '' EastEnders''. She has also made appearances in various other tel ...

). Another storyline that attracted a strong viewer response is an arc that saw

(

) be revealed as a serial killer, with her confessing to two off-screen murders, as well as murdering regulars

(

) and Ben Tucker (Simon Lennon). Meena immediately caused division in viewers' opinions from her introduction, and after Meena is revealed to be a serial killer, critics and viewers began to praise the character and Sandhu's acting skills, with many believing Meena had become a "top soap serial killer". Duncan Lindsay of the '' Metro'' described Meena as "the most unique and entertaining soap villain ever" and admitted that he wanted her to get away with her crimes due to her strong presence on ''Emmerdale''. Many viewers praised Meena and accredited her with being the most interesting part of ''Emmerdale'', while some complained about the violence shown in her murderous scenes, with

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...

receiving hundreds of complaints about her brutality. Despite criticism, Meena regularly trended on Twitter and garnered an online

fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...

, the 'Meeniacs', who felt that the soap would not be the same following her exit. Her storyline also increased ''Emmerdale''s ratings to the point of becoming the most-watched soap opera in the United Kingdom. In September 2021, it was announced that Sandhu had been nominated for Best Newcomer and Best Villain at the 2021 ''Inside Soap'' Awards. Meena murdering Leanna was also nominated for Best Show-Stopper. Sandhu went on to win the award for Best Villain.

References

External links