Emmerdale
192572
226135295
2008-07-16T23:47:18Z
86.144.175.121
/* Origins */
{{copyedit|date=July 2008}}
{{for|the 1994 debut album by [[The Cardigans]]|Emmerdale (album)}}
{{Infobox Television|
| show_name = Emmerdale
| image =
| caption = Emmerdale title screen
| format = [[Soap opera]]
| picture_format = [[576i]]</br>[[4:3]] (1972-2001)</br>[[16:9]] (2002-Present)
| runtime = 22 mins<br><small>(excluding advertisements)</small>;<br>'''Tuesdays or Thursdays:'''</br>44 mins<br><small>(excluding advertisements)</small>
| creator = [[Kevin Laffan]]
| country = [[United Kingdom]]
| starring = See [[List of Emmerdale characters|present cast]]
| channel = [[ITV]]
| first_aired = [[16 October]] [[1972]]
| last_aired = present
| num_series =
| num_episodes = <!-- Please don't update this number directly, instead do so via [[Template:Emmerdale episodes]]. -->{{Emmerdale episodes}}
| producer = [[Yorkshire Television]]<br><small>(now branded [[Granada Productions|ITV Productions]])</small>
| website = http://www.itv.com/emmerdale
| production_website = http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/emmerdale/
| imdb_id = 0068069
| tv_com_id = 6781
}}
'''''Emmerdale''''' (known as '''''Emmerdale Farm''''' until November 1989) is an award winning and critically acclaimed [[United Kingdom|British]] [[soap opera]], set in the fictional village of the same name (known as Beckindale until 1994) in [[Yorkshire Dales|West Yorkshire]], [[England]]. Much of the action takes place within the fictional village [[public house|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.<ref name=ITV>"[http://www.itv.com/Soaps/emmerdale/newsandgossip/Emmerdale%2DsnewProducer/ Emmerdale's new Producer]", ''ITV.com''. URL last accessed [[2007-11-15]]</ref><ref name=DS>"[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a79913/new-corrie-emmerdale-producers-named.html New Corrie, 'Emmerdale' producers named]"stunt 101, ''Digital Spy''. URL last accessed [[2007-11-15]]</ref> Her first produced episode aired on Monday [[March 3]], [[2008]].
''Emmerdale'' is the third most popular soap opera on [[United Kingdom|British]] [[television]], behind ''[[EastEnders]]'' and ''[[Coronation Street]]''.
The series is produced by [[Yorkshire Television]] and broadcast on the [[ITV]] network, and was first aired on [[October 16]], [[1972]]. It was originally conceived and broadcast as a daytime programme in an afternoon slot, moving to its current position as an early evening programme in 1978 in most ITV regions. Anglia and Thames followed suit in the 1980s.
''Emmerdale'' is shown from Monday to Friday at 19:00 on [[ITV]]. Every episode lasts 30 minutes, except the Tuesday edition (or Thursdays if [[ITV]] screen [[UEFA Champions League]] football on the Tuesday and if all ITV regions have no live football commitments on the Thursday), which lasts one hour. Repeat episodes and the [[Omnibus (broadcast)|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]], seven years previously.
In June 2008, ''Emmerdale'' celebrated its 5000th episode with the marraige of [[Eric Pollard]] and [[Val Lambert]].
==Origins==
The basic premise of "Emmerdale Farm was very similar to the BBC radio soap opera "The Archers" - focusing on a family, a farm, and characters in a nearby village.
The farmyard filming techniques of ''Emmerdale Farm'' were 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 sometimes filmed indoors). ''The Riordans'' pioneered farmyard location shooting, with real farm animals, and actors driving [[tractor]]s. 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 largely 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.
==Series background==
The Miffield estate was the biggest employer in the village of Beckindale - situated {{convert|39|mi|km}} from [[Bradford]] and {{convert|52|mi|km}} 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 Sugden|Jacob]]. In the 1930s, Jacob Sugden supposedly purchased Emmerdale Farm for his family. In 1945 he married [[Annie Sugden|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 October 10]] [[1972]].
Jacob left a wife Annie and three grown children, two sons, [[Jack Sugden|Jack]] (the eldest) and [[Joe Sugden|Joe]] (the youngest of the three), and daughter [[Peggy Skilbeck|Peggy]]. These characters would form the basis of the series ''Emmerdale Farm''.
==The first episode==
[[Image:Jacob's Funeral.png|thumb|The Sugden family in the first episode]]
The first episode of ''Emmerdale Farm'' opened with the funeral of [[Jacob Sugden]] on the [[October 16]] [[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 Wilks' 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 was repeated on [[Granada Plus]] on [[January 1]] [[2000]].<ref>[http://www.itv.com/Soaps/emmerdale/bestofemmerdale/default.html First episode] at ITV.com website.</ref>
==Characters==
[[List of Emmerdale characters]]
==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 family|Dingle]] and [[King family|King]] families taking centre stage in the early to mid 2000s.
==Emmerdale Online Channel==
On [[May 21]] [[2007]] the ''Emmerdale'' online channel announced it would be continuing past the [[Who Killed Tom King?]] storyline.<ref>[http://www.itv.com/emmerdalemurder Who killed Tom King?]: ITV.com website.</ref>
==Village businesses==
Despite being a small village, ''Emmerdale'' is a bustling place for business. The current businesses are:
*''[[Home Farm Estates]]'' (owned by [[Matthew King|Matthew]], [[Jimmy King (Emmerdale)|Jimmy]] and [[Carl King]] and run by [[Rodney Blackstock]])
*''[[Butler's Farm]]'' (owned by ''Home Farm Estates'', [[leased]] by [[Diane Sugden]] and run by [[Andy Sugden]])
*''[[Interior decoration|Val's Interiors]]'' (owned and run by [[Eric Pollard]])
*''[[Veterinary|The Veterinary]]'' (owned by [[Paddy Kirk]] and [[Grayson Sinclair]] and run by Paddy)
*''[[List of residences in Emmerdale#The Grange B .26 B|The Grange B&B]]'' (owned and run by [[Louise Appleton]] and [[Terry Woods (Emmerdale)|Terry Woods]])
*''[[Café Hope]]'' (owned and run by [[Viv Hope|Viv]] and [[Bob Hope (Emmerdale)|Bob Hope]])
*''[[List of residences in Emmerdale#Post Office / Café Hope|The Post Office]]'' (owned and run by Viv Hope)
*''[[List of residences in Emmerdale#Pear Tree Cottage|King & Sons]]'' - who run haulage and bin collection services (owned by Matthew King (35%), Jimmy King (30%), Carl King (25%) and [[Scarlett Nicholls]] (10%) and run by Matthew and Jimmy King)
*''[[Cleaner|Emmerdale Exclusive Cleaning Services]]'' (owned and run by [[David Metcalfe]])
*''[[Automobile repair shop|Windsor and Dingle Garage]]'' (owned by [[Scott Windsor]] and [[Debbie Dingle]] and run by Debbie). Recently Scott sold his share to Debbie who now has complete ownership.
*''[[Taxicab|Debbie's Cars]]'' (owned by [[Chas Dingle|Chas]] and Debbie Dingle, run by Debbie)
*''[[The Woolpack]]'' (owned and run by [[Diane Sugden]] and [[Val Pollard]])
*''[[DeSouza Enterprises]]'' (owned by [[Donald De Souza]] and [[Carl King]])
*''[[The Malt (Shovel)]]'' (rival pub to [[The Woolpack]], has not appeared on screen since 1980s, now undergoing refurbishment).
==Major storylines==
{{main|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, giving Emmerdale it's highest ever viewing figures of 18.6 million, and consequently keeping the show as one of the most watched soap operas on [[United Kingdom|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, the [[Tom King]] kidnapping of 2006, and the murder of [[Tom King (Emmerdale)|Tom King]] on [[Christmas]] Day, 2006. [[Image:Frank Tate looks on at the first fireball to hit the village.png|thumb|left|150px|The famous Emmerdale Plane crash was watched by 18.6 million viewers]] [[Image:Emmerdale Strom 2.jpg|220px|right|thumb|The famous Emmerdale storm of 2003 caused the Woolpack roof to collapse, killing Tricia Dingle]]
==Disasters==
Emmerdale is extremely well known for the amount of disasters and dramatic stunts it has featured over the years. The most notable disasters are listed below.
* 1993 - Plane crash in Emmerdale
* 1994 - [[Shirley Turner (Emmerdale)|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 (Emmerdale)|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 - 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.
* 2006 - [[Tom King (Emmerdale)|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.
* 2008- Val's Interiors, owned and run by [[Eric Pollard]], is burnt down by [[Sam Dingle]] and [[Eli Dingle]], after Sam mistakes Eric for wanting the factory to be burnt down for the insurance money, as Eric had previously confided in Sam that he was in serious debt.
==Memorable Exits==
Emmerdale is famous for its hugely dramatic exit storylines. These characters have made some of the most memorable exits from Emmerdale while still breathing. (For characters who left through death, see [[List of births, marriages and deaths in Emmerdale]]).
* '''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, had an emotinal goodbye with her daughter Debbie Dingle, 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, North Yorkshire|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|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 [[February 17]] [[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, West Yorkshire|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).<ref>[http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showthreaded.php?Cat=0&Board=EarthTourism&Number=233786&Searchpage=1&Main=233786&Words=+pennine&topic=&Search=true#Post233786 See on Google Earth here].</ref>
Filming in Belfast has been scheduled for early 2009, it remains to be seen if this has any links to new Northern Irish Barmaid 'Betsy' played by cult actress Katrina Rafferty
==Scheduling==
{{main|Scheduling of Emmerdale}}
When ''Emmerdale'' was first broadcast in 1972, it was twice a week in an afternoon slot. It later moved to a 19:00 slot and the number of episodes has steadily increased, with there now being four half-hour episodes and one hour long episode each week.
Emmerdale is filmed roughly 6 weeks in advance and all snow scenes are filmed using fake snow.
==Popularity==
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''.
*On [[30 December]] [[1993]] ''Emmerdale'' attracted 18.6 million viewers (it's highest ever) when [[Major Storylines of Emmerdale#Plane crash storyline 1993|a plane crashed into the village]] killing four villagers.
*On [[4 October]] [[2001]] ''Emmerdale'' attracted 11.37 million viewers when [[Nicola Blackstock]] found out that her fiance [[Carlos Diaz]] had been having an affair with her half sister Bernice for the past year, and then famously jilted him at the alter.
*On [[Christmas Day]] [[2002]] ''Emmerdale'' attracted 6.8 million viewers when [[Louise Appleton]] killed her fiance [[Ray Mullen]] after discovering he was the one who had been stalking her for months.
*On [[1 January]] [[2004]] ''Emmerdale'' attracted 14.3 million viewers when the village was hit by a freak storm, which lead to the collapse of the [[Woolpack]] roof after it was struck by lightning, which then colapsed onto [[Tricia Dingle]], who died from her injuries in hospital. One of the soap's most famous storylines, it gave the show a huge rastings boost and the storyline went down in Emmerdale history. The year to come would see the show gain an even higher profile.
*On [[22 October]] [[2005]] ''Emmerdale'' attracted 8.3 million viewers in an episode which saw the departure of long standing, popular character [[Zoe Tate]], who make a dramatic exit which saw her blow up her former home Home Farm, which she been conned into selling to the King family.
*On Christmas Day 2005 ''Emmerdale'' attracted 7.9 million viewers, when the villagers searched for [[Daz Eden]] and [[Belle Dingle]] who fell down a mine shaft.
*On Monday [[April 24]] [[2006]], 8.2 million viewers watched as [[Sam Dingle]] and [[Alice Dingle|Alice Wilson]] got married.
*One of Emmerdale's most famous storylines which occurred in September 2006, and which ran for a week worth of episodes, was watched by around 6 million viewers for the first three days, bun then increased to over 8 million in the final episodes. The storyline saw millionaire [[Tom King]] and his daughter in law [[Sadie King]], get kidnapped and held hostage by popular badboy character [[Cain Dingle]], who demanded a ransom to the King family for £2 million in return for their safety. The storyline resulted in popular character Cain Dingle exiting from the soap, in the final episode which was watched by around 8.7 million viewers. The storyline also saw the exit of soap bitch [[Sadie King]]. The storyline gave Emmerdale an even more of a ratings boost, and it also went down in Emmerdale history.
*On [[Christmas Day]] [[2006]], over 9 million viewers watched as Tom King got pushed out of a window and fell to his death on his wedding day to [[Rosemary Sinclair]].
*On Thursday [[September 13]] [[2007]], ''Emmerdale'' attracted 7.2 million viewers when [[Perdita Hyde-Sinclair]] found out that her mother in law [[Rosemary King]] had been tricking her and [[poisoning]] her for months, to try and convince her she was going [[insane]] so as to make her split up from her husband [[Grayson Sinclair]], Rosemary's son. ''Emmerdale'' gained twice as many viewers than EastEnders in an hour long episode.
Many other hour long episodes that have clashed with Eastenders have won in the battle for viewing figures. Over the past couple of years the Yorkshire soap has gone head to head with the London soap on many occasions and emerged on top.
*[[April 6]] [[2004]], when long running character [[Jack Sugden]] was shot by his adopted son [[Andy Sugden]] who mistaked him for being his arch enemy, and adopted brother, [[Robert Sugden]]. ''Emmerdale'' attracted over 10 million viewers, whilst ''Eastenders'' could only manage 6 million.
*[[June 6]] [[2005]], when 15 year old [[Debbie Dingle]] went into [[labour]] after having a secret affair with local farmer [[Andy Sugden]]. ''Emmerdale'' won in the ratings battle here, attracting 7.9 million viewers, with Eastenders gaining 6.7 million viewers.
*[[Major Storylines of Emmerdale#Kings River Explosion 2006|The Kings River house collapse]] (13 July, 2006): ''Emmerdale'' won in the ratings battle here. ''Eastenders could only manage 3.9 million, it's lowest ever.
*[[Billy Hopwood]], with [[Victoria Sugden]], crashed his truck into a lake (1 February 2007): ''Emmerdale'' won here too, surprisingly since the ''EastEnders'' episode involved an important storyline involving two of its most high profile characters, [[Martin Fowler (EastEnders)|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 [[May 17]], [[2007]], when the murderer was revealed. ''Emmerdale'' gained an average 10.6 million viewers, which peaked to 11.1 million viewers when Tom's son Carl confessed to the murder, between 19:00 and 20:00. ''EastEnders'' could manage only 4 million between 19.30 and 20:00.
*The Sugdens house fire on 16th October 2007, which saw a massive explosion ripping through Annie's Cottage caused by [[Victoria Sugden]], attracted 8.4 million viewers, with ''Eastenders'' gaining 7 million viewers.
==Overseas==
===Ireland===
''Emmerdale'' reaches viewers in the [[Republic of Ireland]] via both the widely available [[Ulster Television|UTV]] from [[Northern Ireland]] and the [[TV3 Ireland|TV3]] Television Network in the Republic of Ireland. 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 [[SVT2|TV2]] and since 1994 on commercial channel [[TV4 AB|TV4]]. Under the title ''Hem till gården'' ("Home to the Farm"), the programme is broadcast twice a day (as of may 2008, previously only once a day) on Monday to Friday. The episodes currently being screened (may 2008) date from march 2005.
===Finland===
The programme is shown in [[Finland]] on commercial channel [[MTV3]], where it goes out at 18.00 Mondays to Fridays with a repeat of each episode at 10.40 on the following weekday.
===New Zealand===
[[TV ONE|TV One]] and [[TV2 (New Zealand)|TV 2]] in [[New Zealand]] shows the programme each weekday at 16.00 and early morning 05.05 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 [[February 2]] [[2007]] it was announced that ''Emmerdale'' would be broadcast on the [[Romania]]n free-to-air channel [[Pro TV]]. The station has bought 50 episodes of the soap dating back to 2000.
===Elsewhere===
*[[Satellite television|Satellite]] channel [[Granada UKTV]] is currently showing the programme in the [[Middle East]], [[Cyprus]], and [[Malta]].
*Members of the [[Military of the United Kingdom|British Forces]] and their families can watch ''Emmerdale'' on [[British Forces Broadcasting Service|BFBS TV1]], which is also available free-to-air in the [[Falkland Islands]].
* It also currently airs on [[CBC Television|CBC]], mainly channel 6 or 12 across Canada. Canadian episodes are about 6 years behind the UK story
==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 [[String instrument|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 November 1994 when some of the scenes were changed and swapped about. From January 1994 until December 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 December 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 September 2004, a different version of the theme, played mainly on the piano, was used for the break bumpers only.
In September 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.
==Trivia==
{{trivia|date=March 2008}}
*All of the main characters in ''[[Bottom (TV series)|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 [[July 24]] [[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.
*One of the characters was referred to in a skit on the comedy show [[The Catherine Tate Show]]. The skit involved the character Joannie Nan Taylor, talking to her grandson Jamie about one of her favourite shows on television.
==DVD Releases==
[[Image:Emmerdale Farm Vol 1.jpg|left|thumb|Emmerdale Farm Vol 1]][[Image:Emmerdale The Best Of.jpg|left|thumb|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[[Image:Emmerdale 35th Anniversary Edition.jpg|right|thumb|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
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*"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.
Four more volumes of Emmerdale Farm will be released throughout 2008{{Fact|date=January 2008}}.
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==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 - December 2004)
*[[Kathleen Beedles]] (January 2005 - December 2007)<ref>"[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a79813/frost-beedles-quit-soap-production-roles.html Frost, Beedles quit soap production roles]", ''Digital Spy''. URL last accessed [[2007-11-14]]</ref>
*[[Anita Turner]] (January 2008 - )<ref name="ITV"/><ref name="DS"/>
==Lists...==
*[[List of Emmerdale characters]]
*[[List of recurring and minor Emmerdale characters]]
*[[List of past Emmerdale characters]]
*[[List of births, birthdays, marriages and deaths in Emmerdale]]
*[[List of residences in Emmerdale]]
*[[List of Emmerdale spin-offs]]
*[[List of major storylines in Emmerdale]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*{{itv.com|id=emmerdale|title=''Emmerdale''}}
*{{imdb title|id=0068069|title=Emmerdale}}
*[http://www.classictelly.com/programme.php?Programme=Emmerdale ''Emmerdale''] at ClassicTelly.com
*[http://www.emmerdale.me.uk ''Emmerdale'' behind the scenes - filming locations revealed]
*[http://www.whatsontv.co.uk/soaps/emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' at What's on TV]
*[http://www.emmerdale.net ''Emmerdale'' Resource & Fan Club News]
*[http://emmerdalerecaps.blogspot.com ''Emmerdale'' Recaps]
*[http://www.theemmerdaleforum.co.uk''Emmerdale'' Chat Forum]
{{Emmerdale}}
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