Hold onto your hats – and everything else for that matter – as Emmerdale celebrates its 50th birthday in style this week, when a killer storm ravages the village. The rural soap has seen all manner of high drama since it broadcast its first episode in 1972. Back then the show was a cosy lunchtime drama, centred on lives of the Sugden family on the Emmerdale Farm of the show’s original title. But as the eighties gave way to the nineties, the show was given a big makeover, moving to a teatime slot and famously dropping an entire jet plane on the village in its first big stunt episode. Since then, those villagers have seen it all. From floods to fires, car crashes to literal cliff-hangers, the drama just keeps on coming. And this week promises to top all of that with their most drama-packed week ever.
“We will be having some huge stunts, big emotional heartache, secrets, lies, comedy and sadly, some of the soap’s much-loved characters will sadly lose their lives,” promises producer Jane Hudson. “There will be funerals, a wedding and a birth. It’s going to change everyone’s lives forever.”
BRIDE AND DOOM!
Kim Tate ( Claire King ) is not a woman you want to make an enemy of. So, Harriet had better watch out after Kim spots her declaring her love for Will – the man Kim is due to marry the very next day. “There’s quite a few confrontational scenes – Harriet has Kim by the throat at one point,” teases Claire King (Kim). “You’ll have to wait and see which way that one goes. Kim arrives at the wedding on horseback, so her outfit had to be practical for that and the stunts, so it’s not a meringue! We’ve picked up on Kim’s equestrian streak for the outfit.”
BIRTH DRAMA!
Teen mum-to-be Amelia sets off for a romantic picnic with boyfriend Noah. But as the storm takes hold, she finds herself lost and alone and terrified to realise she’s going into labour. “She ends up in a barn in the middle of nowhere,” says Daisy Campbell (Amelia). “She’s only 16 and is stuck in a raging storm with no one to help her and no phone signal. By this stage her anxiety is through the roof!”
AFFAIR EXPOSED!
Chas and Al have been risking everything since they began their affair earlier this year. As the wind whips up, will the lid be blown off their secret after Al has to choose whether to rescue Chas or Kerry from the storm? Meanwhile, how will Chas’ brother Cain react if he discovers she’s been sleeping with his nemesis? “The rivalry between Cain and Al is really going to step up,” says producer Laura Shaw.
HOLY COW!
Only in Emmerdale could the big drama come from a herd of stampeding cattle. “We used a thing which we called ‘cow cam’ and we created a cow’s head that could be puppeteered,” says series designer Duncan Howell of the thrilling stunt sequence. “This will enable the audience to see a cow’s point of view as they are running towards the Emmerdale characters!”
MISSING IN ACTION!
Enemies Charles and Nicola are forced to stick together for survival in the storm while there are worries back at Marlon’s when Rhona fails to come home.
50 and fabulous!
• The show was only commissioned for 26 episodes – and will soon screen its 9500th instalment.
• The original episodes featured just eight main characters – including Annie Sugden (Sheila Mercier) and Joe Sugden (Frazer Hines) – now the show has over 60 regulars.
• Screened twice a week at first, the show now broadcasts six drama-packed episodes a week.
• Famous faces to have appeared include Ross Kemp, Anna Friel, Lesley Manville and Patsy Kensit.
• In 1998, the show built its own village for filming – replicating aspects of the real West Yorkshire village of Elshot, where they previously shot the show.
Emmerdale's 50th anniversary episode will air on Sunday 16 October.
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