Post by Chloe (admin) on Apr 12, 2022 16:14:28 GMT
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• Emmerdale (known as 'Emmerdale Farm' until November 1989) is the most successful rural drama in British television history. Initially airing twice a week in a humble lunchtime slot, it quickly became a hit and began airing in the evenings after only a short time. Most ITV regions aired it at 19:00 but times varied in some areas, and the show also took a regular summer break. However by the 1980s every region showed the soap at 19:00, and production became year-round. Although Beckindale, as the village was known before 1994, was always an important supporting factor - as were its iconic locations such as the Home Farm estate and The Woolpack inn, Emmerdale Farm itself was the central focus, along with its resident Sugden family, throughout the 1970s and 1980s. But with the advent of satellite television on the horizon and the competition that would bring, ITV became twitchy by the end of the 1980s. Whilst ratings for Emmerdale were well below Coronation Street or EastEnders, they nevertheless held firm and the audience was loyal.
However ITV felt the show needed to be a little more modern, and so producer Stuart Doughty arrived in 1988. Doughty felt the show had naturally balanced itself between the village and the farm, and as such the farm was not the dominating factor in its narrative anymore (though very much still front and centre). Subsequently the word 'Farm' was dropped in 1989, becoming just 'Emmerdale'. Having previously consisted of conventional family set ups, the introduction of the Hughes family - a single mum and two teenage children - in which mother Kate would go on to marry farmer Joe Sugden - created the show's first blended family. And although the Hughes were ultimately quite short-lived, daughter Rachel (Glenda McKay) would become a staple character until Glenda quit, and Rachel was killed off, in May 1999.
In 1989, Doughty oversaw the introduction of one of Emmerdale's most successful families, the wealthy Tates, who took over Home Farm. Kim was the first to be seen on screen, and became the most popular Tate of all. After a lengthy hiatus lasting from 1999-2018, actress Claire King finally returned both to Emmerdale and to Home Farm, complete with son Jamie, who had appeared as a toddler in the 1990s. All of these changes were successful, though the Tates were quite tame in Doughty's era and the Sugdens and the farm remained the show's primary focus. Doughty stepped down as producer at the end of 1991 - and with his exit came Emmerdale's most troubled period to date.
Morag Bain succeeded him as producer, but her stint was unsuccessful. Major changes were happening at ITV; four companies had lost their license to broadcast in the infamous franchise auction of October 1991, including network stalwart Thames Television (1968-1992). Thames was replaced by Carlton on 1st January 1993. Audience research had revealed that Emmerdale was unpopular in their region, Greater London, and there were rumours they were threatening to drop the show from its schedules. This came during a perfect storm era when ITV Network Centre was conducting a review of the performance of all of its long-running dramas, as well as the abject failure of another soap, Eldorado (1992-3), which was only halfway through its ill-fated one-year run at this point. And despite the introduction of the show's first South Asian characters, the burgeoning affair between Kim Tate and Neil Kincaid, and a rather tacky advertising campaign in popular British magazines, ratings had begun to fall in 1992 and the show looked to be in genuine trouble. Be under no illusuion: Carlton dropping Emmerdale would have meant the show's demise.
But Yorkshire Television believed strongly in Emmerdale and argued for it to be saved. A respected member of the so-called 'Big Five' ITV companies (the others being Carlton, Central, Granada and LWT), YTV were taken seriously and ITV took drastic measures. Phil Redmond - a hugely successful producer of shows like Grange Hill (1978-2008) and Brookside (1982-2003), was brought on board to oversee a plane crash storyline - the biggest in soap history - in May 1993. Said storyline went ahead that December, but ruffled a few feathers - most notably of actress Madeleine Howard (the first Sarah Sugden Sr.), who felt the plot was in poor taste. Howard did not renew her contract and quit the role in the summer of 1994, with the character recast to former Brookside actress Alyson Spiro. Bain was replaced as producer by Nicholas Prosser, a controversial figure who may have played a part in Howard's decision to leave.
Nevertheless, the plane crash storyline was a huge success, and still arguably remains the biggest soap storyline of all time. However the Sugdens were badly affected by it: Mark Hughes was killed off, and only eight months later Prosser killed off original character Joe, an unpopular decision which may have led to Prosser's own exit after barely two years in the producer's chair. And with original original character Annie Sugden actress Sheila Mercier having decided to retire that summer - complete with a recast Sarah Sugden - the Sugdens faded into the background in the mid-90s. The ramshackle Dingle family arrived in September 1994 to facilitate a storyline in which Luke McAllister killed one of their sons, Ben, in what is probably soap's first suckerpunch storyline. Once the story was over, no more was to be heard of the Dingles.
However ITV felt the show needed to be a little more modern, and so producer Stuart Doughty arrived in 1988. Doughty felt the show had naturally balanced itself between the village and the farm, and as such the farm was not the dominating factor in its narrative anymore (though very much still front and centre). Subsequently the word 'Farm' was dropped in 1989, becoming just 'Emmerdale'. Having previously consisted of conventional family set ups, the introduction of the Hughes family - a single mum and two teenage children - in which mother Kate would go on to marry farmer Joe Sugden - created the show's first blended family. And although the Hughes were ultimately quite short-lived, daughter Rachel (Glenda McKay) would become a staple character until Glenda quit, and Rachel was killed off, in May 1999.
In 1989, Doughty oversaw the introduction of one of Emmerdale's most successful families, the wealthy Tates, who took over Home Farm. Kim was the first to be seen on screen, and became the most popular Tate of all. After a lengthy hiatus lasting from 1999-2018, actress Claire King finally returned both to Emmerdale and to Home Farm, complete with son Jamie, who had appeared as a toddler in the 1990s. All of these changes were successful, though the Tates were quite tame in Doughty's era and the Sugdens and the farm remained the show's primary focus. Doughty stepped down as producer at the end of 1991 - and with his exit came Emmerdale's most troubled period to date.
Morag Bain succeeded him as producer, but her stint was unsuccessful. Major changes were happening at ITV; four companies had lost their license to broadcast in the infamous franchise auction of October 1991, including network stalwart Thames Television (1968-1992). Thames was replaced by Carlton on 1st January 1993. Audience research had revealed that Emmerdale was unpopular in their region, Greater London, and there were rumours they were threatening to drop the show from its schedules. This came during a perfect storm era when ITV Network Centre was conducting a review of the performance of all of its long-running dramas, as well as the abject failure of another soap, Eldorado (1992-3), which was only halfway through its ill-fated one-year run at this point. And despite the introduction of the show's first South Asian characters, the burgeoning affair between Kim Tate and Neil Kincaid, and a rather tacky advertising campaign in popular British magazines, ratings had begun to fall in 1992 and the show looked to be in genuine trouble. Be under no illusuion: Carlton dropping Emmerdale would have meant the show's demise.
But Yorkshire Television believed strongly in Emmerdale and argued for it to be saved. A respected member of the so-called 'Big Five' ITV companies (the others being Carlton, Central, Granada and LWT), YTV were taken seriously and ITV took drastic measures. Phil Redmond - a hugely successful producer of shows like Grange Hill (1978-2008) and Brookside (1982-2003), was brought on board to oversee a plane crash storyline - the biggest in soap history - in May 1993. Said storyline went ahead that December, but ruffled a few feathers - most notably of actress Madeleine Howard (the first Sarah Sugden Sr.), who felt the plot was in poor taste. Howard did not renew her contract and quit the role in the summer of 1994, with the character recast to former Brookside actress Alyson Spiro. Bain was replaced as producer by Nicholas Prosser, a controversial figure who may have played a part in Howard's decision to leave.
Nevertheless, the plane crash storyline was a huge success, and still arguably remains the biggest soap storyline of all time. However the Sugdens were badly affected by it: Mark Hughes was killed off, and only eight months later Prosser killed off original character Joe, an unpopular decision which may have led to Prosser's own exit after barely two years in the producer's chair. And with original original character Annie Sugden actress Sheila Mercier having decided to retire that summer - complete with a recast Sarah Sugden - the Sugdens faded into the background in the mid-90s. The ramshackle Dingle family arrived in September 1994 to facilitate a storyline in which Luke McAllister killed one of their sons, Ben, in what is probably soap's first suckerpunch storyline. Once the story was over, no more was to be heard of the Dingles.
However, when Mervyn Watson (already highly experienced at Coronation Street in the 1980s) took over in December 1994, he very quickly put his stamp on things. The show became noticably pacier and embraced new characters, and he felt the Dingles had potential as a long-term family, so they were made permanent. The end result of that is that the Dingles are now the most volumous family in Emmerdale, to this day. Though never dull, Watson's era was patchy. Ultimately the McCallisters, Glovers and Cairns families were unsuccessful, though notably Emmerdale was the first soap to have an underage pregnancy with 13yo Emma Cairns in 1997, albeit with a tawdry backstory which ultimately was not enough to save the family, who lasted just one year. Coronation Street would go on to have far greater success with such a story in 1999.
However other families were a hit: the Windsors and Dingles grew in stature, the Tates became ever-more larger-than-life, and the steamy love triangle between Kathy Tate, Kim Tate and David Glover proved a hit with viewers, and earned Emmerdale acres of TV and soap magazine coverage. The introduction of talented child actor Kelvin Fletcher as Andy Hopwood in 1996 - an unloved and troubled young boy from a broken family who took a shine to the Sugdens - helped revitalise the Sugden family in the late 1990s. The increasing audiences and popularity of the show finally saw it add a third episode in 1997. As the success continued, ITV made the decision to add not one but two additional episodes in 2000, making Emmerdale the first prime-time soap opera to go five nights in Britain.
However other families were a hit: the Windsors and Dingles grew in stature, the Tates became ever-more larger-than-life, and the steamy love triangle between Kathy Tate, Kim Tate and David Glover proved a hit with viewers, and earned Emmerdale acres of TV and soap magazine coverage. The introduction of talented child actor Kelvin Fletcher as Andy Hopwood in 1996 - an unloved and troubled young boy from a broken family who took a shine to the Sugdens - helped revitalise the Sugden family in the late 1990s. The increasing audiences and popularity of the show finally saw it add a third episode in 1997. As the success continued, ITV made the decision to add not one but two additional episodes in 2000, making Emmerdale the first prime-time soap opera to go five nights in Britain.
However, Alyson Spiro did not feel she could cope with the workload, and quit the role. With no desire to recast Sarah again, then producer Kieran Roberts took the decision to kill Sarah off in a barn fire storyline, becoming one of the show's best-remembered plots. With both Claire King and Glenda McKay exiting the previous year, this meant Sarah became the third major female character to leave within the space of two years. And a fourth was to follow in 2001, as actress Malandra Burrows (Kathy Glover) was sensationally axed, though the character had a happy ending and moved to Australia in December 2001. Also that year a sixth weekly episode was added, another soap first.
During the 2000s, the Dingles became ever-more prominent as the Tates conversely dwindled, and actor Peter Amory (Chris Tate) quit the role, with his character killed off in 2003, and Zoe Tate (the late Leah Bracknell) now the only remaining major Tate left. Leah decided to quit in 2005; this was intended to be maternity leave but the actress never returned. She did however have a quite literally explosive exit, when Zoe blew up Home Farm before moving to New Zealand with her daughter Jean (as you do). Once Home Farm was up and running again, it became occupied by the popular and testosterone-fulled King family; eldest son Jimmy remains in the show to this day with his own King family. New producer Gavin Blyth introduced two very popular new families in 2009: the Wyldes at Home Farm and the farming Barton family, who had taken over from the Sugdens by this point as the main farming family. These new characters helped reverse a decline in Emmerdale's ratings in that period. However, tragedy struck in 2010 when Blyth suddenly passed away.
The immediate period afterwards in 2011 was tumultuous, with a large number of Blyth's characters all leaving in quick succession, as well as the grim and unpopular Jackson assisted suicide storyline, involving one of Blyth's most popular characters - the recast Aaron Livesy - taking centre stage. Stuart Blackburn was now in charge, having been at Emmerdale in various roles for many years already, and oversaw Emmerdale's successful 40th anniversary live episode in October 2012, in which long-running character Carl King was killed off. Generally though, Blackburn's era is not fondly remembered, and in 2013 he left to take over Coronation Street (and a similarly unpopular stint followed there).
During the 2000s, the Dingles became ever-more prominent as the Tates conversely dwindled, and actor Peter Amory (Chris Tate) quit the role, with his character killed off in 2003, and Zoe Tate (the late Leah Bracknell) now the only remaining major Tate left. Leah decided to quit in 2005; this was intended to be maternity leave but the actress never returned. She did however have a quite literally explosive exit, when Zoe blew up Home Farm before moving to New Zealand with her daughter Jean (as you do). Once Home Farm was up and running again, it became occupied by the popular and testosterone-fulled King family; eldest son Jimmy remains in the show to this day with his own King family. New producer Gavin Blyth introduced two very popular new families in 2009: the Wyldes at Home Farm and the farming Barton family, who had taken over from the Sugdens by this point as the main farming family. These new characters helped reverse a decline in Emmerdale's ratings in that period. However, tragedy struck in 2010 when Blyth suddenly passed away.
The immediate period afterwards in 2011 was tumultuous, with a large number of Blyth's characters all leaving in quick succession, as well as the grim and unpopular Jackson assisted suicide storyline, involving one of Blyth's most popular characters - the recast Aaron Livesy - taking centre stage. Stuart Blackburn was now in charge, having been at Emmerdale in various roles for many years already, and oversaw Emmerdale's successful 40th anniversary live episode in October 2012, in which long-running character Carl King was killed off. Generally though, Blackburn's era is not fondly remembered, and in 2013 he left to take over Coronation Street (and a similarly unpopular stint followed there).
So in came new producer Kate Oates, who decided to expand the dwindling Barton family with a new family of extended members, and to bring some much-needed male characters to the show. However the Bartons have ultimately not been a success, most of them killed off having lasted only a few years. By far the most popular of them is matriarch Moira, now married to Cain Dingle, and her transgender son Matty (previously Hannah). The White family came in to take over Home Farm, but once again were relatively short-lived despite generating much drama in their stint.
Probably the most popular storyline of the 2010s was the early-onset Alzheimer's plot of beloved vicar Ashley Thomas. The emotional, sensitive and long-running nature of the story was so successful that it was extended when producers changed hands during it. Late 2018 saw the previously mentioned shock comeback of Kim Tate. March 2022 saw Emmerdale leave its famous 19:00 timeslot and move forward to 19:30, permanently clashing with another soap (EastEnders) for the first time as a result - though early indications are that this has not adversely affected the ratings. The biggest story of the 2020s to date is that of serial killer Meena Jutla, also making her the first non-Caucasian serial killer in soap history. Although something of a marmite villain for viewers, she certainly put Emmerdale back on the radar after a somewhat lacklustre period.
And with the show now in its 50th year (with no doubt huge storylines to come), the rural potboiler shows no signs of slowing down any time soon!
Probably the most popular storyline of the 2010s was the early-onset Alzheimer's plot of beloved vicar Ashley Thomas. The emotional, sensitive and long-running nature of the story was so successful that it was extended when producers changed hands during it. Late 2018 saw the previously mentioned shock comeback of Kim Tate. March 2022 saw Emmerdale leave its famous 19:00 timeslot and move forward to 19:30, permanently clashing with another soap (EastEnders) for the first time as a result - though early indications are that this has not adversely affected the ratings. The biggest story of the 2020s to date is that of serial killer Meena Jutla, also making her the first non-Caucasian serial killer in soap history. Although something of a marmite villain for viewers, she certainly put Emmerdale back on the radar after a somewhat lacklustre period.
And with the show now in its 50th year (with no doubt huge storylines to come), the rural potboiler shows no signs of slowing down any time soon!