''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television
soap opera
A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
that is broadcast on ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the
Yorkshire Dales
The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or Dale (landform), dales, in the Pennines, an Highland, upland range in England. They are mostly located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, but extend into C ...
. 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 1972 ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale Farm'', titled since 1989 ''Emmerdale''.
Raised ...
, ''Emmerdale Farm'' was first broadcast on 16 October 1972. Interior scenes have been filmed at
the Leeds Studios
The Leeds Studios (also known as the ITV Television Centre, Yorkshire Television Studios or YTV Studios) is a television production complex on Kirkstall Road in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. ITV plc had proposed to close the studios in 200 ...
since its inception. Exterior scenes were first filmed in Arncliffe in
Littondale
Littondale is a Dale (landform), dale in the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire, England. It comprises the main settlements of Hawkswick, Arncliffe, North Yorkshire, Arncliffe, Litton, North Yorkshire, Litton, Foxup and Halton Gill, and f ...
, 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 and former civil parish in the metropolitan district of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated east of Shipley town centre, south-west of the A65 in Guiseley, north of Bradford City Centre, and n ...
, but are now shot at a purpose-built set on the Harewood estate.
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 peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. 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, a new production team oversaw the name change and introduced more dramatic storylines, as well as increasing the frequency of episodes. 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
High definition or HD may refer to:
Visual technologies
*Blu-ray Disc, the universal optical High Definition disc format
*HD Photo, former name for the JPEG XR image file format
*HDV, format for recording high-definition video onto magnetic tap ...
on 10 October 2011, and in 2016, ''Emmerdale'' won the award for
Best British Soap
The British Soap Award for Best British Soap is an award presented annually by the British Soap Awards. The award is voted for by the public. ''EastEnders
''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer ...
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 (TV network), ITV. The trophies given to the winners are made from metal a ...
for the first time. Since January 2019, "classic episodes" of ''Emmerdale'' have been broadcast twice daily on
ITV3
ITV3 is a Television in the United Kingdom, 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 9 pm, replacing Plus (British TV channel), Plus ...
.
History
1972–1985: ''Emmerdale Farm''
''Emmerdale Farm'' was created when
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 1972 ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale Farm'', titled since 1989 ''Emmerdale''.
Raised ...
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 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
soap opera ''
The Archers
''The Archers'' is a British radio soap opera currently broadcast on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word Radio broadcasting, channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now pr ...
'', focusing on a family, a farm and characters in a nearby village. The programme's farmyard filming was originally modelled on
RTÉ
(; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
's ''
The Riordans
''The Riordans'' is an Irish television Soap opera broadcast on RTÉ from 1965 to 1979 set in the fictional townland of Leestown in County Kilkenny. Its location filming with outside broadcast units, rather than using only television studios ...
'', 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 ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...
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 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
prime time
Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
evening slot in most ITV regions.
1986–1999: Revamp and becoming a major British soap
In the late 1980s, a new production team headed by executive producer
Keith Richardson Keith Richardson may refer to:
* Keith Richardson (chess grandmaster), British Grandmaster in correspondence chess
*Keith Richardson (fighter) (born 1983), American mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer
*Keith Richardson (television executive ...
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
prime time
Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
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 marking its transformation 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'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
'' 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 or talent contest 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 p ...
, ''
Soapstars
''Soapstars'' is a British reality television show that aired on ITV (TV network), 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 ...
'', 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 British television 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 East End of London, the ...
'' in viewership. In 2007, an hour-long special episode revealing the murderer of Tom King (
Kenneth Farrington
Kenneth William Farrington (born 18 April 1936) is a retired English actor. He first came to fame playing the role of Billy Walker, wayward son of publican Annie, in ITV's longest-running soap opera, ''Coronation Street''. Following a brief per ...
) 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 tel ...
( 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 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 was a farmer who gave an offering of his crops to God. How ...
(
Jeff Hordley
Jeff Hordley (born 7 March 1970) is an English actor, best known for portraying the role of Cain Dingle in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. For his portrayal of Cain, he has been nominated for the British Soap Award for Best Actor at three c ...
) 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 r ...
(
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 Un ...
). This era also saw high-profile castings such as
Patsy Kensit
Patricia Jude Francis Kensit (born 4 March 1968) is an English actress and singer. Beginning her career as a child actor, Kensit gained attention when she acted in a string of commercials for Birds Eye frozen peas. She went on to appear in films ...
Amanda Donohoe
Amanda Donohoe (born 29 June 1962) is an English actress. She first came to public attention at age 16 for her relationship with pop singer Adam Ant, appearing in the music videos for the Adam and the Ants singles " Antmusic" (1980) and " Stan ...
and
Maxwell Caulfield
Maxwell Caulfield (born Maxwell P.J. Newby; 23 November 1959) is a British actor. He has appeared in ''Grease 2'' (1982), ''Electric Dreams (film), Electric Dreams'' (1984), ''The Boys Next Door (1985 film), The Boys Next Door'' (1985), ''The S ...
as
Natasha
Natasha is a name of Russian origin. It is the diminutive form of the Latin name Natalia, which means "born on Christmas Day".
Notable people
* Natasha Aguilar (1970–2016), Costa Rican swimmer
* Natasha Allegri (born 1986), American creator, ...
and Mark Wylde in 2008. Major storylines during this period included a bus crash,
Sarah Sugden
Sarah Connolly (also Sugden) is a fictional character from the British television soap opera ''Emmerdale''. She was first played by Madeleine Howard from 1988 until 1994 then by Alyson Spiro from 1994 until 2000.
Creation and casting
In 198 ...
'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
John Jacob "Jack" Sugden is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. The character was originally played by Andrew Burt from 1972 to 1973 with a brief return in 1976, when the actor left for Italy to write a book. ...
(
Clive Hornby
Clive William Hornby (20 October 1944 – 3 July 2008) was an English actor, best known for his role as Jack Sugden in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. He first appeared in the programme (then named ''Emmerdale Farm'') in 1980, and remained in ...
), was killed off. Jack's funeral featured the first on-screen appearance in 13 years of
Annie Sugden
Annie Sugden (also Pearson, Kempinski and Brearly) is a fictional character from the British television soap opera ''Emmerdale''. She was played by Sheila Mercier as a regular character between 1972 and 1994, with occasional guest appearances in ...
(
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 i ...
). The same year, long-serving 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 unti ...
(later replaced by John Whiston).
Gavin Blyth
Gavin John Blyth (27 October 1969 – 26 November 2010) was a British television producer and journalist. He was well known for being series producer of ''Emmerdale'' from January 2009 until his death. Beginning his career in 2002, he joined ''Em ...
became the series producer, followed by Stuart Blackburn after Blyth's death. In January 2011, two of the soaps longest-serving characters
Viv Hope
Viv Hope (also Dawson and Windsor) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Emmerdale''. Portrayed by Deena Payne, the character first appeared on 10 August 1993, and remained until 13 January 2011, becoming one of the lo ...
portrayed by
Deena Payne
Diane Margaret "Deena" Payne (born 29 August 1954) is an English actress and former singer. She is best known for playing Viv Hope in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''.
Life and career
Payne was born in Orpington, Kent. She used ...
since 1993 and
Terry Woods
Terence Woods (born 4 December 1947) 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 Bucks, Dr. St ...
portrayed by
Billy Hartman
Billy Hartman (born 1957) is a Scottish actor, well known for playing the part of Terry Woods on ITV's ''Emmerdale'' from 1995 until his character was killed off in 2011.
Career
Together with ''Emmerdale'' co-stars Steve Halliwell and Al ...
since 1995 respectively, were both killed off as part of a major fire stroyline.
2012–2021: Anniversary celebrations and events
''Emmerdale'' celebrated its 40th anniversary with its first-ever live episode on 17 October 2012. " Emmerdale Live" featured the death of
Carl King
Carl Thomas King is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Tom Lister. The character and casting were announced in January 2004 when it was announced that producers were bringing "four new single 'hunk ...
( 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 vocals, piano and guitar, ...
and
the Proclaimers
The Proclaimers are a Scottish Rock music, rock duo formed in 1983 by twin brothers Craig and Charlie Reid (born 5 March 1962). They came to attention with their 1987 single "Letter from America (song), Letter from America", which reached No. 3 ...
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 as t ...
(
Charlie Hardwick
Claire Elizabeth Hardwick (born 3 November 1960) ''
Best British Soap
The British Soap Award for Best British Soap is an award presented annually by the British Soap Awards. The award is voted for by the public. ''EastEnders
''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer ...
for the first time 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 (TV network), ITV. The trophies given to the winners are made from metal a ...
. In January 2019,
ITV3
ITV3 is a Television in the United Kingdom, 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 9 pm, replacing Plus (British TV channel), Plus ...
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 celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...
. 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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. 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 Courtney S. Sandhu (born 28 October 1992) is an English actress. She began her career with appearances in ''Doctors (2000 TV series), Doctors'' and ''Endeavour (TV series), Endeavour'', before being cast as Meena Jutla in the ITV (TV chan ...
as Meena Jutla. 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 was introduced as the troublesome daughter of Liam Cavanagh ( Jonny McPherson) when producers made the decision to explore Liam's ...
(
Mimi Slinger
Mimi Slinger (born 6 February 2003) is an English actress and model, known for portraying the role of Leanna Cavanagh on the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. In 2021, she was signed to Storm Management.
Early and personal life
Slinger was born o ...
),
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 ...
Ben Tucker
Benjamin M. Tucker (December 13, 1930 – June 4, 2013) was an American jazz bassist who appeared on hundreds of recordings. Tucker played on albums by Art Pepper, Billy Taylor, Quincy Jones, Grant Green, Dexter Gordon, Hank Crawford, Junior Ma ...
(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
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
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
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, coun ...
. 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 ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
'', while ''Emmerdale'' itself would refer to events in ''
Casualty
Casualty may refer to:
*Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster
**Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare
* The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...
''.
2022–present: Producer and cast changes
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". The anniversary episode received a mixed reaction. ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...
'' appreciated the writing and acting, as well as how the series has "reinvented itself to turn away from the mundanity of the farm, and into a relevant, powerful and completely gripping soap". However, it was noted by newspapers how viewers were unimpressed and had expected more drama. In 2023, Hudson, who had been the executive producer of ''Emmerdale'' since 2018, left her role.
Hudson was replaced internally by Iain Macleod, who was promoted from ''Coronation Street''s executive producer to overseeing both soaps. At the same time, former producer Sophie Roper was reappointed. She confirmed a new era for ''Emmerdale'' from 2024, with various cast changes and "bold and ground-breaking drama". The initial cast changes saw short-term characters including Ethan Anderson (Emile John), Nicky Miligan (Lewis Cope) and Suni Sharma (Brahmdeo Shannon Ramana) written out of the soap. However, they later also removed characters with lengthy tenures, including
Amelia Spencer
The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'' in 2011, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by the soap's executive producer, Steve Frost.
Flynn Buchanan
Flynn Bucha ...
Wendy Posner
''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 ...
(
Susan Cookson
Susan Cookson (born 20 April 1965) is an English actress. She has appeared in various television series, and is known for roles including Tanya in '' Early Doors'', Janice Piper in '' Clocking Off'', Maggie Coldwell in the BBC medical drama '' ...
Dean Andrews
Dean Andrews (born 6 August 1963) is an English actor. He is known for his role as DS Ray Carling in the BBC drama series ''Life on Mars''. He continued the role in the sequel series, '' Ashes to Ashes'', until 2010. As of April 2019, he ap ...
Lesley Dunlop
Lesley Jane Dunlop (born 10 March 1956) is an English actress, known for her role as Brenda Walker in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' (2008-2025). Her other roles include Anna Kirkwall in '' Where the Heart Is'' and Zoë Angell in ''May to D ...
) and
Leyla Harding
Leyla Harding (also Cavanagh) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Roxy Shahidi. She made her first on-screen appearance on 11 August 2008 and was introduced by series producer, Anita Turner. The ...
(
Roxy Shahidi
Rokhsaneh Ghawam-Shahidi (; born 14 March 1983) is an English actress and screenwriter. She is known for portraying from 2008 to 2011 and from 2013 to 2025 the role of Leyla Harding in ITV (TV channel), ITV soap ''Emmerdale''. In 2024, she was a ...
). Uploading episodes early onto
ITVX
ITVX is a British Over-the-top media services, over-the-top and ad-supported Streaming television, streaming service operated by ITV plc. The service offers original content from the broadcaster, livestreams of the ITV television channels, Free ...
was introduced in 2024, to give viewers more flexibility in when they want to watch the series. This was inspired by a 30% rise of viewing figures for ''Emmerdale'' on ITVX.
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
Yorkshire Dales
The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or Dale (landform), dales, in the Pennines, an Highland, upland range in England. They are mostly located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, but extend into C ...
. It has been noted that the fictional village spans 3,217 acres and is located 39 miles from
Bradford
Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
and 52 miles from
Leeds
Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
. A
farmhouse
FarmHouse (FH) is a men's social fraternity founded at the University of Missouri on April 15, 1905. It became a national organization in 1921. Today FarmHouse has 34 active chapters in the United States and Canada.FarmHouse Fraternity New Memb ...
, Emmerdale Farm, was the original focal point of the show when it was 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 in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
The Woolpack is "the heart of the community". Owners of the Woolpack have included
Amos Brearly
Amos Brearly is a fictional character from the British television soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Ronald Magill. He made his first appearance during the serial's debut episode on 16 October 1972. Amos ran The Woolpack pub and was the villag ...
(
Ronald Magill
Ronald Edmund Magill (21 April 1920 – 6 September 2007) was an English actor. He is best remembered for playing Amos Brearly in the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'' from the first episode in 1972 to 1991, and appeared again in this role in 19 ...
),
Henry Wilks
Henry Wilks is a fictional character from the British television soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Arthur Pentelow. He ran the Woolpack public house alongside Amos Brearly ( Ronald Magill) for nearly 20 years.
Creation and casting
Henry i ...
(
Arthur Pentelow
Arthur William Pentelow (14 February 1924 – 6 August 1991) was an English actor who was best known for playing Henry Wilks in ''Emmerdale Farm'', appearing from the first episode in 1972 until 1991.
Early career
Born in Rochdale, Lancashire, ...
Richard Thorp
Richard Stanley Thorp (2 January 1932 – 22 May 2013) was an English actor. He was best known for his 30-year tenure portraying Alan Turner in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' from 1982 to 2013. He also appeared in films such as '' The Dam Bu ...
),
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
Chastity Dingle (also Livesy and Spencer) is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Lucy Pargeter. More commonly known as Chas, she made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 16 October 2002. ...
(
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
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 r ...
(
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 Un ...
). 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 Sugden family (1972–present)
* The Bates family (1984–2001)
* The Whiteley family (1989–1994)
* The Tate family (1989–2005, 2009–present)
* The McAllister family (1993–1995)
* The Windsor/Hope families (1993–present)
* The Dingle family (1994–present)
* The Glover family (1994–2000)
* The Thomas family (1996–present)
* The Cairns family (1997–1999)
* The Blackstock/Lambert family (1998–present)
* The Reynolds family (1999–2007)
* The Daggert family (2001–2007)
* The Calder/Weston family (2001–2002)
* 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/Breckle family (2011–2024)
* The White family (2014–2019)
* The Anderson family (2020–present)
* The Fox/Miligan family (2022–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
Victoria Sugden (also Barton) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played since 12 October 2006 by Isabel Hodgins. As a young child, Victoria was played by Jessica Heywood until 1997, followed by Hannah Midg ...
(
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 he ...
), 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 Ho ...
's (
Kelvin Fletcher
Kelvin Warren Fletcher (born 17 January 1984) is an English actor, model, racing driver, presenter and farmer. He played Andy Sugden in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', a role he played from 1996 until 2016. In 2019, Fletcher won the sevent ...
) daughter
Sarah
Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch, prophet, and 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 pious woma ...
(Katie Hill).
December 1984 saw the arrival of
Caroline Bates
This is a list of former characters from the ITV1 soap opera ''Emmerdale
''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale ( ...
; 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 retired 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, Cl ...
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'' since 1989, and as Karen Betts in '' Bad Girls'' from 2000 until 2004. She has appe ...
) and children
Chris
Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, and Christine. 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), Nigerian autho ...
(
Peter Amory
Peter Amory (born Peter Walton; 2 November 1964) is an English actor best known for playing the role of Chris Tate in ITV's soap opera ''Emmerdale''. He was born in Norwich, Norfolk.
Personal life
He was married to actress Claire King, wh ...
Leah Bracknell
Alison Rosalind Bracknell (12 July 1964 – 15 September 2019), known professionally as Leah Bracknell, was an English actress who played the role of Zoe Tate in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' (1989–2005), for which she was nominated for th ...
).
Other families followed: the middle-class Windsors in 1993, known as the Hope family after Viv's (
Deena Payne
Diane Margaret "Deena" Payne (born 29 August 1954) is an English actress and former singer. She is best known for playing Viv Hope in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''.
Life and career
Payne was born in Orpington, Kent. She used ...
) 2001 marriage to
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...
(
Tony Audenshaw
Antony Audenshaw (born 13 January 1965) is an English actor and singer. Audenshaw appeared in the Channel 4 soap opera '' Brookside'' from 1994 to 1996). Then in 2000, he began portraying the role of Bob Hope on the ITV soap opera '' Emmerdale ...
), 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
* J ...
and nephew
Joseph
Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "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 modern-day Nordic count ...
) 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
James may refer to:
People
* James (given name)
* James (surname)
* James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician
* James, brother of Jesus
* King James (disambiguation), various kings named James
* Prince Ja ...
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 2024, only Donna Windsor's daughter, April, and the Hope branch of the family (Bob and his daughter Cathy) 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 J ...
, his half-sister, Scarlett Nicholls, 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
Chastity Dingle (also Livesy and Spencer) is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Lucy Pargeter. More commonly known as Chas, she made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 16 October 2002. ...
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 initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...
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. In 2022, ''
Leeds Live
Reach plc publishes many newspapers, magazines and news websites. This list of Reach plc titles is a non-exhaustive list of these. Before 2018, Reach plc was known as Trinity Mirror plc. The list includes titles owned by the Mirror Group Newspap ...
'' conducted a poll to ask viewers what, in their opinion, have been the greatest storylines in the soap's history. Meena Jutla's (
Paige Sandhu
Paige Courtney S. Sandhu (born 28 October 1992) is an English actress. She began her career with appearances in ''Doctors (2000 TV series), Doctors'' and ''Endeavour (TV series), Endeavour'', before being cast as Meena Jutla in the ITV (TV chan ...
) killing spree was voted the winner. The other fourteen nominees, in vote order, were:
Ashley Thomas
Ashley Thomas is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by John Middleton. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 5 December 1996. It was announced on 22 October 2015 that Middleto ...
' ( John Middleton) dementia, the Hotten bypass crash, the
plane crash
An aviation accident is an event during aircraft operation that results serious injury, death, or significant destruction. An aviation incident is any operating event that compromises safety but does not escalate into an aviation accident. Pre ...
, the helicopter crash, the storm and
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.
Jed Outhwaite
Jed Outhwaite is the father of Heather Hutchinson (Siobhan Finneran) and the grandfather of ...
's (
Sheree Murphy
Sheree Victoria Murphy (born 22 August 1975) is an English actress and television presenter, best known for her roles as Dawn in ''Only Fools and Horses'', Tricia Dingle in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', Eva Strong in the Channel 4 soap op ...
) death,
Kim Tate
Kim Tate (previously Taylor, Marchant and Foster) is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Claire King. The character debuted on-screen during the episode broadcast on 12 December 1989. Kim is portrayed in th ...
's (
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'' since 1989, and as Karen Betts in '' Bad Girls'' from 2000 until 2004. She has appe ...
) 2018 return, the Woolpack siege,
Carl King
Carl Thomas King is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Tom Lister. The character and casting were announced in January 2004 when it was announced that producers were bringing "four new single 'hunk ...
Norman Bowler
Norman Clifford Bowler (born 1 August 1932) is an English retired 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, Cl ...
),
Chris Tate
Chris Tate is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Peter Amory. The character made his first appearance on 14 November 1989, when he arrived in the village alongside the rest of the Tate family – hi ...
's (
Peter Amory
Peter Amory (born Peter Walton; 2 November 1964) is an English actor best known for playing the role of Chris Tate in ITV's soap opera ''Emmerdale''. He was born in Norwich, Norfolk.
Personal life
He was married to actress Claire King, wh ...
) suicide framing
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 r ...
(
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 Un ...
), "Who killed
Emma Barton
Emma Louise Barton (born 26 July 1977) is an English actress. She is known for her role as Honey Mitchell in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', which she has portrayed since November 2005. Before her role in ''EastEnders'', Barton appeared in ...
?", the Mill cottage explosion, the post office robbery and the Crossgill fire.
Broadcast
United Kingdom
''Emmerdale'' was initially 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 output to three episodes a week, and from October 2000, a further two episodes were added, meaning ''Emmerdale'' was broadcasting every weekday. 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 ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
'', 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." The move meant that the second half of ''Emmerdale''s Tuesday episode would clash with rival
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
soap ''
EastEnders
''EastEnders'' is a British television 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 East End of London, the ...
''.
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
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, 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
The ''ITV Evening News'' is the evening news programme produced by ITN on the British television network ITV. It airs Monday to Friday from 6:30pm usually until 7.30pm (since March 2022) though the finishing time of the bulletin can occasiona ...
'' receiving a longer duration, with Thursday's episodes merged into one hour-long slot. The new scheduling began on Monday 7 March 2022. The change meant that ''Emmerdale'' once again clashed with ''EastEnders'', this time being a daily occurrence.
From 2026 onwards, ''Emmerdale''s scheduling is again set to change. It was confirmed that half an hour of content would be dropped from the schedule. Another change was the timeslot, with the soap set to air every weekday at 8pm for 30 minutes, with ''Coronation Street'' airing afterwards. ITV's Managing Director of Media and Entertainment Kevin Lygo explained: "research insights show us that soap viewers are increasingly looking to the soaps for their pacey storytelling. Streaming-friendly, 30 minute episodes better provide the opportunity to meet viewer expectations for storyline pace, pay-off and resolution."
International broadcast
''Emmerdale'' reaches viewers in the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
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 launched on 20 September 19 ...
, which broadcasts the series simultaneously with ITV in the UK. ''Emmerdale'' was formerly broadcast during the day on
RTÉ One
RTÉ One is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by RTÉ. It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís Éireann'' on 31 December 1961, it was renamed ''R ...
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 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger
* Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala
* Can ...
, 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. the company offers broadband internet, digital television digital (VoIP) telephony and ...
, the owners of the
TV3 Group
Virgin Media Television Ltd. (formerly known as TV3 Television Network Ltd.; previously Trade name, traded as the TV3 Group until August 2018) is a commercial television company in Ireland, based in Dublin. Launched in 1998 as TV3 Television ...
(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, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
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, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
on
MTV3
MTV3 (, ) is a Finnish commercial television channel owned and operated by the media company MTV Oy, originally launched on 13 August 1957 as a programming block, becoming its own channel on 1 January 1993. It had the biggest audience share ...
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 () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
on
TVNZ 1
TVNZ 1 () 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 independent channels in the ...
, 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, trading 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 through a join ...
began airing the series with episode 4288. ''Emmerdale'' has been available to viewers in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
via the
BritBox
BritBox is a British Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Video on demand#Subscription models, video on demand Streaming television, streaming service founded by BBC Studios and ITV plc, ITV which operates in eight countries across Australi ...
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
Leathley is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England, the parish includes the townships of both Castley and Leathley. It is near the border with West Yorkshire and the River Wharfe, 1 mile north-east of Otley. The B6 ...
. 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
Yorkshire Dales
The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or Dale (landform), dales, in the Pennines, an Highland, upland range in England. They are mostly located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, but extend into C ...
. The Falcon, the village hotel, served as the fictional Woolpack Inn. After four years of filming there, it was moved to the village of
Esholt
Esholt is a village and former civil parish in the metropolitan district of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated east of Shipley town centre, south-west of the A65 in Guiseley, north of Bradford City Centre, and n ...
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 village in the City of Leeds, Leeds district, in West Yorkshire, England, west of Leeds city centre and east of Bradford near Pudsey. Before 1974, Farsley was part of the Municipal Borough of Pudsey, Borough of Pudsey. Before 193 ...
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 retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...
. 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
Ashley Thomas is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by John Middleton. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 5 December 1996. It was announced on 22 October 2015 that Middleto ...
' ( 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
Leeds, also known as the City of Leeds, is a metropolitan borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in West Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre of Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Gar ...
and other
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...
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 2011 c ...
, and previously in Farsley.
Benton Park School
Benton Park School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Rawdon, West Yorkshire, England. Formerly a technology college, it has over 1,400 students.
Status and awards
The school achieved Beacon status in 1998. The sc ...
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
The Leeds Studios (also known as the ITV Television Centre, Yorkshire Television Studios or YTV Studios) is a television production complex on Kirkstall Road in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. ITV plc had proposed to close the studios in 200 ...
.
Four farms have been featured on ''Emmerdale'' over the years:
Sponsors
''Emmerdale'' first sponsor (from 14 December 1999 to 20 February 2002) was Daz detergent, followed by
Heinz Tomato Ketchup
Heinz Tomato Ketchup is a brand of ketchup manufactured by the H. J. Heinz Company, a division of the Kraft Heinz Company.
History
It was first marketed as " catsup" in 1876. In 1907, manufacturing reached 12 million bottles and it was exp ...
and Heinz
salad cream
Salad cream is a creamy, pale yellow condiment based on an emulsion of about 25–50 percent oil in water, emulsified by egg yolk and acidulated by spirit vinegar. It is somewhat similar in composition to mayonnaise, but mayonnaise is made with ...
from May 2003 to May 2005, a deal that cost Heinz £10 million.
Reckitt Benckiser
Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC, currently branded as Reckitt, formerly known as Reckitt Benckiser, is a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, United Kingdom. It is a producer of health, hygiene and nutrition prod ...
took over until 2009 in another £10 million deal, advertising
Calgon
Calgon is an American brand of bath and beauty products, owned by PDC Brands.
Early history
The original product consisted of powdered sodium hexametaphosphate (amorphous sodium polyphosphate), which, in water, would complex with ambient cal ...
,
Air Wick
Air Wick is an American brand of air freshener owned by the British multinational company Reckitt. It was launched by creator Guy Paschal in 1943 in the United States, and is now sold worldwide.
History
Air Wick was introduced in 1943 in the Unit ...
,
Veet
Veet, formerly called Neet and Immac, is a Canadian brand of chemical depilatory products manufactured by the British-Dutch company Reckitt Benckiser. Hair removal cream, lotions, gel, mousse, and wax products are produced under this brand, with ...
, and
Lemsip
Lemsip is a British brand of cold and flu remedies for treating people with cold, cough and flu by Reckitt, a UK-based consumer goods company.
History
Originally called LEM-SIP, the product was first introduced in 1969. In the 1970s, Reckit ...
. After reports of
Littlewoods
Littlewoods was a retail and football betting company founded in Liverpool, England, by John Moores in 1923. By the 1980s, it had grown to become the largest private company in Europe but subsequently declined in the face of increased compe ...
pulling out of a two-year deal, Tombola Bingo underwrote the show from November 2009 to March 2012, followed by
Bet365
Bet365 is a British gambling company founded in 2000. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. Business operations are conducted from its headquarters in Stoke-on-Trent, alongside a satellite ...
Bingo until March 2014.
McCain Foods
McCain Foods Limited is a Canadian multinational frozen food company established in 1957 in Florenceville, New Brunswick, Canada.
It is the world's largest manufacturer of frozen potato products, with 1 in 4 french fries in the world being a ...
began a two-year £8 million sponsorship on 7 April 2014. Then on 15 April 2020, the
People's Postcode Lottery
A lottery (or lotto) is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find som ...
took over as sponsor of the programme. Two years later,
Confused.com
Confused.com is a UK based financial services comparison platform launched in 2001 and specialising in comparison of insurance and financial services, including car insurance, home insurance, energy, van insurance and life insurance. Confused.com ...
replaced the People's Postcode Lottery as ''Emmerdale''s sponsor until July 2024. In August,
Specsavers
Specsavers Optical Group Limited is a Guernsey-based multinational optical retail chain, which operates mainly in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the Nordic countries. The chain offers optometry and optician services for ey ...
replaced Confused.com.
Reception
Ratings
As of 2024, ''Emmerdale'' generally attracts an average of 4 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 (
Norman Bowler
Norman Clifford Bowler (born 1 August 1932) is an English retired 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, Cl ...
) die of a heart attack after the return of wife Kim (
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'' since 1989, and as Karen Betts in '' Bad Girls'' from 2000 until 2004. She has appe ...
). 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 Shelley Williams fall from the Isle of Arran ferry.
Zoe Tate
Zoe Tate is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Leah Bracknell. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 12 December 1989. Zoe was involved in many major storylines during her t ...
(
Leah Bracknell
Alison Rosalind Bracknell (12 July 1964 – 15 September 2019), known professionally as Leah Bracknell, was an English actress who played the role of Zoe Tate in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' (1989–2005), for which she was nominated for th ...
) 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. Sadie King (
Patsy Kensit
Patricia Jude Francis Kensit (born 4 March 1968) is an English actress and singer. Beginning her career as a child actor, Kensit gained attention when she acted in a string of commercials for Birds Eye frozen peas. She went on to appear in films ...
) and
Cain Dingle
Cain Dingle is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Jeff Hordley. Cain made his first appearance on 30 March 2000, and in 2006, he was written out of the series when Hordley left the soap; however, the opt ...
(
Jeff Hordley
Jeff Hordley (born 7 March 1970) is an English actor, best known for portraying the role of Cain Dingle in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. For his portrayal of Cain, he has been nominated for the British Soap Award for Best Actor at three c ...
) 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
Kenneth William Farrington (born 18 April 1936) is a retired English actor. He first came to fame playing the role of Billy Walker, wayward son of publican Annie, in ITV's longest-running soap opera, ''Coronation Street''. Following a brief per ...
) murdered on his wedding day.
Billy Hopwood
William "Billy" Hopwood is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by David Crellin. The character made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 3 July 1997. He was introduced as one of several new ch ...
(
David Crellin
David Crellin (born 1961) is an English actor.
Crellin, who was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, is known for roles in ''Emmerdale'' as Billy Hopwood, BBC 2's BAFTA Award-winning series '' The Cops'' as Alan Wakefield, and ''Coronation St ...
) 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 Mark Wylde shot dead by wife
Natasha
Natasha is a name of Russian origin. It is the diminutive form of the Latin name Natalia, which means "born on Christmas Day".
Notable people
* Natasha Aguilar (1970–2016), Costa Rican swimmer
* Natasha Allegri (born 1986), American creator, ...
. 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
Viv Hope (also Dawson and Windsor) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Emmerdale''. Portrayed by Deena Payne, the character first appeared on 10 August 1993, and remained until 13 January 2011, becoming one of the lo ...
and
Terry Woods
Terence Woods (born 4 December 1947) 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 Bucks, Dr. St ...
. 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 ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
'', 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 suggestions 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-exhaustive list of these. Before 2018, Reach plc was known as Trinity Mirror plc. The list includes titles owned by the Mirror Group Newspap ...
'' compiled a list of top storylines that viewers were disgusted by, with the list including
Cain Dingle
Cain Dingle is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Jeff Hordley. Cain made his first appearance on 30 March 2000, and in 2006, he was written out of the series when Hordley left the soap; however, the opt ...
(
Jeff Hordley
Jeff Hordley (born 7 March 1970) is an English actor, best known for portraying the role of Cain Dingle in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. For his portrayal of Cain, he has been nominated for the British Soap Award for Best Actor at three c ...
) having sex with 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.
Pete Collins
Peter "Pete" Collins, played by Kirk Smith, is known in the village as the lorry driver that ...
(
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''. She had a lead role in ''Von Trapped'' opposite Caroline Quentin and also appea ...
),
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 r ...
(
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 Un ...
) having a baby with her second-cousin Cain,
Aaron Livesy
Aaron Dingle (also Livesy) is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Danny Miller. The character was originally played by Danny Webb and appeared in a recurring capacity. Aaron made his first appearance duri ...
quadriplegic
Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of Motor control, motor and/or Sense, sensory function in the Cervical vertebrae, cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weak ...
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 ...
(
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 ...
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 Jacob Gallagher may refer to:
* Jacob Gallagher (Emmerdale)
* Jacob Gallagher (writer)
{{hndis, Gallagher, Jacob ...
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 ...
Zoë Henry
Zoë Henry (born 3 September 1973) is a British 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 televis ...
).
Another storyline that attracted a strong viewer response is an arc that saw Meena Jutla (
Paige Sandhu
Paige Courtney S. Sandhu (born 28 October 1992) is an English actress. She began her career with appearances in ''Doctors (2000 TV series), Doctors'' and ''Endeavour (TV series), Endeavour'', before being cast as Meena Jutla in the ITV (TV chan ...
) be revealed as a serial killer, with her confessing to two off-screen murders, as well as murdering regulars
Leanna Cavanagh
Leanna Cavanagh is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Mimi Slinger. Leanna was introduced as the troublesome daughter of Liam Cavanagh ( Jonny McPherson) when producers made the decision to explore Liam's ...
(
Mimi Slinger
Mimi Slinger (born 6 February 2003) is an English actress and model, known for portraying the role of Leanna Cavanagh on the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. In 2021, she was signed to Storm Management.
Early and personal life
Slinger was born o ...
),
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 ...
Ben Tucker
Benjamin M. Tucker (December 13, 1930 – June 4, 2013) was an American jazz bassist who appeared on hundreds of recordings. Tucker played on albums by Art Pepper, Billy Taylor, Quincy Jones, Grant Green, Dexter Gordon, Hank Crawford, Junior Ma ...
(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
Metro may refer to:
Geography
* Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...
'' 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 credited 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, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom.
Ofcom has wide-rang ...
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 Fan (person), fans characterized by a feeling of 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 significan ...
, 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.