Emmerdale

Emmerdale Farm was created when Kevin Laffan 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. 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."[5]

The premise of Emmerdale Farm was similar to the BBC radio soap opera The Archers, focusing on a family, a farm and characters in a nearby village. The programme's farmyard filming was originally modelled on RTÉ's The Riordans, 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 programme pioneered farmyard location shooting, with farm animals and equipment. During the 1960s and 1970s, outdoor filming of television programmes with outdoor broadcast units (OBUs) was in its infancy due to higher costs and reliance on the weather. The Riordans' success demonstrated that a soap opera could be filmed largely outdoors, and Yorkshire Television sent people to its set in County Meath to see the programme's production firsthand.[6][7]

The Sugden family in the first episode

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,[7] and was regarded by critics as a "sleepy soap" where not much happened.[8] The first episode aired on 16 October 1972 at 1.30pm, and began with the serial's characters convening in the fictional village of Beckindale for Jacob Sugden's funeral.[5] Jacob upset the family when he left Emmerdale Farm to his eldest son, Jack, who left home at 18. Jack returned in the opening episode, avoiding the funeral and waiting for the Sugdens at the farm. The first episode, along with the others, has been repeated and released on a variety of media.[9]

Characters introduced in the first episode were:

• Annie Sugden (Sheila Mercier)
• Jack Sugden (Andrew Burt)
• Peggy Skilbeck (Jo Kendall)
• Matt Skilbeck (Frederick Pyne)
• Joe Sugden (Frazer Hines)
• Sam Pearson (Toke Townley)
• Amos Brearly (Ronald Magill)
• Henry Wilks (Arthur Pentelow)
• Marian Wilks (Gail Harrison)
• Alec Saunders (Alan Tucker)

Originally meant to be a three-month serial, Emmerdale Farm was given an extended run, later moving to a late afternoon time slot.[5] By 1977, it was moved to a prime time evening slot in most ITV regions.[7]

In the late 1980s, a new production team headed by executive producer Keith Richardson was brought in, and the show's focus moved to the nearby village of Beckindale, with more dramatic storylines such as Pat Sugden's 1986 car crash and the 1988 Crossgill fire. By 1988, the show had been moved to an evening time slot in all ITV regions.[5] Emmerdale Farm also began broadcasting episodes year-round that year.[10]

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.[7][11] 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 UK soap opera.[12]

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,[10][7] giving Emmerdale its highest-ever audience of 18 million[10] and marked its "graduation" into a major prime time soap opera.[7] The plane crash "allowed the writers to get rid of much dead wood, and reinvent the soap virtually from scratch,"[13] which included survivors changing the village name from "Beckindale" to "Emmerdale".[10] Since the plane crash, Emmerdale has had increasingly dramatic storylines and glamorous characters.[10]

In 1994, former Coronation Street producer Mervyn Watson was hired to inject more humour into the show.[14] 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.[5]

By 2000, Emmerdale episodes were regularly getting 12 million viewers, and the number of episodes per week was increased from three to five.[14] An ITV talent show, Soapstars, 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.[15][16] In 2004, Emmerdale became the first British soap opera to broadcast six episodes a week.[7] By 2006, Emmerdale was contending with, and at times beating, EastEnders in viewership.[7]

The early and mid-2000s saw the introduction of major long-term characters, including the King family and Cain (Jeff Hordley) and Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins).[17] This era also saw high-profile castings such as Patsy Kensit as Sadie King in 2004,[18] and Amanda Donohoe and Maxwell Caulfield as Natasha and Mark Wylde in 2008.[19] Major storylines during this period included a bus crash, Sarah Sugden's death in a barn fire, a New Year's Eve storm, the Kings River explosion, and the Sugden house fire. In 2009, the longest-tenured character, Jack Sugden (Clive Hornby), was killed off. Jack's funeral featured the first on-screen appearance in 13 years of Annie Sugden (Sheila Mercier). Also in 2009, executive producer Keith Richardson was replaced by former series producer Steve November (later replaced by John Whiston). Gavin Blyth became the series producer, followed by Stuart Blackburn after his death.

Emmerdale celebrated its 40th anniversary with its first-ever live episode on 17 October 2012.[20] "Emmerdale Live" featured the death of Carl King (Tom Lister), and a live music festival with performances by Scouting for Girls and The Proclaimers as part of the anniversary celebrations.[21] The story of Carl's death took the show into 2013, when Kate Oates 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".[22]

Major storylines during this period included a helicopter crash that killed Ruby Haswell (Alicya Eyo) and Val Pollard (Charlie Hardwick), and a multi-car pile-up.[23] In 2016, Emmerdale was named Best British Soap for the first time at The British Soap Awards.[24] In March 2019, an episode featuring an exclusively female cast and crew was aired, in support of International Women's Day.[25] Executive producer Jane Hudson commented that the episode was: "a great opportunity for Emmerdale to show the female talent we have both in front and behind the camera."[26]

In 2020, the production and filming of Emmerdale was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[27] In order to prevent the programme from coming off air, the episodes shown per week were halved from six to three.[27]

Emmerdale has featured a number of families, some defining an era of the show:

• The Sugden family (1972–present)
• The Bates family (1984–2001)
• The Tate family (1989–2005, 2009–present)
• The Windsor/Hope families (1993–present)
• The Dingle family (1994–present)
• The Glover family (1994–2000)
• The Thomas family (1996–present)
• The Blackstock/Lambert family (1998–present)
• The Reynolds family (1999–2007)
• The King family (2004–present)
• The Sinclair family (2006–2008)
• The Wylde/Lamb family (2009–2011)
• The Barton family (2009–present)
• The Sharma family (2009–present)
• The Macey family (2010–2019)
• The Spencer family (2011–present)
• The White family (2014–2019)

The 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 include Jack's widow, Diane Sugden (Elizabeth Estensen); his daughter, Victoria Barton (Isabel Hodgins), and Andy's (Kelvin Fletcher) children Sarah and Jack (the latter born on the show's 40th anniversary).

December 1984 saw the arrival of Caroline Bates; her teenage children, Kathy and Nick, followed in late 1985. Caroline left the show in 1989, returning for guest appearances in 1991, 1993-1994 and 1996. Nick was written out of the show when he was sentenced to ten years in prison in 1997. Kathy and her niece, Alice, remained in the village until late 2001; by then, Kathy had outlived two husbands. The wealthy Tates were introduced as the new owners of Home Farm in 1989, with the family consisting of Frank Tate (Norman Bowler), wife Kim (Claire King) and children Chris (Peter Amory) and Zoe (Leah Bracknell).[31]

Other families followed: the middle-class Windsors in 1993, known as the Hope family after Viv's (Deena Payne) 2001 remarriage to Bob Hope (Tony Audenshaw), and the ne'er-do-well Dingle family in 1994.[32] 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 and nephew Joseph) had emigrated to New Zealand. In 2009, Chris Tate's ex-wife Charity and their son Noah returned to the village. In 2017, Joe Tate returned to the village. In 2018 Kim Tate returned to the village after nearly 20-year absence, and in the following year her son James returned as well. Members of the Windsor-Hope family left the village in early 2006, and Viv Hope was killed off in a village fire in February 2011 after nearly 18 years on the show. As of 2017, only Donna Windsor's daughter, April, and the Hope branch of the family (Bob and his children, twins Cathy and Heathcliff) remain.

The King family arrived in 2004 (as the Tates departed), but, apart from Jimmy King and his three children, Elliott, Angelica and Carl, its members have been killed off. By 2018, most of the Dingles still remained, having actually increased their numbers in Emmerdale over the years. Their circumstances had changed in their two decades in the village; Chas Dingle owned half of The Woolpack, with Charity Dingle owning the other half, and Marlon was a chef there. In 2014, the Dingles, Bartons and Whites are the central families; the Bartons are a farming family, and the Whites currently own Home Farm. In 2018, the Barton and White families had slowly been diminished, while the Sugden, and later the Tate, family had been brought back into front-burner storylines.

• 1973 – Sharon Crossthwaite was raped and strangled by Jim Latimer. Jack Sugden discovered the truth after arriving home to find Jim trying to strangle Penny Golightly, after which Jim confessed his murder of Sharon.
• 1973 – Jack Sugden's lodger, Ian ("Trash") McIntyre, died trying to escape from a first-floor window at The Old Mill, where Jack had locked him in for his own safety; he fell, breaking his neck.
• 1976 – Matt Skilbeck's twin children (Sam and Sally) and his aunt, Beattie Dowton, were killed at a level crossing when their car was struck by a train.
• 1976 – Heather Bannerman crashed into the front gate at Emmerdale Farm after borrowing her husband's car.
• 1977 – A storm broke over Beckindale, and Ray and Sarah Oswell sought refuge at Emmerdale Farm after their cottage was destroyed by a falling tree.
• 1977 – A fire broke out at Emmerdale Farm, and the Beckindale Volunteer Fire Service arrived to fight the blaze; a firefighter was severely burned.
• 1977 – A fire broke out in the village, attributed to tourists staying in a barn.
• 1978 – An explosion at a mine trapped the vicar's son, Clive Hinton, and his friends Ian and Rod. Clive and Rod were found unconscious, and Ian escaped with cuts and bruises.
• 1978 – Steve Hawker and Pip Coulter robbed The Woolpack and left Amos Brearly and Henry Wilks locked in the cellar. The teenagers went to Emmerdale Farm, where they held Sam Pearson at gunpoint. To save her father, Annie Sugden gave them a getaway car.

• 1981 – Farmer Enoch Tolly was killed in a tractor accident.
• 1982 – Enraged when he was sacked from NY Estates by Alan Turner, Jackie Merrick set fire to one of NY's caravans.
• 1985 – Jackie Merrick was knocked off his motorbike by Alan Turner's Land Rover, and spent five months in hospital with multiple fractures.
• 1986 – Pat Sugden died when she crashed her car down a hillside after she swerved to avoid a flock of sheep.
• 1987 – Jackie Merrick fell down a disused mineshaft whilst trying to rescue a stray sheep.
• 1988 – Phil Pearce left old rags at Crossgill Farm; they caught fire, trapping Annie Sugden inside.
• 1989 – Quarryman Dennis Rigg was crushed to death by Joe Sugden's bull when he threatened to evict the Sugdens.
• 1989 – Jackie Merrick accidentally shot himself whilst hunting a fox for a £10 bet.

• 1990 – Frank and Kim Tate arrived home to find the Home Farm barn conversion had been set afire. Although Michael Feldmann was suspected, the culprit was farm labourer Jock McDonald.
• 1990 – Kate Sugden struck and killed Pete Whiteley when she drove home from Hotten.
• 1990 – A chemical tanker crashed into the village, trapping Amos Brearly in the Woolpack cellar.
• 1993–1994 – A plane crashed in Beckindale, leaving most of the village in ruins and killing Archie Brooks, Elizabeth Pollard, Mark Hughes and Leonard Kempinski.
• 1994 – Shirley Turner was shot dead during the Home Farm raid by Reg Dawson, ex-husband of Viv Windsor.
• 1995 – Luke McAllister died when his van crashed into a wall and exploded in flames.
• 1996 – Dave Glover died in a fire at Home Farm after he attended the wedding of Biff Fowler and Dave's sister, Linda.
• 1997 – At the engagement party for Steve Marchant and Kim Tate, after Lord Alex Oakwell snorted cocaine and took Linda Fowler for a late-night drive. As Linda fought off his advances, he crashed through a fence and struck a tree. Alex moved the semi-conscious, bleeding Linda to the driver's seat, wiped his fingerprints off the steering wheel and left her to die.
• 1998 – Vic Windsor died on Christmas Day when he struck his head on an ice-cream chest freezer in an attempt to prevent an armed Billy Hopwood from robbing the post office.
• 1999 – Graham Clark killed Rachel Hughes, pushing her off a cliff.

• 2000 – A van and minibus collided in the village. Van driver Pete Collins died at the scene, and minibus passenger Butch Dingle died in hospital the next day.
• 2000 – Longtime character Sarah Sugden died in a barn fire set by her adopted son, Andy. Sarah's lover, Richie Carter, was trapped in the barn but was rescued by Sarah's husband Jack.
• 2001 – School headmistress Jean Strickland was struck and killed by a stolen car driven by Marc Reynolds, a student returning home from a night out with friends.
• 2003–2004 – A storm pounded Emmerdale 10 years after the plane crash, leaving part of the village in ruins with downed power lines and trees. Lightning struck The Woolpack's chimney, sending it through the roof into the bar and fatally injuring Tricia Dingle. Ashley Thomas and Louise Appleton were stranded on the road.
• 2005 – Max King died when the Land Rover in which he was a passenger crashed into a brick wall and exploded. Driver Andy Sugden escaped unharmed, giving the police a false account of the accident to avoid prosecution.
• 2006 – The Kings River show home was destroyed by explosions from a gas leak. Three people died; Noreen Bell and estate agent David Brown were killed in the explosion, and Dawn Woods died in hospital from internal injuries.
• 2006 – Tom King was murdered on Christmas Day by his son, Carl, who struck him on the head with a statue and pushed him out a window.
• 2007 – DCI Grace Barraclough was killed when she was hit by a lorry on her way to the police station to report Carl's murder of his father.
• 2007 – Victoria Sugden threatened to burn down the family home if her father (Jack) and adoptive brother (Andy) did not tell her who killed her mother. Andy admitted he was responsible, but the fuel she had spread ignited when the boiler fired up; the house was gutted, but the family survived.
• 2008 – Matthew King was killed when his van crashed into a wall while he tried to run over his brother, Carl. The brothers were fighting after Carl ruined Matthew's wedding to Anna De Souza earlier that day.

• 2010 – Aaron Livesy and Jackson Walsh went out with Paddy Kirk and Marlon Dingle. After an argument with Aaron, Jackson's van stalled on railway tracks and was struck by a freight train; he was paralysed from the neck down.
• 2011 – A fire set by corrupt policeman Nick Henshall spread through the village, killing Terry Woods and Viv Hope.
• 2012 – On their way to a hotel (booked by their son after their reconciliation), John and Moira Barton's Land Rover hit a patch of black ice and stopped at the edge of a ravine. Although Moira (the passenger) was rescued by Declan Macey and Katie Sugden, the car fell into the ravine with John trapped inside; he died in hospital.
• 2012 – On Emmerdale's 40th anniversary, Carl King was killed with a brick by romantic rival Cameron Murray after he tried to rape former lover Chas Dingle.
• 2013 – Genesis Walker's car ran off a country road and into a ravine during a high-speed chase by Cameron Murray and Debbie Dingle after Genesis overheard Cameron admit that he murdered Carl King. Cameron pulled the semi-conscious Gennie out of the car and suffocated her.
• 2013 – On Emmerdale's 41st anniversary, Cameron Murray escaped from prison and held villagers hostage in The Woolpack. Alicia Harding was shot, and in a showdown in the flooded Woolpack cellar with Debbie, Chas and Marlon Dingle (who were rescued) Cameron was electrocuted.
• 2014 – During an argument Belle Dingle pushed Gemma Andrews, who fell and hit her head on a stone. They walked away, but on her way home Gemma fell and was rushed to hospital where she died.
• 2014 – Donna Windsor threw herself and Gary North from a multi-storey car park to their deaths.
• 2014 – Declan Macey shot Robbie Lawson dead in an attempt to kill Charity Macey.
• 2015 – During an argument, Chrissie Sugden set her husband Robert's car on fire. The fire caused gas canisters to explode, sending a helicopter crashing into the village hall during Debbie Dingle and Pete Barton's wedding reception. Ruby Haswell, Val Pollard and the helicopter pilot were killed.
• 2015 – Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) is shot outside The Woolpack by an unknown assailant in front of Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter); four weeks later, a flashback episode revealed the events of that night. Ross Barton (Michael Parr) shot him after Ross agreed with Andy Sugden (Kelvin Fletcher) to kill the other's brother.
• 2016 – In one of the biggest disasters in Emmerdale, a multi-car pile-up on the Hotten bypass causes Aaron Dingle, Robert Sugden, Paddy Kirk, Rhona Goskirk, Pierce Harris, James Barton and Ashley Thomas to be involved in a horrible accident and leaving the lives of Aaron, Rhona and James hanging in the balance, with James succumbing to his injuries. The accident was caused by Emma Barton pushing James over a road bridge, hitting Ashley Thomas' car.
• 2018 – In a bid to get revenge on his family, Lachlan White took control of the wheel while his mother Chrissie was driving. This led to the car colliding head on with a lorry, sending the family spinning into a field. Lawrence White was killed instantly, while Lachlan had to watch Chrissie die. Rebecca survived the crash, but was left with severe memory loss. She eventually managed to bring Lachlan down and he was charged with the murders of Lawrence, Chrissie, Gerry Roberts and Gerry's uncle.

Emmerdale reaches viewers in the Republic of Ireland via Virgin Media One, which broadcasts the series simultaneously with ITV in the UK. Emmerdale was formerly broadcast during the day on RTÉ One from 1972 to 2001, before it moved to TV3, 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.[38] 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) in 2015 and 2016, it was then moved back to TV3 (now known as Virgin Media one) when Virgin Media Ireland, the owners of the TV3 Group (now known as Virgin Media Television Ireland) bought UTV Ireland from ITV, following the sale of UTV to ITV a few months previously.[39][40] Night repeats air on Virgin Media Two, with a weekend omnibus edition on Virgin Media Three.

The series has appeared in Sweden as Hem till gården ("Home to the Farm") since the 1970s – originally on TV2, and since 1994, on TV4. Two episodes are broadcast every weekday at 12:00. Emmerdale is the most-watched daytime non-news programme in Sweden, attracting from 150,000 to 200,000 viewers daily.[41] Episodes are repeated overnight on TV4 and in prime time on digital channel TV4 Guld. Episodes originally aired in the UK in January 2019 were broadcast on TV4 in May 2019, making broadcast four months behind the original airing.

The programme appears in Finland on MTV3 on primetime, every weekday at 18:25 – 18:55, with repeats the following weekday morning at 10:00. Episodes originally aired in the UK in June 2018 were broadcast in Finland in May 2019, making broadcast eleven months behind the original airing. Emmerdale attracts an average of 300,000 to 400,000 viewers per episode, being the most watched non-Finnish every-weekday program in Finnish television.[42]

Emmerdale is broadcast in New Zealand weekdays on ONE, with an hour-long episode Monday to Thursday and a half-hour episode on Friday from 12:30 to 13:00. It is the second-most-watched daytime programme, after the news.[43] Episodes are broadcast a month behind ITV.

Emmerdale was broadcast in Australia for the first time in July 2006, when UKTV began airing the series with episode 4288.[44][45] As of April 2016, episodes are broadcast 21 months behind the UK airings.

Emmerdale has been available to viewers in the United States of America via the BritBox streaming service since March 2017. New episodes typically appear on the service within five hours of their original broadcast in the UK.[46]

• Peter Holmans (1972–1973)
• David Cunliffe (1975–1979)
• Michael Glynn (1980–1986)
• Keith Richardson (1986–2009)
• Steve Frost (2009–2012)
• Jane Hudson (2018–present)

• David Goddard (16 October 1972 – 16 January 1973)
• Peter Holmans (22 January 1973 – 17 July 1973)
• Robert D. Cardona (23 July 1973 – 18 May 1976)
• Michael Glynn (3 January 1977 – 5 July 1979)
• Anne W Gibbons (8 January 1980 – 29 September 1983)
• Richard Handford (4 October 1983 – 28 August 1986)
• Michael Russell (2 September 1986 – 24 March 1988)
• Stuart Doughty (30 March 1988 – 31 December 1991)
• Morag Bain (2 January 1992 – 14 December 1993)
• Nicholas Prosser (16 December 1993 – 29 November 1994)
• Mervyn Watson (1 December 1994 – 6 August 1998)
• Kieran Roberts (11 August 1998 – 13 April 2001)
• Steve Frost (16 April 2001 – 25 February 2005)
• Kathleen Beedles (28 February 2005 – 29 February 2008)[47]
• Anita Turner (3 March 2008[48][49] – 13 March 2009)[50]
• Gavin Blyth (16 March 2009 – 8 April 2011)[51][52]
• Stuart Blackburn (11 April 2011 – 4 April 2013)[53]
• Kate Oates (4 April 2013 – 16 May 2016)[54]
• Iain MacLeod (17 May 2016 − 13 August 2018)[55]
• Kate Brooks (14 August 2018 – 24 December 2018)

• Kate Brooks (25 December 2018–present)
• Laura Shaw (25 December 2018–present)

Esholt, West Yorkshire, used for exterior scenes from 1976 to 1997

Village set, built by Yorkshire Television in 1997 on the Harewood estate near Eccup, Leeds, West Yorkshire

Location shooting was originally filmed in the village of Arncliffe in Littondale, a quiet valley in the Yorkshire Dales. The Falcon, the village hotel, served as the fictional Woolpack Inn. When the filming location became public it was moved to the village of Esholt in 1976, where it remained for 22 years.

Filming returned to Esholt for a one off episode in 2016 for the Ashley Thomas dementia special which aired in December 2016. The location was used to represent Ashley's onset of dementia to the viewer.

The original Emmerdale Farm buildings are near the village of Leathley. Creskeld Hall, in Arthington, (Home Farm). The buildings are one of the few original filming locations used for the entire series, and have been involved in many storylines.

Construction of a purpose-built set began on the Harewood estate in 1996, and it has been used since 1997. The first scenes filmed on the set (the front of The Woolpack) were broadcast on 17 February 1998. The Harewood set is a replica of Esholt, with minor alterations.

The Harewood houses are timber-framed and stone-faced. The village is built on green-belt land, with its buildings classified as "temporary structures" which must be demolished within ten years unless new planning permission is received. There is no plan to demolish the set, and a new planning application has been drawn up. The set includes a church and churchyard, where the characters who have died on the series are buried.

Butlers Farm is Brookland Farm, a working farm in the nearby village of Eccup. Farmyard and building exteriors are filmed at Brookland, with interior house shots filmed in the studio.

Location filming is also done in the City of Leeds and other West Yorkshire locations; scenes set in the fictional market town of Hotten are currently filmed in Otley, and previously in Farsley. Benton Park School in Rawdon and the primary school in Farnley were also used for filming. Interiors are primarily filmed at Yorkshire Television's Emmerdale Production Centre in Leeds, next to Yorkshire's Leeds Studios.[56] As of 28 March 2011, HD-capable studios in the ITV Studios building were used for most of the interior scenes.

Four farms have been featured on Emmerdale over the years:

Emmerdale's first sponsor (from 14 December 1999 to 20 February 2002) was Daz detergent,[57] followed by Heinz Tomato Ketchup and Heinz salad cream from May 2003 to May 2005, a deal that cost Heinz £10 million.[58] Reckitt Benckiser took over until 2009 in another £10 million deal, advertising Calgon, Air Wick, Veet, and Lemsip.[59] After reports of Littlewoods pulling out of a two-year deal, Tombola Bingo underwrote the show from November 2009 to March 2012,[60] followed by Bet365 Bingo until March 2014.[61] McCain Foods began a two-year £8 million sponsorship on 7 April 2014.[62] Then on 15 April 2020, the People's Postcode Lottery took over as sponsor of the programme.[63]

As of 2020, an average Emmerdale episode generally attracts 6–7 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.[10] On 27 May 1997, 13 million viewers saw Frank Tate die of a heart attack after the return of wife Kim. 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.[64]

The village storm on 1 January 2004 attracted 11.19 million viewers. 18 May 2004 episode in which Jack Sugden was shot by his adopted son, Andy, attracted 8.27 million viewers. On 17 March 2005, 9.39 million watched Shelly Williams fall from the Isle of Arran ferry. Zoe Tate 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 and Cain Dingle left on 21 September 2006, before an audience of 8.57 million viewers. On Christmas Day 2006, 7.69 million saw Tom King murdered on his wedding day. Billy Hopwood 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.[64]

On 14 January 2010, 9.96 million saw Mark Wylde shot dead by wife Natasha. Natasha's 27 October confession to daughter Maisie attracted an audience of nearly 8 million. On 13 January 2011, 9.15 million saw a fire kill Viv Hope and Terry Woods. 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.[64]