Saturday 7 June 2008

Was Emmerdale Farm Really Modelled On The Riordans?

An interesting e-mail from Stu:

I've just read on Wikipedia that "Emmerdale Farm" was modelled on the Irish soap "The Riordans". This is not evident from any Emmerdale material I have from the 1970s or 1980s. Although the production team may have visited "The Riordans" set and location to gain insight into filming in a farming location, isn't "modelled on" a bit strong? After all, "The Archers", the BBC radio soap based on a farming family and a village, has been running since 1951. So the basic idea can hardly be said to have come about via "The Riordans".

I really don't know, Stu. I hadn't read that information until recent years on Wikipedia. If anybody has any further insights, please drop me a line and I'll pass it on to Stu.

Incidentally, I recall The Riordans being shown briefly in my ITV area years ago. I thoroughly enjoyed what I saw of it.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would say Emmerdale has always had more in common with The Archers.

Anonymous said...

I've been reading elsewhere online that The Riordans was a "template" for Emmerdale Farm. Rubbish. If Emmerdale drew knowledge from the technical aspects of filming on a farm, all well and good and it's good that fact is recorded - but it's obvious that The Archers served as a template for both The Riordans and Emmerdale - if anything did!

Anonymous said...

Stu: Don't read Wikipedia. It's RUBBISH. ANYBODY can write ANYTHING. The site also states that Emmerdale wasn't "in the public eye" or popular until the bloody daft plane crash story. That's trash. It briefly bumped up the ratings, then they fell again to less than the 80's peaks!