1983-1984 - The Fall And Rise Of Alan Turner

Trouble brewing - Alan (Richard Thorp) and secretary Sue Lockwood (Debbie Bowers).

Alan Turner had breezed into Beckindale in March 1982 and had not made himself popular. The first thing he did was cancel the NY cattle hormone injection programme, the beloved brainchild of Joe Sugden (Frazer Hines).

Alan was a snob, who upset Amos Brearly (Ronald Magill) by taking him to play golf and not defending him when he was criticised by his Hotten Golf Club crony, The Major (Michael Sheard).

Joe found himself in various difficulties, some of them down to his own lack of experience, but Alan was unsupportive, silver tongued and basically lazy.

1983 saw Mr Turner coming badly unstuck. NY Estates imposed swinging cutbacks - up to 50% of the workforce may go, he was told, and the office would be computerised. A network of computers would be installed at the NY holdings, linked to Head Office, the secretary's post would be cut to three days a week, and the farm manager's post would be cut out completely. Alan would have to do the work previously undertaken by Joe, and Joe left to work for NY in France.

Alan blackmailed union shop steward John Tuplin (Malcolm Raeburn) into helping smooth the way with the redundancies. Alan had ensured that John was on the list of those who were to join the dole queue. If John made no waves with the union and the redundancies went through without any disruption to the running of the NY Beckindale holding, John would keep his job, Alan promised.

John hated the proposition. But jobs were hard to come by and he was a family man.

Alan managed to get the secretary's post reinstated to full-time, and a suitable applicant, fully trained in computers (not a widespread commodity in those days) reported for interview. She was middle aged and frumpy. Alan didn't want her. He didn't particularly want somebody who could do the work - that was not his priority. He wanted an attractive young woman.

Sue Lockwood was ideal. She was young, naive and lived at home with her parents. She was not trained in computing, had never used one before, but who cared?

Alan made her faintly uneasy. He smiled at her... He stared at her. But surely he was just being friendly?

Alan made his move after buying Sue a drink at The Woolpack. In his Land Rover outside, he tried to kiss her, and asked her to go back to Home Farm with him.

Sue fled into the pub, Alan pursued her, and there was a terrible scene. An hysterical Sue insisted on calling a taxi home, and the regulars looked on, bemused, as Alan tried to excuse himself to them. Sue was obviously confused... she obviously had problems...

Nobody was convinced.

Alan was now alone at the Home Farm office. He had undertaken a two day course at NY in computing, but it was still all alien to him.

"OPERATOR ERROR - PLEASE REPEAT LAST INSTRUCTION" was the oft-repeated text flashed up on the screen whenever Alan attempted to use the computer.

Seth Armstrong (Stan Richards) thought the computer looked like a telly, and asked if there was anything good on? Alan was not amused.

Alan hit rock bottom. The work was piling up. The computer printer was spewing out loads of printed paper - all gobbledygook to Alan. He sought solace in betting on the gee-gees and was so lonely that he even spent a boozy afternoon at Home Farm with Seth and Walter (Al Dixon).

Alan bought an answer phone for the office and hid behind it, not taking calls from his wife, NY head office, or his bookie with whom he was running up a considerable debt.

Falling into despair, Alan hit the bottle big time. One night, in early 1984, he got so drunk he fell from his bar stool in The Woolpack. Despite his protestations that the bar stools were "precarious", it was obvious that he had had far too much drink, and he was escorted from the premises by Jack Sugden (Clive Hornby) and Jackie Merrick (Ian Sharrock). Jack drove Alan back to Home Farm.

Jill Turner (Patricia Maynard).

Alan made himself unpopular with Matt Skilbeck (Frederick Pyne) and, once again, the workforce at NY Estates. Since late 1983, Matt had been taking care of NY's sheep on a part-time basis. This saved Alan from employing a full-time shepherd and looked good with Head Office. But John Tuplin felt a full-time shepherd was needed and Jock MacDonald (Drew Dawson), one of the men recently made redundant, was the ideal man for the post.

Matt was fed up with Alan, having discovered that he was a far from ideal boss, and after Jock and John spoke with him, decided to resign from his part-time post. Alan was furious, but was forced to employ Jock as shepherd.

Christopher Meadows (Conrad Phillips).

The new answer phone in the office was relaying increasingly clipped messages from Alan's NY boss, Christopher Meadows, who was wondering what on earth was going on as various reports due from the Beckindale holding failed to arrive at head office. Finally, he announced that he would be visiting Home Farm.

Alan could not hide the state of chaos at the office, although he bluffed that everything would be all right - this was just a glitch. Christopher gave him three months to sort things out.

Alan's estranged wife, Jill, herself a businesswoman, turned up, asking why Alan was not meeting his share of the bills? She had an itemised list - beginning with school fees. Alan paid no interest in the education of their children, Terence and Mary, she said, so the least he could do was pay for it!

Alan was initially defensive, self pitying and lying. When Jock MacDonald fell from some stacked hay and broke his wrist, and John Tuplin reminded Alan that the hay had needed re-stacking for some time and was one of a number of safety issues Alan had let fall by the wayside, Alan ranted to Jill that he had fought for the workforce over the redundancies and this was how they repaid him - by blaming him for something that wasn't his fault!

For a time, it seemed that legal action might be brought against NY Estates because of the accident, but Alan pulled strings and told Jock that it was basically his own clumsiness that had caused him to fall. Basically, his job would be safe if he didn't rock the boat!

Jill still had a fondness for Alan and helped him, her greatest contribution being to employ a new "temp" secretary for him.

It was with some regret over the sad state of his twenty year marriage, and a desire for reconciliation, that Alan waved her off when she left Home Farm.

Soon afterwards, the "temp" secretary arrived - Caroline Bates (Diana Davies) - "Mrs Bates" to Alan Turner (and indeed in the show's closing credits).

There were bumpy times ahead. And Alan was certainly not a reformed character. He was a true Emmerdale Farm groundbreaker - the first permanent character who actually consciously acted badly, manipulating and bullying for his own advancement and self preservation.

But with Mrs Bates, fully trained in computing, in post and soon no longer a "temp", Alan's amusing "overgrown schoolboy" side began to show more and more, together with some warmth and kindness.

And Mrs Bates thought he was funny. On the quiet.

One of Alan's first acts to impress her was to buy a proper coffee percolator for the office and banish the dreaded instant.

Demonstrating it to her, he managed to tear open the packet of coffee and spill it everywhere.

Mrs Bates averted her gaze and smiled quietly to herself.

It was the beginning of a great Emmerdale partnership.

More heavy drama lay just over the horizon, but with Seth Armstrong buzzing in and out of the office, and Alan thundering "GET OUT SETH!", and Mrs Bates hiding her amusement over his basic wally nature, the atmosphere at Home Farm lightened considerably and it soon became one of the great Emmerdale comic scenarios.

I must end this post by saying that 1984 saw the start of one of my favourite Emmerdale eras of all time - the era of Alan Turner and Mrs Bates.

Happy days!

The '80s Bad Boys Of Beckindale...

The first of the 1980s bad guys who brought a touch of the ruthless to Beckindale was one Alan Turner - manager of NY Estate's Beckindale venture at Home Farm.

Alan swept into Beckindale in 1982. He blustered and bullied, and was thoroughly grotty to his staff - which included Joe Sugden. Women like Barbara Peters, the vicar's glamorous daughter, who worked for a time as Alan's secretary, could see through him and, despite his romantic overtures, kept their distance.

Interviewed in 1993, Richard Thorp recalled the turning point in Alan's life...

"Oh, Alan was an absolute stinker in the beginning, he rubbed everyone up the wrong way. The major influence on him was Mrs Bates who was played by Diana Davies. In the very first scene we did together I was losing my temper, ranting and raving, so she sent me up and it came across when we did the scene."

Mrs Bates arrived in 1984 and simply couldn't keep a straight face...

And so Alan became a lovable, comic character...

Remember the time in 1986 when he went on a diet, bought an exercise bike, talking scales, and took up jogging? By the time he reached the Woolpack after his first jogging session, he was close to collapse - and in fact he did so as soon as he entered the pub, flopping inelegantly onto the floor before the startled regulars.

"My gaffer!" said Seth Armstrong.

"My floor!" said Amos Brearly, who'd just cleaned it.

Not all the Beckindale '80s baddies turned out to be good fun in the end. Harry Mowlam (Godfrey James) was a thoroughly nasty piece of work who brought much unhappiness to Matt and Dolly Skilbeck when they intervened over Harry's mistreatment of his dog.

Mr Mowlam then left the scene for a time, returned in 1985, and was soon involved in a security van robbery, netting £6000. Harry had a huge inferiority complex - he thought that the village, and the folk at Emmerdale Farm in particular, looked down on him. He plagued the vicar, the Rev Donald Hinton, with questions and statements about religion, was a generous buyer of drinks in the Woolpack, and had a sadistic streak a mile wide.

When Dolly miscarried the baby she was carrying in 1985, Harry was very much on the scene and Matt later confessed that he thought Harry was the cause of the miscarriage. In 1986, Matt treated several of Harry's ailing sheep - taking them up to Emmerdale to do so. Three of the sheep died, through no fault of Matt's, but Harry, who had not given permission for the sheeps' removal to Emmerdale in the first place, was furious.

He frightened Dolly further by accosting her in Beckindale, then stole several Emmerdale sheep to "make good" his loss. Unfortunately Matt caught him in the act.

"I'm gonna break your bloody back..."

A terrible fight took place, entirely initiated by Harry - at one point he seemed set to squeeze the life out of Matt with a fierce bear hug. Matt fought back, Harry tripped and fell backwards into the beck and Matt left him with Mowlam's comforting assurance "I'll 'ave you, Skilbeck!" ringing in his ears.

The next day, out on a walk, Henry Wilks found Harry dead.

Matt was accused of the crime and endured several months of hell until the true culprit, Harry Mowlam's accomplice Derek Warner (Dennis Blanche), confessed to the crime, holding the Rev Donald Hinton hostage at St Mary's Vicarage before finally giving himself up to the police.

Richard Franklin (formerly Mike Yates of "Dr Who") with Frazer Hines (formerly Jamie McCrimmon of "Dr Who"). Photograph courtesy of Bill Sands.

Next on the list of '80s baddies is businessman Denis Rigg - played by Richard Franklin.

Turning up in 1988, Denis wasted absolutely no time in making enemies. He was too old to be a yuppie, but he was, however, a ruthless old school businessman - not ashamed to use underhand methods to get his way.

His desire to turn part of the area, including Emmerdale Farm, into a quarry not surprisingly met with resistance from the Sugdens in 1989. Rigg used various devious and underhand tactics to "persuade" them, including trying to get their long-term friend Henry Wilks on his side. After years in business himself, Henry knew Rigg's type, told him so, and showed him the door.

Rigg went to the farm to continue his campaign, cornered Joe in an outbuilding, tried the sweet approach, then turned nasty. Unfortunately, Rigg's tone and animated manner upset Emmerdale's prize bull, which Joe was tending at the time. Rigg was crushed against the wall by the bull and died.

So, judging by Alan, Harry, Derek and Denis one can assume that Beckindale's '80s baddies either turned nice, disappeared to prison never to return or got bumped off. But that's not absolutely true...

This man arrived to work as auctioneer at Hotten Market in 1986, and judging from his manner to his assistant, Sandie Merrick, right from the first, would not be qualifying for any Charmer of the Year awards.

Smiling in triumph in 1989, Eric Pollard's reign of rottenness was only just beginning as the show leapt into the increasingly far fetched '90s...

And no, he's never turned nice, never disappeared into prison forever, and never got "bumped off". Eric Pollard is one '80s Beckindale bad guy who still runs rampant - over twenty years after his debut.

Said Christopher Chittell of the role:

"There are certain destructive elements in all of us which we try to keep subdued, but they raise their ugly heads from time to time..."

Alan Turner - Otherwise Known As!

Mr Bear in his den at NY Estates in 1986.

From the Sunday People, April 28, 1985:

FARM FUHRER

Emmerdale's awful Alan Turner may have acquired a reputation as a rural J.R. But his long suffering assistant Mrs Bates - actress Diana Davies - has her own way of describing him.

"He's a cross between Adolf Hitler and Pooh Bear - so I call him Adolf Bear."

Viewers' Confusion - Taking Fiction For Fact...

1986 - Alan Turner teaches Mrs Bates to play bowls. Or so he thinks...

Back in the 1980s, some viewers were prone to getting soap fiction mixed up with reality. If you played a well-loved soap character, this could work to your advantage. But if not...

English actress Vivean Gray, Mrs Mangel in the Australian soap Neighbours, left the show when some viewers entered into the fantasy a little too much and treated her as though she was the character she played.

It could be seen as a tribute to her acting skills, but all the same!

In Emmerdale Farm, Richard Thorp also suffered as his at first disliked, figure-of-fun character Alan Turner, who arrived in 1982, upset the Beckindale locals. As seen in other posts on this blog, Richard Thorp suffered some abuse, and the article pictured below, from the Sun newspaper, August 26, 1989, reveals some problems he experienced at a public swimming pool.

Fortunately, Mr Thorp managed to deal with the problems and remain in Emmerdale Farm. For which I am truly grateful. As regular readers of this blog will already know, I was a great fan of the Alan Turner and Mrs Bates boss/secretary partnership at NY Estates from 1984-1988. The scenario was not planned, something just seemed to "click" between the two actors, but in an amazingly short amount of time Alan Turner and Mrs Bates were two of my favourite characters in the show.

An episode featuring Alan blustering and boasting away at the NY Estates office, whilst Mrs Bates smiled quietly to herself, seeing right through him to the wally inside, and Amos launching into a new fad at the Woolpack, to Mr Wilks' despair, is my idea of soap heaven!

They don't make 'em like that any more!

1985: Diana Davies And Richard Thorp On Mrs Bates And Alan Turner...

"Well, he's a bit of a nasty person on the screen, but in real life he's quite likeable," said Diana Davies of Richard Thorp, as the pair were interviewed by Richard Whiteley for the Emmerdale Farm 1,000th episode TV special celebration in 1985. The "quite likeable" was said tongue in cheek - the two were in very jovial mood, and appeared to have an excellent rapport.

When Mrs Caroline Bates turned up as Alan's "temp" secretary in 1984, nobody suspected that this was the beginning of one of the show's best-loved comic partnerships. But with Mrs Bates ever-ready to see through Alan's bluster to the wally underneath, great fun was had by we lucky viewers.

And many of us actually began to like Alan as a result - which was a tremendous change as, since his arrival in 1982, he'd aroused feelings of irritation and even, sometimes, vehement dislike amongst viewers.

"You've taken a bit of stick in real life as the 'JR' figure, haven't you?" said Richard Whiteley to Richard Thorp on the 1,000th episode celebration programme.

"Yes, I have - and particularly at home," replied Richard Thorp. "My wife always insists Alan Turner leaves the room before she has a chance to chat to Richard Thorp!"

Richard Whiteley: "But I hear that when you go into restaurants, people have left the restaurants and taxi drivers wouldn't give you lifts?"

Richard Thorp: "Oh, yes, yes - 'Not you, you walk!' they say!"

Richard Whiteley: "What we all want to know, really, are you two going to get it together ever do you think?"

Richard Thorp (suddenly becoming Alan Turner): "That's down to you, Mrs Bates. I think you can answer that one."

Diana Davies: "Well, we don't know, we just think it's probably not a very good idea because it's good fun the way it is now."

Richard Whiteley: "What about just something for now on this special occasion?"

Diana Davies: "All right."

Richard Thorp, after the kiss, becoming Alan Turner again: "That's in lieu of a rise - you don't get everything for nothing!"

1982: The Arrival Of Alan Turner - Saviour Of NY Estates!!

Joe Sugden was setting up a pig unit and expecting his first delivery on Alan Turner's first day at NY Estates in 1982. "So I'm arriving at the same time as fifty pigs, am I? I hope that's not ominous!" said Alan.

The SAVIOUR of NY Estates? Alan Turner?! Well, yes, he was! The NY Estates Beckindale operation would have been wound up in 1982 if it hadn't been for our Mr T! The show's production team felt that the NY story-line had run its course and it was time for changes.

Richard Thorp expected to be in Emmerdale Farm for six months:

"But I got such a rapport going, first with Stan Richards as Seth Armstrong, and later with Diana Davies, who played Alan's secretary, Mrs Bates, that the powers that be liked it and kept it."

Of course, NY Estates was gone before the end of the 1980s - but Alan Turner remains in Emmerdale to this day!

1984 Request...

I've just received an e-mail from "Izzy":

Hi! I'm really enjoying your blog and the 1980 Month. I've been going through a really bad time recently and I've been really depressed. Emmerdale Farm in the 1980s contains so many fond memories.

It makes me smile to think of it, although sometimes it makes me cry even more. I wish we were back in those days because I was so much happier.

Please would you put on a picture of my two favourite Emmerdale characters, Alan and Caroline? I read in your blog that they first appeared in 1982 and 1984 respectively. It seems like yesterday!

Yes, it does, Izzy. Time flies! I'm sorry you're feeling down. I know it sounds like a cliché, but bear with it and the bad times will pass. I hope you like the pictures of Alan Turner and Mrs Bates from the mid-1980s, and thanks for writing.

Take care.

Mrs Bates

From "The Hotten Courier", Yorkshire Television "Emmerdale Farm" programme publicity, September 1984.

Mrs Bates, who arrived in Beckindale in 1984, had a broken marriage, two teenage children and a nightmare boss in Alan Turner at NY Estates. But she coped. The character's amusement at Alan's various acts of stupidity and her quiet, caring nature added a great deal of "must watch" factor to Emmerdale Farm.

Mrs Bates was not originally intended to be a major character, but Diana Davies added something to the role which ensured that she was. Richard Thorp (Alan Turner) recalls:

"Oh, Alan was an absolute stinker in the beginning, he rubbed everyone up the wrong way. The major influence on him was Mrs Bates who was played by Diana Davies. In the very first scene we did together I was losing my temper, ranting and raving, so she sent me up and it came across when we did the scene."

The Alan Turner/Mrs Bates NY Estates scenes were terrific to watch.

Mrs Bates ranks as one of my all-time favourite Beckindalers.

Diana Davies autograph from the 1980s.

From "Wilks" To "Mr Wilks" - Credit Where It's Due!

Give that man a medal! Mr Wilks listens to yet another of Amos' bizarre schemes in the 1980s.

From 1972 until the early 1980s, the character of Henry Wilks, portrayed by Arthur Pentelow, was always listed in the closing credits as "Wilks". Initially, Henry, a retired businessman, was seen moving to Beckindale and was very much an outsider.

But that changed.

In the 1980s, Henry's partnership with Amos Brearly at the Woolpack Inn was in its golden era, and the popularity of that partnership - and the character of Henry Wilks - was acknowledged by altering "Wilks" to "Mr Wilks" (which, of course, Amos always called him) in the programme's end credits early in the decade.

A lovely and thoroughly English quirk (such formality!) which was later echoed by the listing of Caroline Bates (Diana Davies), Alan Turner's long suffering secretary at NY Estates, as "Mrs Bates" in the closing credits. In the NY days, this was the title Alan always used, and, even after the character's Christian name was revealed, "Mrs Bates" remained in the closing credits.

"Emmerdale Farm" closing credits from 1980 - "Wilks"!

Spot the difference - "Emmerdale Farm" closing credits from 1983 - "Mr Wilks"!

Beckindale In The '80s - Romantic Complications...

Many thanks To Bill Sands, who provided the 1980s Emmerdale Farm publicity stills for this post.
Sandra Gough was barmaid Doreen in Emmerdale Farm from 1984 to 1985. Here's Mr Wilks apparently about to sup from the barmaid's slipper...

Of course, any hopes of romance faded. With a couple of sourpusses like Amos Brearly and Ernie Shuttleworth on the scene it was hardly surprising! Peter Schofield stepped into the role of Mr Shuttleworth in the early 1980s. Here we get a rare glimpse of the exterior of the Malt Shovel.

Ernie was very keen to entertain his patrons with various special nights - including a disco night with the "latest hot sounds of the '80s". Can you imagine?! Sadly, these nights were never shown in the programme, but we did learn that Ernie's non-attendance at the village bowls match in 1986 was because he'd put his back out at one of these dance-fests.

Joe met and fell for divorcee Kate Hughes in 1988 and they married in 1989. Kate had two teenage offspring and an ex-husband who hadn't totally given up on his relationship with her. Oh dear...

From 1984-1988 Mrs Bates and Alan Turner provided some of Emmerdale Farm's best comedy scenes at the NY Estates Home Farm office. Add to this Seth Armstrong buzzing in and out ("GET OUT, SETH!") and the whole scenario became absolutely delicious.

Asked about the possibility of Mrs Bates' relationship with Alan developing in 1985, actress Diana Davies said: "Well, we don't know, we just think it's probably not a very good idea because it's good fun the way it is now."

She was quite right of course. When things did develop in 1989 the "will she? won't she?" magic evaporated and a lot of the fun left the relationship. Mrs Bates and Alan Turner might have developed as a likeable married couple, and marriage was certainly planned, but Diana Davies left the show instead (although she would revisit it) and Mrs Bates went to look after her sick mother in Scarborough.

As in all good soaps, romance in Emmerdale Farm was never smooth running...

Diana Davies

Daily Mirror, 23/5/1985.

Experienced actress Diana Davies arrived on Emmerdale Farm as Mrs Bates, Alan Turner's new secretary, in 1984. Originally, Mrs Bates was not intended to be a major character, but all that soon changed and she gained a christian name - Caroline, a broken marriage and two teenage children - Kathy (Malandra Burrows) and Nick (Cy Chadwick).

Alan Turner and Mrs Bates deal with a problem at the NY Estates Home Farm, Beckindale, office in 1986.

Emmerdale Farm 1985 - The "Dynasty" Of The Dales?!

In the 1980s, Les Dawson described Emmerdale Farm as "Dallas with dung" and the article above, from the Sunday People, April 14 1985, describes it as the "Dynasty of the Dales".

Yep, there's no doubt that Emmerdale Farm got a little racier in the mid-1980s, so much so that its creator, Kevin Laffan, ceased to write for it. '80s Emmerdale seems very peaceful indeed compared to current day soap storylines, but did the show back then really have a JR-type character? And was it really Alan Turner?!!

"I'm afraid as Turner becomes more of a bully and extra bumptious, his character is beginning to take me over," - Richard Thorp, 1985.

1986: Mrs Bates (Diana Davies) smiles to herself in the office at Home Farm. She made her debut as Alan's "temp" secretary in 1984.

Alan looks very pleased with himself.

Alan had arrived at the NY Estates outpost in Beckindale in 1982 and was not a very pleasant character at first - not exactly a JR, but still not the sort of person you'd want to work for. He was a bully - and he'd shift blame from himself and happily drop an underling in the proverbial to save his own skin. But within a few short years he'd become a lovable oaf - cowardly, into self preservation at almost any cost, but basically not really a bad guy. And his scenes with Mrs Bates, who understood him very well but always managed to hide her amusement, were often an absolute delight...
.
... as were his scenes with Seth Armstrong, NY gamekeeper and permanent thorn in Alan's side.

Perhaps the change in Alan's character had something to do with the way Richard Thorp portrayed him. Larry Hagman gave JR one of his most striking habits: just when we thought he was down, when bad news had been delivered, an apparently knock-out blow, ole JR would not frown - he'd grin evilly and bounce right back. When Alan Turner smiled I couldn't help feeling that there was something genial and rather charming behind all the bullying and bluster. And gradually this seems to have been reflected in the way the Alan Turner character was written. By 1986, he wasn't considered Beckindale's JR by anybody I knew. Just a daft twit many of us enjoyed watching immensely and were actually rather fond of.

Many of his 1980s scenes in the NY Estates office with Mrs Bates are pure Emmerdale gold.