Showing posts with label e-mails. Show all posts
Showing posts with label e-mails. Show all posts

Thursday 6 August 2015

"Nay, Nay Mr Wilks" Mystery Mug


September, 1981, and Amos Brearly (Ronald Magill) ensures there's a warm welcome at the Woolpack.

In 1980, Seth Armstrong became a full-time Emmerdale Farm regular. He deserted the Malt Shovel in favour of the Woolpack, where he discovered the endless delights of baiting Amos Brearly. In his new found respectability as NY Estates gamekeeper, Seth had plenty of time to scive off and haunt the bewhiskered landlord. And poor old Mr Wilks was often caught up in the attacks and counter-attacks, trying to bring reason to bear. "Nay, nay, Mr Wilks!" Amos would bluster (in fact, in moments of high dudgeon it was usually thrice "nay").

Poor Mr Wilks!

That man deserved a medal.

We're still catching up on our comments and Sara wrote:

I have a mug featuring a caricature of Henry Wilks, Amos Brearly and Seth Armstrong. It is stamped on the bottom 'Churchill England'. Do you know anything about it?

No, Sara, sorry. I do have one, but it was bought for me as a present a few years back, second hand, and I don't know its origins. Does anybody else?

Tuesday 9 October 2012

Emmerdale At 40 - And In The 1980s...

A couple of e-mails from readers as Emmerdale approaches its 40th birthday on 16 October.

Rod writes:

Why do you focus on the 1980's? If it was anything like the 1970's episodes I have seen it was dead boring and naff!

That's all a matter of opinion, Rod! I loved the show right from its lunchtime beginnings in 1972, but in 1980 several things happened which increased my enjoyment hugely: Al Dixon arrived as the legendary Silent Walter, Clive Hornby and Jean Rogers took on the roles of Jack Sugden and Dolly Skilbeck - both would be long-stayers, and Seth Armstrong, played by Stan Richards, became a full-time permanent character. On top of this, the Merrick family were revamped and recast and gave us some splendid gritty drama and an attempt to actually portray modern teenagers as permanent characters. The character of Amos Brearly, played by Ronald Magill, became more eccentric and funny and all in all a delicious brew became even more delicious in my view. Wading on further into the 1980s (1982 and 1984), we saw the arrival of the (as it turned out) hugely lovable Alan Turner and his long-suffering secretary Mrs Bates, the terrifying reign of Harry Mowlam and, to cap it all, the arrival of Eric Pollard (1986). 1989, of course, brought us the Tate family.

All shows evolve, and the '80s era was my favourite in the show. That's why I chose to highlight that decade on this blog.

Claire writes:

This is a very valuable resource. Do you still like the show? Could you extend The Bugle to the 90s and beyond?

Well, I didn't see much Emmerdale in the '90s - or beyond - so that would be difficult. I don't watch modern soaps at all because the pace is too fast for my personal taste. But I'm delighted that Emmerdale has survived all these years and shall be raising a glass to it on 16 October.

I have received copies of some very interesting 1980s Emmerdale Farm memorabilia from Sheila, who wrote to The Bugle some time ago about Al Dixon's Silent Walter - who lit up a quiet corner of The Woolpack from 1980-1985. I'll be putting them on-line as soon as possible. Many thanks to Sheila!




Friday 4 May 2012

E-Mails - The Walters And Some Praise...

Terry writes:

Were the Walters in Emmerdale Farm supposed to be the same person in real life? I know there were three and they were very different, and it is the silent Walter played by Al Dixon from 1980-1985 who is the best remembered, but were they the same person in the program?

I'm not sure about Meadows White, but the other two Walters were definitely linked. Geoffrey Hooper's Walter was a Woolpack regular who spoke. It was a lovely piece of character acting, but Walter was not a fully-fledged character in those days - more background. Geoffrey Hooper's Walter last appeared in early 1980. The actor died, but Anne W Gibbons and the production team liked the tradition of having a Walter at the Woolpack and decided to play with the concept. The new Walter was very different - the one and only silent Walter - and achieved a cult following. Some confusion followed with some people thinking that Geoffrey Hooper's Walter had been silent, but that, of course, was not true.

I tend to think of them more in terms of separate characters because they were so different and because Al Dixon's Walter became such a cult. I think the Emmerdale production team expected its audience to be somewhat sophisticated and accept the fact that the new Walter was very different from the old and leave as a mystery whether they were the same character or not (were there two Walters in Beckindale? It was perfectly possible. If so, what was their history?) and just concentrate on Al Dixon as the "Silent One".

I must say that as viewer of Emmerdale Farm from the very early days, the only Walter that registered in my memory was the Al Dixon version. I was surprised to discover later that there had been others.

I recall a friend of mine some years uploading some late '70s Emmerdale Farm onto YouTube with Geoffrey Hooper as the non-silent Walter and us all being surprised that it was not the Walter we all remembered.

In the end, no definite explanation was ever offered - so if you like to believe that Emmerdale Farm was real life you can list the Walters as the same person (despite looking different and having different personalities) or as separate locals in Beckindale. Or you can accept what was going on behind the scenes and just enjoy the Walter tradition, whether your favourite is Meadows White, Geoffrey Hooper or Al Dixon!

And an e-mail from Sandra from March - sorry it's taken me so long to publish it!

Love this blog. It's well thought out, and well written. You really are a gifted writer because you make the old stories live and you have great understanding of the characters. The article you wrote about Jackie and Jack and the difficulties they experienced in finding a way of getting on together showed so much insight. I hope that a DVD company releases many more episodes. In the meantime, I hope you keep this blog going!

Sandra you are really kind. Thank you! The blog is updated infrequently because I'm tied up with other blogs and my work and I'm shortly about to go into hospital, but it will update at times - I promise. Thank you again.

We have an exciting update on this topic - see it here.

Wednesday 12 January 2011

The Long Silence...

Just checking my sitemeter tonight and I note that there is quite a lot of interest today in Alan Turner and Mrs Bates. I'm glad that people are still visiting! To those that have written - sorry for the long silence here - even Walter has been a little disgruntled by it - but 21st Century life is busy and so updates are few. We'll be back in the 1980s Beckindale groove again soon, I promise!

Friday 21 May 2010

The British Soap Awards: "Emmerdale Didn't Take Off Until After The Plane Crash!" Oh, Really?

Sunday Mirror, 3/7/1983: "Emmerdale Farm" is making a quiet assault on the TV ratings. It is at number 5 in the ITV top ten, rivalling "Crossroads" for the title of Britain's most popular show after "Coronation Street"..

Sonia has watched The British Soap Awards, and is surprised at something said on that show:

I watched avidly and was startled to hear from Claire King that Emmerdale didn't take off until after the plane crash! Why on earth was it kept on for all those years beforehand? I was outraged!

Lol! Sonia. In terms of ratings, I think that Emmerdale had its highest ever for the plane crash drama. I have the monthly ratings from January 1994 which show it achieved 16.8 million viewers.

In February 1994, it scored under 11.2 million viewers, falling out of the Top Twenty monthly ratings completely, which surprised me.

Comparing more typical ratings, I went to November 1994 (well after the plane crash) to find the show scoring 11.5 million viewers, as compared to 12.5 million viewers ten years earlier in November 1984.

It can, and should be stated, that mainstream satellite TV was nowhere in 1984, so that would boost ratings for the show as there were only four channels to view, but it must also be stated that Emmerdale Farm wasn't properly networked in 1984 - major ITV regions Anglia and Thames were showing it at teatime, and many people were not aware of its existence, so it was doing very well indeed.

It should also be stated that satellite TV was not as established, popular or diverse as it is today back in 1994, the BARB monthly top twenty ratings were still composed of BBC and ITV programmes, and Emmerdale was then being shown countrywide in an early evening slot, so that probably evens the score.

Its ratings always appear to have fluctuated.

Perhaps the BSA speech writer has been reading Wikipedia?

I wouldn't be "outaged", Sonia. The statement is what I call a "Wiki-ism" (many people do trust Wikipedia - although it's the source of a lot of dodgy info!) and simply to be taken with a pinch of salt.

It was certainly great to see Claire King again!

Sunday 4 April 2010

The Dolly Skilbeck Change Over...

From the Yorkshire Evening Post's 1985 supplement, celebrating 1000 episodes of Emmerdale Farm.

An enquiry regarding our recent post about Jean Rogers taking over the role of Dolly Skilbeck from Katharine Barker in April 1980:

If Katherine's Dolly hadn't been seen since the previous summer, how was Dolly's absence explained?

In July 1979 Dolly, then played by Katharine Barker, announced she was pregnant.

Katharine Barker then left the role.

ITV disappeared from our screens during the strike of August to October.

Emmerdale Farm returned to our screens in January 1980. In the story-line, Dolly had apparently been rushed into hospital just after the New Year 1980 celebrations and was not featured on-screen at all.

In off-screen story-line drama, Dolly lost her baby, and spent some time in a convalescent home before returning to Beckindale in April 1980, with Jean Rogers in the role.

Saturday 20 March 2010

1980s Emmerdale: No Spectacular Stunts Or Disasters...

James has written:

All due respect to Emmerdale in the 1980s, but don't you think a livelier approach may have paid dividends? OK, watching Mr Wilks and Mrs Bates was fun at times, but one of the show's greatest claims to fame these days is its spectacular disasters. Don't you think that a few of those might have livened up the '80s show? Surely the show could have benefited from being a bit racier?

Hmmm... well, I don't agree, James.

Emmerdale Farm/Emmerdale changed tremendously in the 1980s. The number of scenes per episode was increased, new characters and performers came in, the show became grittier and rather more graphic (the 1986 fight between Matt Skilbeck and Harry Mowlam was horribly realistic), and it did become racier: we saw Jackie Merrick pulling up his pyjama trousers after apparently having just had sex with his girlfriend on the parlour sofa at Emmerdale Farm; Sandie Merrick moved in with married man Phil Pearce; Jack Sugden had an affair with Hotten Market auctioneer Karen Moore - complete with hotel bedroom scenes; married man Pete Whiteley's affair with teenager Rachel Hughes rocked the village; and the Skilbecks divorced after Dolly's dalliance with Steven Fuller.

I think that the show was making an effort to move with the times - but the portrayal was still of a quiet, English village - and the scenes with Amos, Mr Wilks, Mrs Bates, Alan Turner, Annie Sugden, etc, were hugely important to the show's setting and atmosphere - and, I think, immensely enjoyable!

The show also entered highly controversial and topical waters in 1987 with its nuclear dump story-line.

As for spectacular stunts, it's true Emmerdale in the 1980s was bereft of them. The Crossgill fire story-line of 1988 was expensive and complicated to produce at the time, but nothing compared to the plane crash, storm, explosions, fires and house collapse of more recent years.

But in the 1980s the technology now used to affordably produce spectacular disasters on-screen in a soap was either non-existence or in its infancy and expensive.

Also, our expectations of the show were different. I liked Amos and Jackie grumbling away from episode to episode and an occasional bit of high drama. For me it was in the 1980s that the show struck the perfect balance between dramatic and everyday story-lines.

I'd be interested to know what readers think!

Friday 12 February 2010

E-Mail Enquiry: Nick's '90s Glasses...

Nick Bates (Cy Chadwick) had a mullet when he first appeared in Beckindale in 1985. In 1990, he had glasses (briefly)...

I've had an e-mail enquiry from Chris which strays off my 1980s territory a little and into the early 1990s:

I wonder if you could explain something rather strange I have come across on youtube. I came across a trailer for Emmerdale from 1990 ( I know it's not the 80's, but 1990 has always been a 'transition' period for me. The 90's didnt start until 1991 for me!). The first clip of the trailer is Kathy and Nick Bates sat outside the woolpack talking. Now you might think this is normal. It was until I noticed that Nick was WEARING GLASSES! and they seem to be the exact ones that Archie Brooks had started wearing in late 1991/ Early 1992.

Do you know why this was? Do yuo know how many episodes they portrayed Nick has having 'Bad Eyesight'? Nick certianly didnt have problems with his eyes in the 80s and certianly not after 1990 and until he went to prison. I never did see Emmerdale In 1990 (missed the repeated episodes on Granada plus). Any Light shed on this would be appreciated

If anybody can help Chris discover the facts behind Nick's '90s glasses, please contact me here via either e-mail or comments, and I'll pass the message on. I'm going to check the episodes I have from 1990 in the meantime.

E-Mails...

A couple of outstanding e-mail enquiries - sorry it's taken me so long to reply...

Firstly, "Jack Sugden" asks:

Was Eric Pollard nice in the 1980s? Somehow I always remember the Emmerdale characters back then being nice!

I think the expression on Eric's face in the 1989 screen cap above answers that question, Jack!

Short answer is "No"!

Sara says:

Was it very sad when Matt left in December 1989?

Yes, it was. He told Dolly he still loved her. Annie said "God go with you," and broke down at their final parting. One of the saddest scenes for me was Matt standing alone in the living room of the extension cottage at Emmerdale Farm. He and Dolly had lived in the place since its creation in 1982.

I was so sorry to see Matt go.

What's Happened To The Beckindale Bugle?

Rushed off his feet? Amos Brearly (Ronald Magill) serves Sandie Merrick (Jane Hutcheson) in 1986. Mr Wilks (Arthur Pentelow) dithers over the till.

I've had several enquiries about the lack of recent updates to The Bugle. Sorry about that! I did explain in previous posts that things were very busy here at the moment. Now, the dust is beginning to settle and I hope to start posting again in a few weeks.

We will, of course, return to the December 1989 saga of the last days of Matt and Dolly.

Tuesday 12 January 2010

E-Mails - Woolpack Walter (1980-1985), Mrs Eckersley (1980) And Matt And Dolly (1989)

Cheers, Walter! Al Dixon as The Woolpack's Silent One in 1984.

A few e-mails and comments to answer about our blog dedicated to the '80s down Beckindale way...

Bryan asks:

When will you be featuring more Walter?

Soon, Bryan. I love Walter!

CJ writes:

Brilliant stuff about Mrs Eckersley (Pam St Clement) and her Emmerdale debut in 1980. Can you feature her storylines, please?

As I wrote before, CJ, Pam St Clement appeared in Emmerdale Farm from episode 561 to episode 565 in March 1980, just five episodes, so there is only one story-line about her. She did the cooking at Emmerdale Farm whilst Annie was away in Ireland. Her husband and daughter were also briefly featured. I'll write it all up in detail at some point.

And finally Cerys says:

Please - when will you continue the saga of Matt, Dolly and the early days of Emmerdale in 1989?

Soon, Cerys - as I explained, things are a bit busy here at the moment. Hopefully in February things will be more settled and the '89 saga will resume.

Finally, thanks for the entries for the Amos signed pic competition. The winner will be announced on 31 January.

Friday 1 January 2010

Signed Pics Of Pam St Clement As Mrs Eckersley?

Ross has written to ask:

Are there any signed photographs of Pam St Clement as Mrs Eckersley in 1980?

Afraid not, Ross - the character only appeared in five episodes in total - the first, episode 0561, broadcast on 10 March 1980, and the last, episode 0565, on 25 March 1980.

Monday 28 December 2009

Dolly Skilbeck and Norfolk - Information Received...

We strayed out of the 1980s and into 1991 recently to pose the question: "Why did Dolly Skilbeck move to Norfolk?" It was known in 1991 that Jean Rogers, who had played Dolly since 1980, was unhappy about one of her final story-lines - Dolly having an abortion after an affair with the thoroughly unpleasant Charlie Aindow. Dolly had started work at the Beckindale playgroup in 1980 after a miscarriage, had been blessed with the birth of a healthy son, Sam, in 1982, and then suffered a further miscarriage in 1986. As Jean Rogers pointed out, it was well known that Dolly loved children and the idea of her having an abortion seemed totally out of character.

Why did Dolly move to Norfolk, we asked? Was it to be reconciled with husband Matt, who had gone there in December 1989? Several kind people have contributed their thoughts, and now Tim writes to say:

Dolly was tired and distressed after her affair with Charlie and her abortion. The story was highly unsatisfactory, I felt the abortion was something Dolly would not do, it was simply a trendy story the producer wanted to cover and Dolly was the character it was pinned to.

Dolly left the village to take Sam to live near his father and to get totally away from Beckindale. I don't think there was any suggestion of her and Matt getting together again as a couple. Didn't they part on bad terms?

No, Tim, in December 1989, just before he left Beckindale, Matt told Dolly he still loved her.

I don't think there is a conclusion to the Matt and Dolly story - well, at least not a conclusion that has ever been mentioned on screen! Thanks for writing.

December 1989 - Matt tells Dolly he still loves her. Jean Rogers, who debuted as Dolly in April 1980, and Frederick Pyne, who appeared in the very first episode, made Matt and Dolly an excellent advertisement for marriage for most of the 1980s. Then, 1988 arrived...

Wednesday 2 December 2009

Longest Running Location - Home Farm - But Not From The Very Beginning!

Home Farm - as seen in the 1989 Emmerdale opening credits.

Mark writes:

I've just read on the Web that Home Farm is the only original location in Emmerdale, used right from the start. But I can't see it on my 1972 Emmerdale Farm DVD!

The original locations were Lindley Farm (Emmerdale Farm) and the village of Arncliffe (Beckindale), Mark. The use of Creskeld Hall, originally as the ancestral home of the Verney family, does date back to the '70s, but it was not featured in the first series in 1972.

Saturday 28 November 2009

E-Mails... Thanks For The Memory, And More About Kim Tate...

Justin writes:

What a memory you have! The whole history of Emmerdale crammed into your little grey cells!

Actually, Justin, my power of recall is lousy! My absolute favourite era of Emmerdale Farm was from 1980-1987, and although I enjoyed 1972-1979 and 1988-1990, I couldn't tell you much about what happened. And I have no interest in telly soaps of the 1990s or today. My ultra-reliable knowledge of the 1980s episodes of Emmerdale Farm/Emmerdale is simply down to the fact that I have most of them on DVD, taped from the satellite repeats years ago!

Christine says:

I'm so glad Kim Tate won your poll - definitely one of the most important Emmerdale character introductions of all time. I'm enjoying these "visits" to 1989, but what is coming across so far is that life was a lot slower in Emmerdale (or rather Beckindale) then. I'd forgotten how wordy it all was. Lovely to relive the memories.

Thanks, Christine. More to come. Next up is the final breakdown of the marriage of Matt and Dolly Skilbeck...

Monday 31 August 2009

E-Mails... Now And Then, '80s Favourites And Bill Middleton...

Beckindale favourite - Al Dixon as Walter (1980-1985).

Brian writes:

In the 1980s, Emmerdale largely seemed to be about weird old people over 40. Nowadays, it's largely about young prats, who think they're so special, and thugs and villains. When I was a kid, there used to be a saying about sex mad men - "He keeps his brains in his underpants". Nowadays a lot of the Emmerdale women keep their brains in their knickers, too. Modern Emmerdale's all about people falling into bed and then regretting it. BORING. And not a hint of AIDS.

Weird old people, over 40?! Flippin' 'eck - I'm over forty, and I don't consider myself old, Brian! You cheeky young whippersnapper (grin). And the show gained a large young cast and did have its moments of scandal in the 1980s. I can't judge modern day Emmerdale - I never watch the modern soaps.

Cerys says:

I'm glad you've finally started on 1984!

Who was your favourite character in the 1980s?

Ooh, Cerys, that's difficult...

Al Dixon's Walter... I loved that character... but then again I loved the barmier-than-ever Amos, too... and Annie Sugden, staunchly tending the Aga... and Clive Hornby's Jack was brilliant... so was Alan Turner, and the wonderful Mrs Bates... and as for Seth, Matt and Dolly, Eric Pollard, Mr Wilks and the Merricks...

Basically, for me, '80s Emmerdale was a show FULL of favourites!

Chris asks:

When did Bill Middleton (Johnny Caesar) first appear?

Early 1984, Chris

Wednesday 26 August 2009

Judy Westrop - The Burning Issue...

Judy Westrop (Jane Cussons) has a cigarette in 1980.

Harry has written:

I was interested in your post about Emmerdale Farm in early 1980, and the screen grab you featured of Judy Westrop smoking a cigarette. I thought that people on TV were not supposed to be seen smoking until after 7 P.M. in those days? Crossroads, the ATV soap, was certainly subject to this ban and cigarette advertising on ITV had ceased in 1965 (although cigar advertising was still allowed). As Emmerdale Farm was still screened in a few ITV regions before 7 P.M. in 1980, can you explain this?

No, Harry, I'm afraid not!

The character of Judy, was certainly a smoker, although I can't recall any others in Emmerdale Farm at that time.

Perhaps, as the show was scheduled by Yorkshire TV to go out at 7pm, it somehow slipped through the net? I do recall Mrs Tardebigge, the Crossroads cleaner smoking later in the '80s - before 7pm, but I don't know anything regarding the law, broadcasting, and representations of cigarette smoking on the box back then.

If anybody DOES know the facts, I'd be happy to hear from them.

Sunday 23 August 2009

E-Mail Question: Why NY Estates?

NY People... Troubled Judy Westrop (Jane Cussons) stayed briefly with her father Maurice (Edward Dentith) at Home Farm - both left Beckindale in 1980; in March 1982, Alan Turner (Richard Thorp) arrived as estate manager and immediately upset farm manager Joe Sugden (Frazer Hines); in 1984 managing director Christopher Meadows (Conrad Phillips) had stern words for Alan, who had got the Beckindale operation into a state of chaos; Christopher had dispatched Alan's predecessor, Richard Anstey (Carl Rigg) in 1981 after Richard had had an affair with Virginia Lattimore (Wanda Moore), wife of NY regional manager Derek; Mrs Bates (Diana Davies) arrived in 1984 and saved Alan's bacon; a thorn in Alan's side was game keeper Seth Armstrong (Stan Richards), who had found himself without an assistant in 1982 after Jackie Merrick got the sack.

Beanpole asks:

What does the "NY" in "NY Estates" stand for?

North Yorkshire. However, the company had holdings and interests outside of North Yorkshire, and indeed outside of England - including North Wales and France.

Tuesday 28 July 2009

Comments And Questions Update...

James writes with an unusual enquiry:

The Harewood Woolpack has 2 glass panels above the door. I seem to recall the Esholt pub had one big panel?

Yes, it did, James - see pic above.

Monday 20 July 2009

Bugle News...

This charming man... Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell) pays his first visit to The Woolpack. Alan Turner (Richard Thorp) entertains him.

Work is underway for our 1984 Month in August, I'm currently slaving over a huge pile of screen caps and write-ups. Hopefully it'll be worth the work!

It's come to my attention that a prominent member of the 1980s Emmerdale Farm cast has recently visited this blog. Terrific! It's not either of the two guys pictured, by the way!

Many thanks to Mary of Emmerdale Guys And Gals for her help in providing material on the 1982 Decade Down On The Farm TV special for our 10th anniversary article. Cheers, Mary, much appreciated!

Meanwhile, "Alan's Carpet Slippers" has written to say:

Who would have thought, back in the ambling Emmerdale of the 1980's, that Alan Turner's screen son would turn out to have molested his sister, that said sister was a killer, and that Alan's wife would be shot and killed in a hold-up Home Farm? And, on top of that, Alan himself would be shot through the window of The Woolpack? The days of Mrs Bates seem far distant!

Rest assured, "Carpet Slippers", they are never very far away here at The Bugle!