25 Years Ago - The Way Things Were - Gossip From Beckindale 1983 - Part 4

It all began in early 1983. Mr Wilks, ardent local walker, was fed up with the state of Primrose Dingle, and upbraided Alan Turner about it. The Dingle (known in NY Estates parlance as "HF7" - the "HF" standing for "Home Farm") was NY's property and was littered with builder's debris - it had been for some time.

Mr Wilks took his concerns to Alan Turner, who put pressure on the Estate workers to clear the Dingle of debris. Unfortunately, he rubbed them all up the wrong way - refusing to recognise their positions as skilled workers (their contracts stated that they were all "labourers") and also refusing them overtime.

NY Estates Union rep John Tuplin discussed the situation with his colleagues in the Woolpack one lunchtime - and things got a little noisy. The men were thoroughly fed up with Alan's high handed bullying. Disturbed by the noise, Amos Brearly scolded them all, telling them:

"I'm surprised at you lot. You call yourselves grown men and 'ere you are you behaving like... like a rabble! Do you want my honest opinion?"

"I think we're gonna get it!" said Daniel, amidst sniggers from the men.

Amos was undeterred: "Mr Turner's an educated gentleman - a born leader doing a difficult job in difficult times. And if he wants you to do a job I reckon you should behave like true Britishers and get stuck in!"

"And that's your honest opinion?" asked John Tuplin.

"It is!" said Amos, head held high.

"Right, lads!" And the men got up and left the pub.

Amos moved back to the bar. "That's the way to handle industrial relations, Mr Wilks! One word from me and they're off to Primrose Dingle. The voice of reason - that's all were needed!"

Voice of reason? Mr Wilks was not convinced.

The Woolpack was boycotted by the NY Estates men, and other villagers joined them. Mr Wilks had hoped that as Amos grew older he might become a little easier to live with. But it was not to be. The 1980s saw Amos becoming more fad obsessed and downright oddball than ever before. 1983 had barely started, but already Amos had competed with Sam Pearson to try and win a cruise in a competition, gone in for transcendental meditation and philosophy, and tried to get the Woolpack visited by Eric Birdwick, the hostelry reviewer on The Hotten Courier.

On the first night of the great NY Estates walkout, still hoping for a visit from Mr Birdwick, Amos had banked up a blazing fire - it was so hot that Walter, the pub's only customer did a previously unheard of thing - he took off his cap and loosened his tie. Peanuts laid out on the bar caused acrimony when Amos caught Walter eating them, and, finally, Walter walked out. Amos was devastated: "Walter! You can't!" But, flinging one last disdainful look over his shoulder, Walter did.

"What are we going to do, Mr Wilks?!" groaned Amos.

The next day, Amos refused to believe Mr Wilks when he said that Walter had joined the rest of the Woolpack regulars at the bar of the Malt Shovel.

"Nay, I'll never believe that!"

"Amos, you can't go around playing at God, laying down the law as you do, without upsetting some people. Nay, most people. Nay, all the people!"

Alan Turner came in, commenting: "Bit sparse in here today, isn't it?"

The story of the row with the NY Estates men came out and Alan was very impressed by this show of support.

Amos and Alan got chatting under Mr Wilks' disapproving eye, and Alan invited Amos to play golf with him the following day and to have lunch at Hotten Golf Club. Amos had never played golf before, but did not admit it. An invitation to the golf club just suited his upwardly mobile mood.

"I must be off - collect you about ten," said Alan. He left. Mr Wilks eyed Amos: "Lee Trevino, I presume?"

Amos was suddenly worried at the situation he'd landed himself in: "What am I going to wear, Mr Wilks? I mean, it's plus fours and spikes as I remember rightly."

"Plus fours!" said Mr Wilks, derisively.

"Only it's a long time since I trod greens," continued Amos.

"A long time, Amos?"

"Aye, well..." Amos squirmed.

"A very long time? Would it be more accurate to say never?"

Amos nodded.

"Then you've only yourself to blame!" said Mr Wilks.

However, Mr Wilks was a good friend. He made it plain that he did not approve of Amos' liaison with Alan Turner, but stated that he did not want to see him in a mess. He presented Amos with his own golfing equipment and clothes. Amos also approached Seth Armstrong asking him for any golfing paraphernalia he could provide in return for "good money".

A golf lesson in the snow was not a great success. Mr Wilks was impressed by Amos' swing, but little else. Things got a little heated.

"Don't adopt a tone of voice with me, Mr Wilks - I am trying!"

"You are, Amos - you are!"

Seth turned up with some frankly rather manky golfing gear. Amos accepted some golf balls (he was staggered when Mr Wilks estimated a price of £1-00 each for new balls), a pair of shoes and the cap seen in the picture above!

Amos decided to get in some practice...

... with and without a golf club, indoors at the Woolpack...

... but, sadly, his efforts only resulted in breakages. "Destroy the pub, as well as the good will!" said Mr Wilks.

On the morning of the big day, Amos was hoping that Alan might be diverted by important NY Estates business. He was not happy when Alan showed up, but put on a very brave face...

... which began to wobble by the time he reached the golf course.

Alan introduced Amos to Tufty Billingham and The Major. Tufty seemed all right, but as for The Major, complete with cigarette holder and fierce glare...

Oh 'eck!

In Tufty Billingham, Amos had found another Mr Wilks. He helped the beleaguered licensee to choose the right club for each shot, and was sympathetic to (and perhaps a little amused by) Amos' plight.

-

The Major was a cheat at golf. Had been at it for years, but nobody had ever caught him before. Whilst Tufty and Alan searched for The Major's ball, lost in the rough, Amos saw The Major grab hold of the ball and craftily relocate it. "It is me first, after all!" The Major crowed.

-

Amos thought it was all in the rules of the game, and happily copied The Major when it came to his turn.

-

"Now, just a minute!" said The Major.

-

"You can't do that, Amos!" cried Alan.

-

"But The Major's just done it!" Amos replied.

-

"Has he?" asked Tufty, with great interest (at last The Major had been caught out!). He turned to The Major: "Have you?"

The Major was outraged. "Right! That's it! That is it! The whole damn morning's been wasted! And now this!"

-

"Now, Major, I'm sure there's been some sort of mistake!" crawled Alan - he was out to cultivate The Major in the interests of NY Estates, and crawling was an admirable tactic in his book.

-

"But I saw him, he did it over there!" protested Amos, pointing to the spot. "He did it over there!" He turned to Tufty: "It's true - he did it over there!" He sighed: "I don't see what all't fuss is about any road."

-

"You're not allowed to do it, Amos, that's what all the fuss is about!" laughed Tufty. "Come on, let's go and have a drink."

-

And they trudged off through the snow. "Like I said, I just copied't Major!" said Amos.

-

"You actually saw him do it?" asked Tufty.

-

"Back there!" cried Amos.

-

"I'll tell you one thing, Amos - you're the first person ever to catch him red headed!" said Tufty.

Amos liked Tufty. Back at the club house restaurant, Alan and The Major excused themselves to use the Gents, and Amos insisted on buying Tufty a pint. It was then he discovered that he had left his wallet in the changing room. Going to retrieve it, Amos heard Alan and The Major talking at the urinal...

-

"Whatever persuaded you to invite him?" asked The Major.

-

"I told you, I owed him a favour," said Alan.

-

"The man's an idiot!" The Major opined.

-

"You don't think I wanted to bring him, do you? But he told me he could play," crawled Alan.

-

"The man's a liar as well as a buffoon," said The Major. "Not to mention an insufferable bore."

-

"I can't deny that," said Alan.

-

Amos was stricken. His upwardly mobile venture had found him hopelessly out of his depth. His happy day out was ruined. He suddenly saw himself for what he was on this occasion - a fool.

-

Back in the bar, he sought escape: "I'm sorry I had to leave you, gentlemen. Only I suddenly remembered I had to make a telephone call to my partner, Mr Wilks, on a matter of business, like. I'm afraid summat's turned up - which means I'll have to turn down your kind invitation to lunch, Alan. I'm sure you'll understand."

"Nothing serious, I hope, Amos?" asked Alan.

-

"Nay, I'd not call it serious - let's just say as it's summat I can't ignore," said Amos somewhat meaningfully.

-

Alan may have been a bully to his NY underlings, and a crawler to the likes of The Major, but even so he wasn't heartless. He insisted on running Amos back to Beckindale. Amos protested that he'd get a bus, then Tufty came to the rescue - he was passing through the village and would be happy to drop Amos off. He didn't want to stop for the meal - he only ever had liquid lunches.

-

"Well, I'd just like to say thank you, gentlemen, I'm sorry if I've inconvenienced you," said Amos. The heavy, meaningful tone was back again. "I've learned a lot from it."

Alan felt slightly troubled. "Strange," he said to The Major, as Amos and Tufty left.

"A relief, you mean," said The Major. "Glad to see the back of the fellow. Are you going to get me a drink then?"

"Yes, yes, of course - G&T?"

"And then I'll let you buy me lunch," The Major smugly toyed with his cigarette holder.

Alan was momentarily aback. "Oh will you?" Then he slid back into crawler mode. "Yes. Yes, it'll be a pleasure."

-

"I'll tell you what, Amos, I might well drop in on you sometime and sample that beer of yours," said Tufty as the pair walked to his car.

-

"And you'd be right welcome an' all, Tufty," replied Amos with sincerity.

-

"Well, cheer up - you haven't missed much!" said Tufty. "The lunches aren't that good and they're damned expensive too!"

-

Mr Wilks was eager for news back at the still empty Woolpack. But Amos quietly took his leave and went upstairs for a lay down. He had learned a bitter lesson. And with all his regulars now at the Malt Shovel, what on earth was he going to do?

Clive Hornby

Clive Hornby as Jack Sugden in 1983.

I am saddened to hear of the death of actor Clive Hornby, Jack Sugden in Emmerdale Farm.

Mr Hornby was the second actor to play Jack and first appeared in the role on 19 February 1980.

Down to earth Jack was much-loved, Mr Hornby stamped his own warm and natural acting style on the character, which had formerly been portrayed as a bit of an outsider and trendy bohemian in the show's early days.

My sympathies to Mr Hornby's family.

As a tribute to Clive Hornby, I am declaring August at Back To Beckindale "1980 Month". We shall then return to the year of Mr Hornby's debut in Beckindale to look at the events and characters of the time - including, of course, the return of Jack Sugden.

Richard Handford And Stuart Doughty - Two Producers Of 1980s Emmerdale Farm

The producers of Emmerdale Farm in the 1980s were as follows:

Anne W. Gibbons (1979 to 1983)

Richard Handford (1983 to 1986)

Michael Russell (1986 to 1988)

Stuart Doughty (1988 to 1991)

Here we present the views of two Emmerdale Farm producers of the 1980s - Richard Handford is first, in an article from the Yorkshire Evening Post 1985 supplement, Emmerdale Farm 1,000!

IT’S NOT A SOAP OPERA IT’S DRAMA - SAYS THE PRODUCER

“Emmerdale Farm” is more than just another time-consuming soap opera. Ever since its conception by time-honoured writer Kevin Laffan, the series has had a message to give to its millions of fans.

That message, says producer Richard Handford, latest in 13 years to wear the mantle, is that it should always be “warm and caring.”

“Most of the characters,” he says, “adhere to moral values. And it’s bound to stay that way.”

Richard, who read English at Cambridge and spent nearly every night at the cinema, is the sixth producer of “Emmerdale” and has been responsible for 200 of the 1,000 episodes.

He admits that there has been a hardening of the storylines from the cosy fireside yarns and sheep shearing shots that introduced Beckindale to a nation obviously gasping for a breath of fresh country air.

“At one time everybody was good,” he says. “Now we are challenging traditional values.”

Challenging these values has meant introducing such modern traits which obviously effect both urban and rural communities, as extra-marital affairs. The sort of thing that makes Annie Sugden clank her pans on the solid-fuel kitchen range.

But it’s only done to reflect life as it really is, Richard insists.

“I don’t do it to pull in viewers,” he says. “Jack’s affair was a good story that we could deal with well. And I wanted to show that life isn’t all that easy

“It can happen to anyone. It’s just that some of us are lucky, but we can’t hide away from the fact that some aren’t.”

Jack’s little romp - a great departure for the clean-cut Sugdens - surprised the “Emmerdale” team by bringing “very few” compaints. “I think there were about twelve,” Richard recalls.

The changes in modern values must come through in the programme, he says. “For instance, nobody now expects their children to be virtous until marriage.

“Annie, who sets ther moral tone for her family, has had to be challenged with these problems.”

When Richard looks to the future, he says it would be impossible to predict what’s going to happen In the next 1,000 episodes. “Why change the tone for the sake of it,” he says.

But one thing is certain. It will always be a happy programme.

“It always has been, both on and off the set,” says Richard. “It shows in the way the artistes keep coming back for more.”

“People will bust a gut for the programme. They really believe in it, seriously and passionately.
“We’re not a soap opera. We believe we’re a long-running drama.”

And on to Stuart Doughty - an article from the Hotten Courier, Yorkshire Television's Emmerdale Farm programme publicity, summer 1988:

No big shake-up says the farm’s new boss

Former “Brookside” producer Stuart Doughty has crossed the Pennines to join Yorkshire Television’s top serial, “Emmerdale Farm”.

But Stuart, who took over the reins in January, has no wish to turn life down on the farm into a “rural ‘Brookside’”.

“I haven’t any plans to urbanise it and fill ‘Emmerdale’ full of social problems,” says Stuart.

During his two-and-a-half-year spell on the Channel 4 series, set in Liverpool, storylines included a fatal gun siege, rape, suicide and the first AIDS sufferer in a British soap.

But, though he won’t radically alter the formula that has made “Emmerdale Farm” a TV favourite, with a regular 12 million viewers per episode, Stuart admits he doesn’t want to see things standing still.

He sees the future as one of evolution rather than revolution. “Any serial has got to move with the times. If it stops it will become old-fashioned and out of touch with its viewers,” he says.

“Soaps must reflect life. They have to keep in touch with real life, otherwise viewers regard them as fantasy.”

He certainly believes it would be wrong for British soaps to become as escapist as “Dallas” or “Dynasty”, in which the characters are unbelievably rich and beautiful.

“British soaps tend to portray ordinary people in everyday situations,” he says.

Stuart, 38, has a varied broadcasting background. After university, he joined the BBC’s Overseas Service.

Then, after a brief spell as an actor - when he worked with Andrew Burt, who played the original Jack Sugden - he began supplying quiz questions for “University Challenge”.

This eventually led to a job with Granada as a researcher.

Moving on, Stuart became an associate producer at Granada, responsible for dramas like “Crown Court”, “A Kind Of Loving” and “The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes”. In 1985, he went to Mersey Television to become Bookside’s producer.

Now, Stuart believes he’s the first soap producer to make the move from one serial to another.

Emmerdale Farm - Always A Soap...

A scene from the soapy '70s - Sam Pearson is held at gun point.

I've just received an e-mail from Janine:

I've just read on a Crossroads Network Forum that Emmerdale Farm went downhill and became a soap in the mid-1980s. Did it? Or should I be taking notice of Crossroads fans?

In my opinion, Emmerdale Farm was always a soap (despite producer Richard Handford stating it wasn't in 1985), and I saw the series from its very early days. I recall the car crash involving Joe and Mr Wilks, the murder of Sharon Crossthwaite, the death of old Trash the tramp, the Vicar's son being charged with gun running, the death of Peggy Skilbeck - and the brutal way her children were despatched, the suicide of Jim Gimbel (he shot himself), and the gun hold-up storyline involving Amos, Mr Wilks and old Sam Pearson. There were lots of cliff hangers, lots of storylines designed to bring in viewers.

Soap was frowned upon in the 60s, 70s and 80s - and several soap producers refuted the claim that their shows were soaps, including Bill Podmore, producer of Coronation Street.

But Emmerdale Farm always adhered to a soap format - the show simply became pacier, grittier and more daring in the 1980s.

As for whether you should take notice of Crossroads viewers, I used to like it myself!

Annie Sugden And Sheila Mercier

From the Emmerdale Farm Celebration Edition 1000 Episodes Magazine, 1985.

Annie Sugden

Ever since she was widowed thirteen years ago, Annie Sugden has felt responsible for Emmerdale Farm and the Sugden family. Life has not been easy for her, coping with financial crises, warring sons and the loss of her only daughter. But she has faced the problems courageously. She's a strong, level headed woman, loyal to her family but not blind to their weaknesses, and she speaks her mind when she feels it's called for. Annie's honesty is usually appreciated and people often turn to her for advice, but the years haven't dulled her sense of humour. She enjoys a joke as much as anyone in the family.

Sheila Mercier

"Annie Sugden has changed a great deal over the years," said Sheila Mercier. "At the beginning she was very terse. She was the head of the family and let everyone know it. She ruled with a rod of iron. She'd had a tough life. She'd had a rough ride with Jacob, who used to drink the money away and sit in the Woolpack until all hours. Jack didn't live at home then and it was Annie who kept the farm together. Until Henry Wilks came along they were poor farmers, living hand-to-mouth.

"But now things are different. Jack has made a success of Emmerdale and Henry's interest in the farm and Annie herself has made her relax. She's mellower now."

Sheila Mercier enjoys playing Annie and has learned to live with the fame it brings her.

"People often stop you in the street and say 'Oh. I'm sorry I thought I knew you.' Or they call out 'Oi! Are you Annie Sugden?' Others write to Annie asking her to solve their problems."

Ocasionally though, the attention is unwelcome.

"I do think it's rude when people interrupt your meal to ask for autographs," said Sheila. "And once a woman with a bag of fish and chips ran after me shouting 'Oi! Oi! Annie! Sign this fish and chip paper for me!' "

Sheila has been interested in acting for as long as she can remember. Her whole family was in love with the threatre. Her mother had a beautiful singing voice and spent a great deal of time organising shows to raise money for the church.

"My brother Brian Rix and I used to hide under the piano and listen to them rewhearsing," said Sheila. "My father was a ship owner and he didn't go on stage himself, but he used to make all the scenery. We had a little cottage in the grounds of our house where he kept all his stuff and he was always sawing and hammering and painting. He loved it."

When her mother wasn't putting on shows, she was throwing lively parties at which everyone did his party piece. Sheila's speciality was the dramatic poem.

"My favourite poem was called 'Ojistoh", about a Mohican woman who is captured by another tribe. It's quite exciting," said Sheila. "I learned it at elocution lessons when I was eleven, and when I recited it the mistress said 'That girl will be an actress.'

"The funny thing is, years later when I was in the airforce I was asked to do something for a concert. I couldn't think of anything to do until I remembered 'Ojistoh'. Anyway, in the audience that night were some tough Glaswegian boys from the Argyll and Sutherland Regiment and when I launched into 'Ojistoh' they started to laugh and they laughed me off stage!" It was Sheila's worst theatrical disaster.

Spotted at drama school by Sir Donald Wolfitt, she was invited to join his company and spent a great deal of time staying in seedy digs while they toured the country.

"The funny thing is when you're young you don't seem to mind," said Sheila, "and the landladies could be kind. In Norwich one of the other girls and I were staying with a Mrs Pigani who discovered that we liked Welsh Rarebit. It turned out to be her husband's speciality and we had it for supper every night!"

Since then Sheila has worked in countless productions, including comedies with her brother Brian Rix. These days, however, she's happy to swap the irregular hours of the theatre for the more settled life of television.

1989: Denis Rigg

Businessman Mr Wilks knew Denis Rigg's type - and told him so.

1989 saw local businessman Denis Rigg causing many problems for the Sugden family. He wanted to buy Emmerdale Farm and turn the land into an open quarry, and stooped to various devious means to get his way.

Annie told Joe that she wouldn't settle anywhere else - she wanted to see out her days at the farm. Joe was opposed to Denis' plans anyway, and told him so - the farm was expanding, not being sold off to become a quarry.

Denis thought that Mr Wilks might be an ally, and called on him at The Woolpack. But Mr W was having none of it - a former businessman himself, he knew Denis' type and told him so.

Denis' next port of call on that fateful July afternoon was to Emmerdale Farm - where he found Joe tending to his prize bull in one of the outbuildings. Denis started off with promises to make Joe wealthy if he sold the farm, but ended up furious at Joe's continued refusals. The bull became distressed by the angry human, and Denis ended up crushed against the wall.

The visit to Emmerdale Farm was the last visit Denis Rigg ever made.

1989: Annie Sugden's Tranquilliser Adiction...

"These last few days I've felt like staying in bed. Not getting up, not ever...."

I frowned upon the Emmerdale Farm storyline which portrayed the serial's sensible matriarch, Annie Sugden, being hooked on tranquillisers and going through agonies to break the habit.

I didn't like soap folk behaving out of character, it didn't seem true to life. Nowadays I rarely view soaps, but I have learnt a lot more about life and have come to the conclusion that real people often behave out of character. And aren't soaps supposed to reflect reality? Well, at least that was the intention back in 1989!

Annie had endured lashings of heartache: her husband, daughter and two grandchildren had died in the 1970s, and her father and daughter-in-law in the 1980s (after the tranquilliser addiction storyline, Annie would face further heartache with the death of her grandson, Jackie).

So, perhaps the tranquilliser storyline was not that unlikely at all.

The 1980s - Amos Brearly's Golden Decade

Amos and Alan Turner in 1983

An e-mail from Lizzie:

I've just watched some Emmerdale Farm episodes from 1975 and 1978. Is it me, or was Amos more restrained in the 1970s? He seemed pretty potty but not half as potty and oddball as he did in some episodes I have from 1983! I loved this character, but I think the 1980s was probably his heyday.

I agree, Lizzie - Amos was always great, but the character was refined and honed to perfection by the early 1980s. Like a fine wine, the character was all the better for maturing. I always hail the 1980s as the golden era of Amos and Mr Wilks!

You Love 1986

Thanks to everybody who voted in my recent poll. Your favourite '80s year of Emmerdale Farm action appears to be 1986 - the year of Meg Armstrong, Harry Mowlam, Eric Pollard, Walter's departure and Pat's death. The year Seth Armstrong cheated at the Woolpack Vs Malt Shovel Dominoes Tournament and Joe Sugden had an affair with Karen Moore. The year Sandie Merrick began her affair with Phil Pearce and Jackie Merrick lost Sita Sharma.

The results are:

1986 - 18 votes

1984 - 16 votes

1989 - 14 votes

1980 and 1987 - both had 8 votes

1988 - 6 votes

1985 - 5 votes

1982 - 4 votes

1981 and 1983 - 1 vote each!

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.

Some Beckindale Cast And Characters - September 1984

Some of the cast and character details from the Hotten Courier, Yorkshire TV's publicity pamphlet for Emmerdale Farm, September 30, 1984. Did you know that Hugh Manning (the Rev Donald Hinton) also starred in the highly successful 1960s series Mrs Thursday? That Arthur Pentelow (Mr Wilks) was a keen birdwatcher, just like his character? That Al Dixon (Walter) hoped his character would never speak? Or that Sheila Mercier (Annie Sugden) is the sister of Brian Rix?

Also from The Courier, Al Dixon, who played the second Woolpack Walter, and contributed so much to the pub's atmosphere, celebrated four years at the bar in 1984, having debuted in September 1980. Mr Dixon suffered a stroke in late 1985, but continued to appear on-screen until Christmas, when he had a small role in the village play, Toad Of Toad Hall. The play sequence, plus another scene with Walter knocking on the door of the Woolpack at opening time, to be admitted by Amos, had been filmed on location in Esholt before the actor fell ill.

-

In early 1986, Walter departed from Beckindale to stay with his sister in Worthing. It was hoped that Al Dixon would recover from his stroke and return to the show, but he died not long afterwards.