New Beckindale Bugle Header Poll

We've just designed a new header for the Bugle - we hope you like it! Before making a final decision on whether it's to be permanently "out with the old, in with the new" we'd like your opinions, so if you have a preference between old (above) and new, eyes right to our poll and let us have your vote!

Matt And Dolly Skilbeck - The End Part 2

Matt and Dolly Skilbeck (Frederick Pyne and Jean Rogers), 1989 - their marriage was in its death throes.

When Matt received the letter from Dolly's solicitor regarding their divorce, he tore round to the mill house. Dolly was divorcing him on grounds which made him look totally responsible for the breakdown of their marriage. He had deserted the marital bed, but there was no mention as to why...

Dolly pointed out that Matt had agreed she should divorce him when they'd discussed the matter some months previously. It was all just words anyway. Things would be easier this way.

Annie Sugden (Sheila Mercier) was deeply disturbed by the break-up. In her day, marriage was forever. Dolly pointed out that Annie had endured years of misery with Jacob. Annie stated firmly that Matt wasn't Jacob.

But it was no use.

The Crossgill fire in 1988, the destruction of the new home she'd hoped to share with Matt and Sam, had changed something within Dolly. She had been happy with her home at Emmerdale Farm, absolutely thrilled when she and Matt had moved into the extension cottage in late 1982.

But the idea of having a home away from the farm, somewhere for just herself, her husband and child, had entranced Dolly. When it was suddenly and dramatically snatched away from them, she was left feeling isolated - Matt was happy to go on living at Emmerdale Farm. He didn't seem to understand her sense of loss.

And then Stephen Fuller had come along...

And now Stephen was dead, but Dolly's feelings towards him had damaged her marriage. Matt couldn't forgive her. And Dolly felt that maybe it was a good thing. She felt that her marriage to Matt was over.

And she must move forward.

Matt rather bitterly told Dolly that he hoped Sam would forgive her when she came to tell him how their marriage had broken up. Dolly replied that she would be as kind as she could be to both of them when the time came.

"I still love you, Dolly," Matt said.

But Dolly didn't want to hear that. She still had feelings for Matt, but her conviction that it was time to move on was absolute.

Left alone in the extension cottage at Emmerdale Farm, Matt felt lost.

Annie spoke to him, telling him that in her day marriage was forever, if a marriage broke-up, the couple felt that they were letting everyone down.

Matt replied that divorce might be technically easier in the 1980s, but it didn't hurt any the less.

And then, out of the blue, Frank Tate (Norman Bowler), new owner of Home Farm, came up with an offer for Matt that rocked him on his heels. Frank had been both annoyed and impressed when Matt had stuck his oar in regarding the sorry state of some sheep which were being transported by Tate Haulage.

Frank resented Matt's interference, but the man was obviously a dedicated shepherd - his reputation in Beckindale was second to none.

So, via Frank, came the idea that Matt that should relocate and take up a new job on a large sheep farm in Norfolk. Matt was uncertain.

But Frank unsettled him, telling him that farming was on the move - Emmerdale Farm probably had another decade left at the most.

With Joe and Jack Sugden (Clive Hornby and Frazer Hines) bickering again, Matt realised that if he moved to Norfolk Jack could move back to Emmerdale from Demdyke Row, without being around Joe too much.

Jack could have the extension cottage.

Dolly was shocked by the suddenness of Matt's decision. She'd been worrying about him, and called to see how he was.

She'd never envisaged that Matt would leave Beckindale.

The thought of him going hurt her, even though she no longer wished to be married to him.

But she felt it would be a good move for Matt. He would be moving forward with his life too.

"You do right, love," she said, warmly.

And so came the day of parting.

Annie had come to regard Matt as family.

As had her father, Sam (Toke Townley).

When Dolly's Aunt Jessie had arrived for the christening of young Sam in 1983, and was wondering who the baby resembled, Sam senior had said: "He's got my nose!"

"You're no relation, Dad!" Annie reminded him.

"I keep forgetting!" said Sam.

Annie was well aware that she and Matt weren't flesh and blood relations.

But there was a strong family bond between them nonetheless.

Matt asked Annie to look out for Dolly and Sam junior.

"May God go with you," Annie said at the moment of parting.

And then, as Matt walked through the door for the very last time, Annie wept.

Frederick Pyne's last appearance as Matt Skilbeck was in episode 1410, broadcast on 7 December 1989.

More About The Beckindale Police House....

Where was it?

Sarah asks:

You say "near the Woolpack," but can you tell me exactly where the Beckindale police station was in Esholt in the 80's?

Yes, Sarah - it fronted what was in reality Main Street, Esholt, and was on the opposite side of Pullan Lane corner from The Woolpack and the buildings adjoining it. The Beckindale bus stop was just outside it. The building used can be seen on Google Maps.

Mrs Bates (Diana Davies) calls at the Beckindale police house/station in 1984, when her dog, Bundle, is shot for worrying sheep. Sergeant Ian MacArthur (Martin Dale) advises her.

Amos Brearly - The Marrying Kind?

Amos Brearly (Ronald Magill) - marriage plans in 1988.

Sheila writes:

Much is made of Amos's proposal of marriage to Annie Sugden - purely for business reasons - in 1972. But was Amos ever romantically involved with a woman during the 1980s?

Yes, Sheila, he was. In October 1988, Amos came close to marrying old acquaintance Gloria Pinfold (Hope Johnstone). A personable woman, she dominated the blustering landlord and caused Henry Wilks great distress when she moved into The Woolpack and threw out the sausages and bacon because of their high cholesterol content. She also criticised Henry's book keeping.

Amos told Henry he was going to marry Gloria.

Henry would have to leave The Woolpack.

It looked like the days of one of Beckindale's best-loved duos were numbered, until Gloria called off the engagement and went off with someone else.

Primrose Dingle - Related To The Dingle Family?

In the 1980s, long before the Dingle family, Henry Wilks sometimes sought a little peace and quiet at Primrose Dingle.

Peter asks:

I remember Mr Wilks defending a local beauty spot called "Primrose Dingle" in the 1980s - NY Estates were dumping builders' rubbish there. Was the "Dingle" name anything to do with the Dingle family?

No, Peter. "Primrose Dingle" was Mr Wilks' own name for this beauty spot in the 1980s which passed into common usage in Beckindale - and the Dingle family hadn't been invented then!

So, what is a "dingle" and where does the surname come from?

This unusual surname is of early medieval English origin, and is either a topographical name for a dweller by or in the dingle, or a locational name from a place called Dingle in Lancashire, both deriving from the Middle English "dingle" meaning a dingle, a deep dell or hollow. The placename is recorded as "Dingyll" in the Assize Rolls of 1246. There is a district of Liverpool called Dingle also. The surname dates back to the mid 13th Century (see below) and early recordings include William Dingel (1273) in the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire, Hugh de la Dingle (1275) in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire, and John ate Dyngle (1299) in the Studies on Middle English Local Surnames, from Worcestershire.

Read it all here - http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?name=Dingle

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.

The Beckindale Police House

Paul writes to ask:

Observing some '80's Emmerdale eps, I've noticed a cottage with a hanging sign reading "Police" near the Woolpack. Was it part of the plot, or actually Esholt Police Station?

Part of the plot, Paul. As can be seen in the pics at the top of this post, the sign was erected by the Emmerdale Farm production staff whenever outside filming took place in that particular location.

Beckindale had its own police station - or police house - in the 1980s, as you say, near The Woolpack. From December 1980 onwards, Sergeant Ian MacArthur (Martin Dale) was the man at the helm.

Jean Rogers - 30 Years Since Emmerdale Farm Debut As Dolly Skilbeck...

A newspaper article about the changing face of Dolly Skilbeck from March 1980.

1 April 2010 was the thirtieth anniversary of actress Jean Rogers making her screen debut as Dolly Skilbeck of Emmerdale Farm. Jean took over the role from Katharine Barker, who hadn't been seen on-screen since the previous summer.

Of course, bedding down into a role originally played by somebody else is never easy, but Jean soon made the character of Dolly her very own - and we here at The Bugle remember her fondly.

Matt (Frederick Pyne), Dolly (Jean Rogers), young Sam (Benjamin Whitehead) and Joe (Frazer Hines) in a scene from 1986.

Jean Rogers became Dolly Skilbeck on 1 April 1980 (allow for a few days' regional variations in ITV's schedules!). It was very rare for a member of the Sugden family circle to be recast, and the Skilbecks were very much part of that circle, but in 1980 producer Anne W Gibbons took the bull by the horns, recasting both Jack Sugden - Clive Hornby took on the role last played by Andrew Burt a few years previously - and Dolly, when actress Katharine Barker left the show.

Interviewed in 1983, Jean Rogers recalled:

"I was recruited to take over the Dolly Skilbeck part from actress Katharine Barker. We looked alike, of course, and it was important that the continuity of character be maintained for as long as possible.

"But that posed a major problem: was I playing the part of Dolly, or the part of Katharine playing Dolly?

"I knew I wouldn't be able to sustain a double-role indefinitely, so I slowly eased Katharine's presence out of the role and established my own identity.

"It was a long, slow task - but after a couple of years I finally received a letter from a viewer who said I was doing OK, and that no-one could now recall what the first Dolly Skilbeck was like."

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!

Terence And Mary Turner

Stephen Marchant briefly appeared as Terence Turner in the mid-1980s.

Ken asks:

I hear the ages of Alan Turner's children were altered to fit into more recent plots. Do you know how old they were originally?

Alan Turner refers to Terence being eighteen and Mary being seventeen in 1983. Terence was studying, Mary was into pop music and "bizarre clothes".

Newcomers Of 1980...

Al Dixon made his debut as Walter in episode 597 on 2 September 1980.

"Jack Sugden" has written again:

Great blog! I've read that 1980 was a year of change for Emmerdale, with lots of new characters. Who were they?

Well, "Jack", I've written about this topic elsewhere on the blog, but in a nutshell...

I'm sure you already know about the first newcomer - 1980 saw the arrival of Clive Hornby as Jack Sugden (19 February) - a new head and rather different personality on old shoulders, Jean Rogers as Dolly Skilbeck (1 April) - ditto.

The Tolly family - Enoch (Neil McCarthy), Grace (Margaret Stallard), Naomi (Jenny Tomasin) and Hannah (Rachel Ambler) - made its debut. The Tollys appeared in one story-line in 1980, another in 1981 (when Enoch died) and finally Grace appeared briefly in 1982, before leaving Beckindale for good.

Carl Rigg first appeared as new NY Estates Beckindale manager Richard Anstey in February.

Stan Richards as Seth Armstrong become a full-time regular character and cast member in the summer of 1980.

Pam St Clement (Pat of EastEnders) passed briefly through the show, appearing in five episodes as a Mrs Eckersley in March 1980. Mrs E had a husband, Harold (Roger Hammond), and a daughter, Esmarelda (Debbie Farrington).

The Merrick family were recast and slightly rewritten as Pat Merrick (Helen Weir), her son, Jackie (Ian Sharrock) and daughter, Sandie (Jane Hutcheson), arrived. Pat had briefly visited Beckindale in July, before bringing her family to live there in September. Differing from the Merricks of old, Pat had a new first name (the character was originally called Ruth - in 1982, we discovered this was Pat's middle name) and was minus one child. Just before Christmas, a new Tom Merrick (Edward Peel), glowering with hostility, arrived.

On 2 September 1980, Al Dixon first appeared as wonderful Walter of The Woolpack.

We started to meet the NY Estates workforce as John Tuplin (Malcolm Raeburn) and Daniel Hawkins (Alan Starkey) made their debuts in October.

Trouble brews amongst the NY Estates workers...

Ann Way made her first appearance as Amos Brearly's awful Aunt Emily and Hazel Bainbridge played Henry Wilks' cousin Alice in November.

Martin Dale made his debut as Police Sergeant Ian MacArthur in December.

Bowing out of Beckindale in 1980 was Maurice Westrop (Edward Dentith) - who left on 29 May - and his daughter, Judy (Jane Cussons) - who made her final appearance in the show on 17 July.