Beckindale Bugle - Emmerdale Farm In The 1980s: Farewell, 1980

Sunday 31 August 2008

Farewell, 1980 - For Now!

And so we bid farewell to 1980 - for now! It was a truly memorable Emmerdale Farm year, which saw the arrival of Clive Hornby as Jack Sugden, Jean Rogers as Dolly Skilbeck, Al Dixon as silent Walter, Martin Dale as Sergeant MacArthur and the debut of Richard Anstey (Carl Rigg) at NY Estates.

The Merricks (Helen Weir, Ian Sharrock, Jane Hutcheson and Edward Peel) apparently "returned" - but all had different faces - and Ruth had a different Christian name too - she was now Pat! Also, the family seemed to be minus a child as Ruth Merrick had been the mother of three children in the 1972 episodes!

Seth Armstrong made a huge change in the summer of 1980 - deserting The Malt Shovel, his local for many years, to drink at The Woolpack, dramatically increasing the character's on-screen appearances - and driving Amos Brearly madder than ever!

Annie Sugden had a bad knee, the Longthorns first appeared, and Joe went to NY Estates to work...

By the end of the year, Walter and Seth were established at The Woolpack, Andy Longthorn was making eyes at Sandie Merrick and we had finally broken out of the NY Estates office to begin exploring life with the estate workers.

Amos celebrated Christmas with some traditional bell ringing at The Woolpack.

1981 would bring what 1981 would bring...

A tractor falling on Enoch Tolly?

Amos Brearly grappling with one of those new fangled Space Invaders machines?

Seth Armstrong being a lousy gamekeeper and facing the sack?

Bitter battles with NY Estates over right-of-ways?

Arson at NY Estates?

A burglary at Emmerdale Farm?

Surely not!!

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INTRODUCTION

The inspiration for this blog came from a stack of old newspapers and magazines found in my loft. The publications were dated from 1978-1991 and the 1980s editions contained quite a few articles about the English television soap opera Emmerdale Farm.

So, I decided to share them with Emmerdale historians.

Here at The Beckindale Bugle you will find newspaper and magazine articles about cast members and characters, plus storylines and screen captures from 1980s Emmerdale Farm episodes.

What's contained here should give an insight into the way things were down Beckindale way in the 1980s.

The decade which began with the strapped-for-cash Merrick family trudging into the village, and ended with that charmingly upmarket family the Tates moving into Home Farm...

The decade when Seth Armstrong became a full-time regular character.

The decade when Al Dixon arrived at The Woolpack and had his glorious reign as silent Walter.

The decade when the wonderful Amos Brearly went pottier than ever, and Mr Wilks was a good friend to all.

The decade when the much-loved Sam Pearson, after a very active final few years, died, Jack Sugden returned with a different face, and Dolly Skilbeck also underwent a transformation.

The decade when Alan Turner and Mrs Bates made their first appearances, along with Alan's son, Terence, and Mrs B's children, Kathy and Nick.

The decade when we first met Archie Brooks, Kate Hughes and her children, Mark and Rachel, Jack's romantic interest, Sarah Connolly, and a schemer called Eric Pollard...

I hope that this blog will encourage interest in 1980s Emmerdale Farm, and assist in encouraging YTV to bring out further seasons as official DVD releases.