Oh No - It's Harry Mowlam!

TV Times, 31 August - 6 September 1985. Quarryman Harry Mowlam (Godfrey James) is back for another stint in Emmerdale Farm. Mr Mowlam first appeared in a storyline in which he mistreated his dog, and ended up clashing with Matt and Dolly Skilbeck.

In 1985, his return heralded more trouble for Matt and Dolly - Mowlam made improper advances to Dolly and, shortly afterwards, she suffered a miscarriage. Mowlam had other irons in the fire - he was one of the crooks in a storyline about a security van robbery, which spilled over into 1986. After the robbery, Mr Mowlam was murdered by his associate Derek Warner, who ended up holding the vicar, the Reverend Donald Hinton, hostage at gunpoint.

Whilst Derek Warner seemed a sad, desperate and inadequate man, worthy of some sympathy at least, Harry Mowlam had been a complete and utter swine and was not mourned in Beckindale.

Matt Skilbeck was originally accused of Mowlam's murder, and the threat of a prison sentence hung over him until the true culprit was discovered.

Matt found it difficult to join in the celebrations which followed. Why should he celebrate the fact that his liberty was no longer threatened when it should never have been threatened in the first place? He brooded long and hard, but finally bucked his ideas up when he realised the effect his depression was having on those closest to him, particularly Dolly.

Note: Emmerdale Farm was still being shown at 5.15pm in the Anglia TV region and was returning for a "new series".

1985: The Newcomer...

February 19, 1985 - a big night for soap opera as EastEnders began. Like Brookside, this show was an attempt to portray late 20th Century life in a gritty, upfront manner and never to flinch from realistic portrayals of issues. For the first few years I found both new soaps very interesting indeed - very refreshing. As the 1990s got underway, the issues began to dry up, the final taboos were broken and, in my very humble opinion, Brookside and EastEnders headed into sensationalism valley, having unfortunately contaminated the other soaps along the way.

Happily, for some years yet it would be business as usual in Beckindale, with Amos and Mr Wilks presiding over a full bar at the Woolpack. Note: in February 1985, Emmerdale Farm was still being being broadcast at 5.15pm in the London area.

1985: Viewing Figures Hit A New High, Jenny Runs Amok And Amos Takes Up Bee Keeping...

From the TV Times, 6-12 July, 1985. Some interesting soap predictions can be found under 2000 - a watch-this-space odyssey.

The serial is heading for greater days yet. In September, after its summer break during which some regions will see selected repeats of programmes, all ITV regions will finally be showing the same episode on the same day...

Synopsis for 9 July 1985.

Amos the bee-keeper!

Alan Turner on horseback and the programme synopsis for 11 July 1985.

Seth and Jenny.

Seth Armstrong

A signed photograph of Stan Richards as Seth from the 1980s. Did you know that before the 1980s signed photographs of UK soap stars issued by individual TV companies were always black and white? It was several years into the 1980s before they were updated to colour!

Seth Armstrong was originally supposed to be a one story character. In the 1970s many characters (some of them Beckindale locals) were brought into the series just for one story-line and never seen again. And then came Seth in 1978. He was originally a temporary bit-part. But then actor Stan Richards, who played Seth, was asked back for a few more story-lines. The character became a full-time regular in mid-1980.

"Seth was supposed to be a five episode wonder, but I soon realised his potential," said Stan Richards in the Sunday People article from April 1985, pictured above. Fortune was on both Seth and Stan's side as Anne W Gibbons, Emmerdale Farm producer from 1979 to 1983, decided to build up the cast of regular characters and Seth became a fully fledged Beckindaler, bedding down in the 1980s to become one of the show's best-loved characters.

In 1980, Amos Brearly commented disapprovingly on Seth's loyalty to the Malt Shovel, the Woolpack's rival pub. But that was soon to change, and Seth became a Woolpack regular. There was much sport to be had there. Amos soon found himself wound up left, right and centre by the wily gamekeeper!

When Alan Turner was appointed manager of NY Estates' Beckindale holding in 1982, it was fun, fun, fun! He and Seth soon became one one of the funniest double acts in soap history!

And, as with the redoubtable Mr Brearly, it was Seth's skills as a wind-up merchant that provided a lot of the laughs (for the viewers and Mrs Bates, not for Mr Turner!) at NY Estates.

The Pub And The Church - Traditional Focal Points Of The English Village...

Amos Brearly is at the pumps whilst the Vicar, the Reverend Donald Hinton, enjoys Woolpack hospitality in the 1980s.

An interesting piece about the unlikely bond between the pub and the church in English villages on the TV Times soaps page, 21-27 September, 1985. Below that, we find an article about Paul Beringer, of Brookside and Albion Market. His part as busker Paul O'Donnell in the Market soap required a violin. Said Paul: "In fact I had to borrow a violin from my girlfriend, Malandra Burrows, who will soon be seen in Emmerdale Farm..."

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More about Albion Market here.

Tragedy For Matt And Dolly...

Soaps, by Marsha Hanlon, TV Times, 23-29 November 1985.

This was the second child lost during pregnancy for Dolly. The first loss had occurred in early 1980 - and had also marked a change of actress in the Dolly role. When she was last seen before the tragedy, she was played by Katharine Barker. When she returned from hospital, Jean Rogers had taken over.

The reason for the 1985 miscarriage lay behind the scenes: actress Helen Weir, who played Jack Sugden's wife, Pat, and was the real-life wife of the actor behind Jack, Clive Hornby, announced she was pregnant after the start of the Dolly pregnancy storyline. It may have been possible to ignore this fact on screen - the 1980s American sit com Kate & Allie got round the pregnancy of actress Susan Saint James with some very creative storylines and camera angles. But the Emmerdale Farm production team opted to write Helen's real life condition into the plot and it was felt only one baby could be coped with on set.

So, tragedy knocked at Matt and Dolly's door.

They say that a miscarriage is a terrible trauma for a woman, but on this occasion I had to wonder how Matt, in particular, coped. This poor man had been positively battered by fate.

He'd already lost his first wife, Peggy - she had died suddenly in 1973. In 1976, the most awful tragedy befell the man when his infant twins, Sam and Sally, and Aunt Beattie, were killed in an accident at a level crossing.

Then, in 1980, came the loss of Matt and Dolly's much anticipated first baby, at an advanced stage of Dolly's pregnancy, and in 1985 their second sad loss.

Despite all this (and being accused of murder in 1986) Matt managed to plod on, sturdy and dependable. Some TV critics declared the character "boring", but, personally, I liked Matt. Life wasn't so frantic in soaps back in those days and Matt fitted the country setting perfectly.

Matt (Frederick Pyne) as he appeared on the front cover of the 1981 "Emmerdale Farm" novel "False Witness".

1985: Farm Favourite

Daily Mirror, 23 May, 1985:

EastEnders is challenging Emmerdale Farm in the TV ratings. The latest viewing figures reveal that both programmes have between the 12 and 13 million mark, but in the week ending May 12 EastEnders leapt by 200,000. As the cockney soap has been going for only three months compared to the 12 years of their rustic rivals, it's not surprising the BBC are celebrating.

Well, yes. But it should be pointed out that Emmerdale Farm had not had the advantages of the Albert Square drama - loads of costly publicity and a peak viewing time slot across the nation from the outset!

The article also picks up on old Walter - four years after Al Dixon stepped into the role, and the real-life romance and marriage of Clive Hornby and Helen Weir, Pat and Jack Sugden in the serial.

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.

Jackie and Sita

From the TV Times, 10-16 August 1985.

Emmerdale Farm was "still enjoying a popularity boom in the ratings". In the storyline, Jackie Merrick (Ian Sharrock) was having a relationship with young Indian nurse Sita Sharma (Mamta Kash). He met her during his lengthy period of hospitalisation, after he was knocked down by Alan Turner's car.

1985: Seth Is Topping The Bill

From the Daily Mirror, 23/5/1985:

Stan Richards stands there, in smart grey suit topped by Seth Armstrong's soft woolly cap, screws up his face until his bushy moustache and gummy mouth almost meet up with his eyebrows, and grins gormlessly.

And in an accent as thick as Yorkshire gravy, he jokes: "Nah don't forget, if Mr Turner comes in 'ere tonight charge him extra - remember the beer is 75p a pint!"

The audience in the tiny village hall at Bradfield, not far from Sheffield, roar with delight.

Stan plays two or three dates a week, getting the kind of audience appreciation that would be the envy of many top comedians.

Stan has been Seth Armstrong, Emmerdale's poacher-turned gamekeeper, for eight years. [BLOG NOTE: spot the newspaper boo-boo here - it was actually seven years at that point].

"I owe a lot to Emmerdale Farm" he says. "I'm playing the same clubs that I used to. Only difference is now they all want to see me."

Caring Dolly, Seth And Mr Turner - The Saga Continues, And Jackie Home From Hospital...

Jean Rogers, modelling knitwear as Dolly Skilbeck in 1983.

TV Times, 22-28 June 1985.

The week's big event was the return of Jackie Merrick to Emmerdale Farm after his long stay in hospital. The poor bloke had been in an accident involving a certain Mr Alan Turner's car....

Meanwhile, the Tuesday episode synopsis shows that the aforementioned Mr Turner was not without problems. And, as was so often the case, Seth Armstrong was involved!

Remember This? Amos, Sweet As Honey - June 1985

From the TV Times, 13 June 1985.

Does anyone recall the details of this storyline?

1985: Up Go The Ratings...

Good news for Walter and Seth as Emmerdale Farm's viewers rapidly increase...

TV TIMES 8-14 June 1985.

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Enough to make old Walter speak?! Not quite, but Emmerdale Farm's increasing success, attracting nearly fifteen million viewers in 1985, was a cause for joy for fans of the show and for everybody in "Beckindale"!

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One surprise, now the London area has joined the series at peak viewing time, is that more Southerners are warming to the rustic drama of the farm than are drawn to a cockney-based rival soap shown at the same time.

I can't imagine what the "cockney-based rival soap" was, can you?

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...
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... 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.