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".
The year when Emmerdale Farm became Emmerdale. June 22 1989, Emmerdale Farm...
Alan Turner discovers that Seth is as wily a businessman as he is a gamekeeper. And Joe is giving an answer to Denis Rigg.
Emmerdale Farm became Emmerdale on 14 November, 1989. This clipping from the Sun is dated Nov 23...
Down-trodden Matt Skilbeck, seen here in happier times (1987) with wife Dolly and son Sam, gets a letter from Dolly's solicitor. Meanwhile, Pete Whiteley is in for a nasty surprise.
TV Times, 19-25 February 1983. The synopsis for the episode of Emmerdale Farm broadcast on 22/2/ reads:
When Jackie found an old butter churn in one of the outbuildings at Emmerdale Farm, he thought it might make a nice ornament. But Dolly, who was already making her own wool, was fired with the ambition to use it...
Annie exclaimed at the find "It's Granny Sugden's old churn! Where'd you find that?"
She pointed out that if the churn was to be used, it would need a stand.
Jackie set to work without consulting Matt, who happened upon the lad working on the stand some time later. He expressed concern at the lack of proper carpentry joints, and the use of nails instead of screws. But Jackie shrugged Matt's doubts off.
That night at the farmhouse, Pat, Dolly and Matt assembled...
... for the grand entrance of the butter churn, complete with Jackie's new stand.
Jackie gave his audience a brief demonstration...
... and the stand fell apart.
Jackie was furious - after all his work! - but Matt offered to help him make a new stand.
And the following day that's just that what they did.
Unknown to Jackie and Matt, Jack happened upon the scene and was glad to see his son was finally settling in at the farm.
A nice item from 1983 which sometimes turns up on eBay. Good addition to any Emmerdale Farm/Emmerdale collection.
Some interesting facts about the (then) cast are included.
Did you know that Ian Sharrock appeared with Danny Kaye in ATV's production of Peter Pan?
Clive Hornby, the second actor to play Jack Sugden, joined the cast in 1980. He said in 1983: "I knew nothing about farming when I joined the series - but I've learned a lot and realised what a hard life it is."
Cuddlesome Seth Armstrong. Stan Richards had previously appeared briefly in soapland as a councillor colleague of Alf Roberts and Len Fairclough in Coronation Street.
Frederick Pyne helped to raise £25,000 for two hospitals for the disabled, much of it through personal appearances by himself and through arranging them with other members of the cast.
Soaps, by Marsha Hanlon, TV Times, 23-29 November 1985.
Matt (Frederick Pyne) as he appeared on the front cover of the 1981 "Emmerdale Farm" novel "False Witness".
From the TV Times, 13 June 1985.
Does anyone recall the details of this storyline?
