Matt And Dolly, The 1980s And Emmerdale Farm...

Matt and Dolly at home on Emmerdale Farm in the 1980s.

A couple of interesting e-mails...

Richard asks about my views on Matt and Dolly Skilbeck and the part they played in the Emmerdale Farm saga in the 1980s. And were the characters reconciled when Dolly left the show in 1991?

Matt and Dolly were two of my favourite Emmerdale Farm characters - they were Mr and Mrs Average, and provided a bit of everyday normality in a show which had a number of larger than life characters.

It wasn't easy for Jean Rogers to step into the role of Dolly in 1980, she spoke of how complicated it felt playing a character originally portrayed by another actress in several newspaper interviews. But she soon made Dolly all her own.

I think it was a great shame that the couple split up in the Stuart Doughty era, and I believe that after this both seemed a little lost as characters. Matt's departure in December 1989 saddened me.

This blog is not really about the 1990s, but I thought it was daft that Dolly was then seen to get involved with a bit of a villain, and to have an abortion. This last act seemed very out of character and didn't ring true at all. Actress Jean Rogers was herself unhappy with this storyline as Dolly had lost two children during pregnancy and absolutely loved kids.

Were Matt and Dolly reconciled? Well, Dolly did leave for Norfolk, where Matt was living, and, although it was never stated on screen, I'm a romantic and I hope they were.

Certainly, when I discuss Emmerdale Farm in the 1980s with friends, the mere mention of the names "Matt and Dolly" usually brings forth fond smiles and a flood of recollections.

The pair are soap legends!

Chrissy Lawton writes:

I like Back To Beckindale, it covers a time before I was born and I'm really surprised that Emmerdale Farm was so popular in the 80's, because Wikipedia says it wasn't! Why did you pick the 80's for your blog?

No disrespect to Wikipedia, but anybody can write anything on there and I do find it misleading at times. Various 1980s magazine and newspaper articles reproduced on this blog show that Emmerdale Farm was rating well and very much "in the public eye" long before the plane crash storyline of late 1993.

To answer your question, I loved Emmerdale Farm as a kid in the '70s, but soaps evolve, and for me the most enjoyable era was 1980 to 1987 - with the arrival of the Merricks, Alan Turner and Mrs Bates, Archie Brooks and Eric Pollard, and Seth Armstrong settling down as a fully fledged regular character. The 1980s were also the golden era of Amos and Mr Wilks.

I have started another Emmerdale Farm blog covering 1972-1979, but my main interest in the show remains with the 1980s

1982 - Matt And Dolly On The Move (But Not Far!)

1982 was a happy time for Matt and Dolly Skilbeck - with the news that Dolly was pregnant, their move into the newly-built barn conversion cottage at Emmerdale Farm and, finally, the arrival of young Sam. Here we see the couple taking a break in preparing the cottage for occupation.

The Sun, October 26 1982: Matt and Dolly Skilbeck spend their first night in their new home.

Walter Altered - And Others Too!

I always thought that a change of actor was preferable to a death in Beckindale. Because of actors and actresses leaving, we saw several tragedies in the '70s and '80s which began to make the Sugdens seem just a little too tragic!

In 1972, the show began with the funeral of Jacob Sugden, and the following year his daughter, Peggy, died suddenly - as actress Jo Kendall had decided to leave the show. Recasting would have been perfectly acceptable in this fledgling serial, but it was not something English TV soaps were very "into" at that time - Coronation Street appeared to have set the standard there! The Skilbeck twins, Sam and Sally, were killed off in 1976 in a most appalling manner - killed in an accident at a level crossing, which was obviously a way of doing away with a loose thread from the Peggy/Matt marriage, and winning viewers.

In the 1980s, both Pat Sugden and Jackie Merrick died tragically when the actors playing the roles left the show.

And so the Sugdens built up a grim saga of tragedy - for purely off-screen reasons.

Sometimes, central characters were recast - although very rarely were they residents of Emmerdale Farm itself. But in 1980, the improbable happened twice...

From the Yorkshire Evening Post supplement Emmerdale Farm 1,000! - 1985.

HELLO DOLLYS

"Emmerdale" has had four "doubles" in the cast, but the mos startling lookalikes have been Jean Rogers, the present Dolly, and Katharine Barker, the original one.

Dolly Skilbeck is expecting her second youngster - much to the delight of Jean Rogers, who plays Matt's pretty wife.

Jean just loves kids. She's a proud off-screen mum to Jeremy, 17, and Justin, 14.

And on screen, it's difficult to believe that she's not the real mother of Benjamin Whitehead, the little boy who takes the part of Dolly's son, Sam.

It's a relationship which Jean has worked hard at ever since three-year-old Ben joined the series as a baby.

One of her secrets was getting to know Ben's parents, Richard and Susan Whitehead, who own a butcher's shop in Otley.

And the Whiteheads took to Jean so much they asked her to become Ben's godmother.

Jean, who is divorced, goes to playgroup with Ben and his real mum and has become deeply involved in promoting the Pre-school Playgroups Association.

"Ben and I know each other well so now he acts perfectly naturally when he's in a scene with me," says Jean.

"The rest of the cast, too, make an effort to know him and win his confidence, which makes filming a lot easier."

Ben is so relaxed, that unlike some children, he doesn't mind if his mum isn't around on the set.

She goes off into another room and watches her son in action on a monitor.

Viewers can look forward to some authentic scenes when the new addition to the Skilbeck family comes along.

Sam's arrival was heralded as a great acting achievement for Jean, who said she just relied on her unforgettable experiences while giving birth to her own children.

"I think I gave the acting performance of my life that day," says Jean. "I let my mind go back to my own children's births and practically lived through them again.

"At the end I was quite exhausted. The nurse said I'd been so convincing she felt she should be handing me a new-born baby.

"And one cameraman was so overcome by my gasps, straining and cries, he felt ill and had to rush off for a glass of water!"

[Andy's note: Actress Helen Weir, Pat Sugden in Emmerdale Farm, became pregnant in real life at the time of the Dolly pregnancy storyline. Helen's pregnancy was written into the plot, and, sadly, there was room for only one baby on set, so Dolly's screen pregnancy ended in a miscarriage.]

A PAIR OF JACKS

The original Jack Sugden was played by Andrew Burt. The call of literature led to Jack cutting his ties with Emmerdale Farm and floating off to Rome to write a book of poetry.

However, Annie Sugden's elder son returned to the fold in the shape of Clive Hornby and revived his interest in the land... only to land the family with a few problems born of Jack's single-mindedness.

Andrew Burt, after leaving the series, went on to play many other TV roles.

So, two of the central characters up at the farm were boldly recast in 1980! Around and about the village, the Yorkshire Evening Post Emmerdale Farm 1,000th episode supplement noted a couple of other face changes...

TOM TOM

The two actors who played the roguish Tom Merrick have also portrayed characters on the right side of the law. Edward Peel, the first Tom, is now to be seen as Chief Inspector Perrin in "Juliet Bravo", and Jack Carr, the second Tom Merrick who did a stretch in jail, played a police sergeant in "Coronation Street".

Merrick, who has disappeared again, probably to the oil rigs, is the father of Sandie and for a long time thought he was Jackie's Dad until it was revealed Jack Sugden had sired him in a long-ago affair with Pat.

[Andy's note: Tom was also played by actor David Hill in the show's early days. ]

Walter altered

Another "double", of course, was the two Walters....

Geoffrey Hooper was the original silent*, bar-propping regular at the Woolpack, but sadly, he died some time ago, and he was replaced by the present Walter, former music hall entertainer Al Dixon.

*In actual fact, Geoffrey Hooper's Walter often spoke.

1980: Dolly Mixture

I found this newspaper article tucked away inside an old Emmerdale Farm magazine. I don't know which newspaper it originally came from, but there is a date written on the article - March 18, 1980:

Dolly Mixture

By Jim Greenfield

It will be a case of Hello Dolly and Goodbye Dolly for fans of TV's "Emmerdale Farm" when one of its leading characters returns "from convalescence" next month.

For Katharine Barker, known to millions for the last three years as Dolly Skilbeck, will be replaced by amazing lookalike actress Jean Rogers.

The "twin" substitute is a remarkable piece of casting by Yorkshire TV which exploits an uncanny similarity between the actresses.

"Katharine's contract came to an end and she let us know well in advance that she did not want to continue in 'Emmerdale'," said a spokesman.

"We have been extraordinarily fortunate in finding an actress who can take over the role of Dolly so advantageously."

Katharine is leaving to spend more time with her husband and teenage son. The serial imposes considerable demands on Southern-based actors and they spend at least four days a week in Leeds during the production season.

The plot had Dolly expecting a baby, developing complications and going into hospital. Viewers feared the worst, but her life was not in peril.

Her TV husband, Matt, has already lost one wife, Peggy, and had his twin children killed in an accident.

Spot Dolly Skilbeck!

We'll leave the 1980s behind for a moment and come forward to a more recent moment in TV history... It's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? But who is in the chair and where does actress Jean Rogers come into the picture? Find out on YouTube, below...

Double Acts

Weird and Wonderful - Mr Wilks and Amos in 1986.

Emmerdale Farm in the 1980s was home to some delightful double acts. For almost five years of the decade, Sam Pearson and Annie Sugden continued with their father and daughter routine up at the farmhouse. Annie cared deeply for her father, though sometimes this manifested itself as nagging - like the time she discovered his underwear was so old it was falling to pieces.

Sometimes Sam could be a grouch to Annie - usually if he had something on his mind - dark deeds at the allotments perhaps (what was Seth up to?!) or if somebody was behaving in a way Sam considered as being "against the Bible".

Grouching, nagging and all, the two were always wonderful to watch.

Over at the Woolpack Inn, the 1980s were a golden era for Amos Brearly and Mr Wilks. The characters had matured into a beautifully oddly-matched twosome and the '80s saw Amos becoming pottier than ever. He took up golf. He started a local magazine called The Beckindale Bugle. He fancied himself as Member of Parliament for Halifax. He took up bee-keeping. He became interested in antiques. He became interested in the local badger population. He... well, he did all sorts of things!

Whilst Mr Wilks was Amos' friend and business partner and shared many of his scenes within the serial, to a lesser degree Seth Armstrong also formed a double act with Amos. Seth settled down to become a regular character in the 1980s, and it wasn't long before he had learned how to wind up the Woolpack's bewhiskered landlord whenever he wanted.

Seth also formed a bit of a double act with Alan Turner, NY Estates' Beckindale manager, who arrived in 1982. The wily gamekeeper was more than a match for Mr Turner who, underneath all his clever talk, was very insecure and not terribly bright. "Get out, Seth!" Alan would thunder, quite regularly, after Seth had wound him up to the maximum. But as with all the best double acts, the antagonism masked a grudging fondness between the two characters.

Seth became a great pal of Jackie Merrick, who worked with him briefly in the early '80s. The partnership of the canny older man and the troubled young lad worked well and provided some great scenes for the show.

Amos and Walter were another double act. When Al Dixon stepped into the role in September 1980, he quickly became a familiar sight at the Woolpack - and remained absolutely silent throughout all Amos' chunterings, fads and occasional chidings. But when Walter joined a mass boycott of the pub in 1983, Amos was devastated!

Silence was golden - Amos and Walter in 1983.

Next on the list comes the aforementioned Alan Turner and the very excellent Mrs Bates of NY Estates. When Mrs Bates arrived as Alan's secretary in 1984, nobody could guess that something quite magical was going to happen. But it did. I relished the scenes with these two characters - Mrs Bates saw through Alan's bluster each and every time, and became "clued in" to the silly, selfish, cowardly, but far from malicious little man inside him.

And on occasion she helped to bring out a good side to Alan Turner that many of us knew was there, but which needed some encouraging.

Self preservation, cowardice and bullying were three of Alan Turner's less likable traits. But he was never really a "JR" type. Mrs Bates saw through to the benevolent wally lurking underneath and was amused.

And then of course there was Matt and Dolly. The later years of the decade saw the couple hitting stormy waters and their marriage ending, but for over half the 1980s, the two were good, solid ordinary characters, not particularly colourful, and not particularly exciting. Their presence added believability to the show.

In a district which had its fair share of larger-than-life characters, Matt and Dolly represented Mr and Mrs Average and were, I always thought, tremendously likable. I recently watched some scenes showing the Skilbecks on a caravan holiday in a 1986 storyline. Nothing exciting happened. The dialogue wasn't peppered with wit. But Jean Rogers and Frederick Pyne kept any hint of "nod off" factor out of the scenes. I was sorry to see their partnership end.

1989: From Emmerdale Farm To Emmerdale

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.

25 Years Ago - The Way Things Were - Gossip From Beckindale 1983 - Part 2...

TV Times, 19-25 February 1983. The synopsis for the episode of Emmerdale Farm broadcast on 22/2/ reads:

Jackie Merrick seems keen to settle in at Emmerdale. But he soon realises he has much to learn.

What were the details of this storyline?

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.

Emmerdale Farm 15th Anniversary Special, 1987

A 15th anniversary magazine published by Associated Magazines Ltd in 1987. Lots to read - including a "Who's Who", a farming year review, a range of recipes and even a Beckindale characters' astrology section. This is a great investment for all fans of 1980s Emmerdale Farm, or those interested in finding out more. Copies regularly turn up on eBay.

Relive some '80s storylines - remember the birth of Sam Skilbeck in 1982?

Enjoy some (now) nostalgic photographs...

Old scandal - Joe Sugden and Barbara Peters had the village agog in 1983 and caused much distress for Barbara's father, the Reverend Donald Hinton, vicar of Beckindale.

Joe helped Beckindale win in 1986!

Jackie Merrick fell down a disused mine shaft in 1987. The fall gave him time to ponder the recent past and prepare for his end. This time he survived, however fate decreed that he wouldn't make it out of the 1980s.

Make Seth's cap!

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".

Esholt Discovered

From the Daily Mirror, August 27, 1983:

The original location filming for the village of Beckindale had taken place in Arncliffe, but was re-located to Esholt in 1976. Of course, this meant a new building was needed for exterior shots of the Woolpack, and this was accommodated in the plot with a storyline about subsidence at the old pub, and Amos and Mr Wilks moving to new premises.

Some fans discovered the secret of Beckindale's new location early on, but in August 1983 the cat seemed to be well and truly out of the bag!

Amos Brearly Meets Angie Watts

From the Sun, July 28, 1986:

Remember all the charity events of the 1980s? You couldn't turn round without colliding with a sponsored walk, a sponsored silence, a sponsored bean scoff, a telethon, a walkathon, a talkathon, a bonkathon (you should be so lucky), etc, etc. This particular event, part of Soap Aid, seems to have been a bit of a wash-out, but it's good to see Amos (Ronald Magill), Seth (Stan Richards) and Dolly (Jean Rogers) hobnobbing with Angie (Anita Dobson) and 'Chelle (Susan Tully).

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?