Beckindale 1983 - Behind The Scenes...

I know several actors, and, for the majority, it's a funny old life. There they are, one month serving in a wine bar or doing a Christmas temp job at Boots, the next doing a bit-part in Emmerdale, the next "resting", the next auditioning for a stage play and probably not getting the part...

Of course, for many actors a regular role in a long-running soap is a dream (and for some, given current standards of a lot of the plots, it's also a nightmare), but back in the 1980s it was a funny old life working on Emmerdale Farm or Coronation Street or whatever. Today, much soap drama depends on the out of the ordinary, the bizarre, the downright absurd, but back in the 1980s the majority of soap action centred on people nattering about, and doing, everyday things.

And that must have been exceedingly difficult to convey with a load of technical paraphernalia all around, plus being watched and directed by a load of people the actors had to pretend didn't exist.

Here's Jean Rogers (Dolly Skilbeck since 1980), Sheila Mercier (Annie Sugden since episode one), Toke Townley (Grandad Sam Pearson since episode one) and Frederick Pyne and Frazer Hines (Matt Skilbeck and Joe Sugden - both original cast members) standing around in the rain at a Beckindale event in 1983, with little Sam Skilbeck (born 1982) out of vision, apparently asleep in his pram.

Annie's plastic headscarf (14p from Woolies - a snip!) is such an important style detail in setting the tone.

Just how "everyday" and of their time the cast looks, and the fact that they are conversing in character, apparently oblivious of the onlookers and the sound boom hovering above, is something I find fascinating.

Skill, or what?

Matt And Dolly 1987!

Frederick Pyne and Jean Rogers were Matt and Dolly Skilbeck, our favourite Emmerdale Farm married couple, for nearly the whole of the 1980s. When Jean joined the cast in 1980, she quickly made the role of Dolly her own, and with the soon-to-be happily chattering Benjamin Whitehead joining the cast as baby Sam in 1982, scenes of domestic bliss or even disharmony at the Skilbecks' were a pleasure to watch.

But surely such scenes as the one pictured above didn't happen in secret at Matt and Dolly's place? It would have given the Beckindale gossips years of bliss had word got out! But don't worry - Jean Rogers and Frederick Pyne had simply donned different guises - Frederick's was Count Dracula, Jean's a saucy French maid - to raise money to keep a real life threatened local theatre in business!

1989: The End Of The Matt And Dolly Years

When Matt Skilbeck married Dolly Acaster in 1978, it seemed that a happier era in his life was about to begin. Matt was no stranger to unhappiness and tragedy. His first marriage was to Peggy Sugden, only daughter of Annie and Jacob. It was a successful union, although Peggy was anxious for Matt to get on in the world and frustrated by his placid nature and tendency, as she saw it, to be taken advantage of.

Peggy died suddenly in 1973, shortly after the birth of twins, Sam and Sally. The twins themselves were killed, along with Matt's Auntie Beattie, when Beattie's car stalled on a level crossing and was hit by a train in 1976.

Dolly too had known unhappiness - the birth and subsequent adoption of a son, Graham, born of an unhappy relationship.

Perhaps the quintessential "Matt and Dolly Years", once jokingly referred to by comedienne Victoria Wood, began in 1980 - when Jean Rogers, the actress most associated with the role of Dolly, took over from Katharine Barker.

In the storyline, the couple knew some happiness - the birth of a son, Sam, and a move into a two bedroomed extension cottage at Emmerdale Farm - both events making 1982 something of a golden year for the couple. But there was also more turmoil and tragedy: Dolly lost two babies - the first at an advanced stage of her pregnancy in early 1980, the second in an early miscarriage in 1986 - the same year that Matt stood accused of murder.

As if that wasn't enough, Dolly's long-lost son turned up searching for her after deserting from the Army, a farmhouse called Crossgill, unexpectedly left to the couple, suffered a disastrous fire in 1988 and then, in the same year, Dolly had an affair with timber consultant Stephen Fuller (Gregory Floy).

And the Skilbecks' marriage fell apart.

Matt left Beckindale for Norfolk. Actor Frederick Pyne filmed his final scenes in November 1989 and the character last appeared on-screen in December. Dolly and young Sam (Benjamin Whitehead) remained in Beckindale until 1991.

It was a sad ending for what had seemed a happy and enduring screen marriage, and for some of the viewers' favourite characters.

1980: Joe Goes To NY Estates

Matt, Jack and Joe in the Emmerdale Land Rover, 1980.

When Joe Sugden (Frazer Hines) returned to England from his stay in America with Ed Hathersage in the summer of 1980, he found that Jack (Clive Hornby), who had returned in February, appeared to be settling in at the farm.

The purchase of two Friesian cows by Jack had been agreed with Joe via telephone, but he knew they were something that could not have been afforded when he was farm manager.

Jack had bought them out of own money.

Joe had enjoyed running the farm, but the presence of his brother meant that he was no longer in charge. And Jack had very different approaches to farming and the land: Jack was an emotional idealist, Joe a pragmatic, go-ahead farmer who believed that sentiment should not stand in the way of progress.

After a couple of drinking sessions with NY Estates boss Richard Anstey (Carl Rigg), Joe was amazed when Richard offered him the job of manager of the NY farms in Beckindale.

Joe was tempted: NY was go-ahead, heartlessly so, certain people said, and the job would be a challenge...

It would also be a way of breaking free of the faintly uneasy atmosphere at Emmerdale Farm. Who was in charge? And how long would it be before Joe and Jack fell out? Joe discussed things with Annie (Sheila Mercier) and Jack, and decided to take the job.

Annie would never have dreamt of influencing her son's decision either way, but she found his absence from Emmerdale difficult. As did Sam Pearson (Toke Townley), who was also hurt that Joe had not consulted him. But Joe had not wanted to worry his grandfather about something that may not happen. As it was, he handled things quite badly and Sam was upset.

The house was quiet without Joe, but after a few visits from him, Sam and Annie began to perk up.

Trouble at NY - Sergeant MacArthur (Martin Dale) made his first appearance in December 1980, investigating the theft of Christmas trees from the NY Estates plantation.

Meanwhile, at NY Estates, Joe found the closing months of 1980 were certainly interesting: Jack disagreed with NY's decision to tear out an old hedgerow - which led to heated words with Joe, the Estate workers joined the union and gained a 5% pay rise, and Joe put forward the idea of hormone injection trials for the cattle: twelve steers would be tested, six injected with the hormones and six not, then compared after a six month period. Cowman Daniel Hawkins (Alan Starkey), who had been at Home Farm since the days of the Verney family, disagreed with this "unnatural" idea, but the trials began. Only 1981 would tell whether hormone injections for the NY Estates Beckindale cattle were to be impemented on a permanent basis.

Christmas trees were stolen from the NY plantation, and Joe was nearly run over by the thieves' van - Tom Merrick (Edward Peel) and Derek Warner (Freddie Fletcher) were the bad lads behind the theft.

As 1980 ended, Joe seemed to be settling in at NY - fraught though his first few months had been. He had a finger in two pies, still being on the board of Emmerdale Farm Ltd, and the future promised many more challenges.

In 1989, Joe told his mother that Jack had thrown him off the farm in 1980. This wasn't the absolute truth, but there was no doubt that Jack's return to the farm had seriously put Joe's nose out of joint. It is highly unlikely that Joe's move to NY would have happened had Jack stayed away from Emmerdale.

But for Beckindale the move led to lots of fascinating gossip, and for Emmerdale Farm viewers some highly enjoyable storylines.

Matt And Dolly And A Shaggy Dog Story - And Changing Times In Beckindale...

Daily Mirror, December 15, 1983.

Ben belonged to the horrifying Harry Mowlam (Godfrey James) and Matt Skilbeck (Frederick Pyne) snatched him after he witnessed Harry kicking him.

Of course, Harry wasn't having this - Ben was his property - and he wanted him back...

And there was trouble.

But Harry didn't succeed in getting Ben back.

The terrified dog proved a handful - and frightened the wits out of Dolly (Jean Rogers) when she took him some food to the outbuilding. The hairy beast cornered her, snarling most alarmingly...

But all turned out well in the end.

Until 1985. When Harry Mowlam turned his sights on Beckindale again.

And he hadn't forgotten the Skilbecks...

Was Emmerdale Farm a seething hotbed of anger and passion in the 1980s?

No.

But it certainly wasn't as safe as it had once been.

Many of the story-lines revolved around Amos and Mr Wilks (Ronald Magill and Arthur Pentelow) - in their absolutely golden era, Mrs Bates and Mr Turner (Diana Davies and Richard Thorp) in the NY office at Home Farm, Seth Armstrong (Stan Richards) on the cadge or the wind-up, domestic affairs with Matt and Dolly, and the romance between Kathy (Malandra Burrows) and Jackie (Ian Sharrock).

But we also had snarling Tom Merrick (Edward Peel), devious Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell), and, in his early days, awful Alan Turner.

Baddies made their mark on Beckindale, and at least one stuck around.

But the anger and passion were always balanced by beautifully mundane and often comic scenes.

When Derek Warner (Dennis Blanche) almost ran Harry Mowlam over in 1985, and then threatened him with a knife, we were treated to hilarious scenes in the same episode with Alan Turner and the Rev Donald Hinton (Hugh Manning) rehearsing for the Christmas play.

When Jack Sugden (Clive Hornby) was bedding Karen Moore (Annie Hulley) in a hotel room in 1984, the show kept flipping to scenes of Amos and Mr Wilks confronting each other over the breakfast table, or Matt and Jackie dealing with a ram at Emmerdale Farm who was no longer "up to it" and, as Matt said, "ready for the meat pie factory".

The scenes of mating sheep on the farm, and Jack's apparently high-minded affair with Karen, which was simply amounting to humans mating in an adulturous fling, seemed beautifully thought out.

Well, it certainly made me think!

Stability won the day in the Beckindale of the 1980s.

It was more chit-chat and sheep, comedy and everyday drama than anything else.

However, although Beckindale had never been an entirely safe place before the 1980s, there was a feeling that the big bad late twentieth century was brandishing a fist at the village rather more than in the past.

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.

E-Mails...

A couple of outstanding e-mail enquiries - sorry it's taken me so long to reply...

Firstly, "Jack Sugden" asks:

Was Eric Pollard nice in the 1980s? Somehow I always remember the Emmerdale characters back then being nice!

I think the expression on Eric's face in the 1989 screen cap above answers that question, Jack!

Short answer is "No"!

Sara says:

Was it very sad when Matt left in December 1989?

Yes, it was. He told Dolly he still loved her. Annie said "God go with you," and broke down at their final parting. One of the saddest scenes for me was Matt standing alone in the living room of the extension cottage at Emmerdale Farm. He and Dolly had lived in the place since its creation in 1982.

I was so sorry to see Matt go.

E-Mails - Woolpack Walter (1980-1985), Mrs Eckersley (1980) And Matt And Dolly (1989)

Cheers, Walter! Al Dixon as The Woolpack's Silent One in 1984.

A few e-mails and comments to answer about our blog dedicated to the '80s down Beckindale way...

Bryan asks:

When will you be featuring more Walter?

Soon, Bryan. I love Walter!

CJ writes:

Brilliant stuff about Mrs Eckersley (Pam St Clement) and her Emmerdale debut in 1980. Can you feature her storylines, please?

As I wrote before, CJ, Pam St Clement appeared in Emmerdale Farm from episode 561 to episode 565 in March 1980, just five episodes, so there is only one story-line about her. She did the cooking at Emmerdale Farm whilst Annie was away in Ireland. Her husband and daughter were also briefly featured. I'll write it all up in detail at some point.

And finally Cerys says:

Please - when will you continue the saga of Matt, Dolly and the early days of Emmerdale in 1989?

Soon, Cerys - as I explained, things are a bit busy here at the moment. Hopefully in February things will be more settled and the '89 saga will resume.

Finally, thanks for the entries for the Amos signed pic competition. The winner will be announced on 31 January.

Dolly Skilbeck and Norfolk - Information Received...

We strayed out of the 1980s and into 1991 recently to pose the question: "Why did Dolly Skilbeck move to Norfolk?" It was known in 1991 that Jean Rogers, who had played Dolly since 1980, was unhappy about one of her final story-lines - Dolly having an abortion after an affair with the thoroughly unpleasant Charlie Aindow. Dolly had started work at the Beckindale playgroup in 1980 after a miscarriage, had been blessed with the birth of a healthy son, Sam, in 1982, and then suffered a further miscarriage in 1986. As Jean Rogers pointed out, it was well known that Dolly loved children and the idea of her having an abortion seemed totally out of character.

Why did Dolly move to Norfolk, we asked? Was it to be reconciled with husband Matt, who had gone there in December 1989? Several kind people have contributed their thoughts, and now Tim writes to say:

Dolly was tired and distressed after her affair with Charlie and her abortion. The story was highly unsatisfactory, I felt the abortion was something Dolly would not do, it was simply a trendy story the producer wanted to cover and Dolly was the character it was pinned to.

Dolly left the village to take Sam to live near his father and to get totally away from Beckindale. I don't think there was any suggestion of her and Matt getting together again as a couple. Didn't they part on bad terms?

No, Tim, in December 1989, just before he left Beckindale, Matt told Dolly he still loved her.

I don't think there is a conclusion to the Matt and Dolly story - well, at least not a conclusion that has ever been mentioned on screen! Thanks for writing.

December 1989 - Matt tells Dolly he still loves her. Jean Rogers, who debuted as Dolly in April 1980, and Frederick Pyne, who appeared in the very first episode, made Matt and Dolly an excellent advertisement for marriage for most of the 1980s. Then, 1988 arrived...

Why Did Dolly Skilbeck Move To Norfolk?

In 1991, Dolly Skilbeck left Beckindale with her son, Sam, bound for Norfolk, where her ex-husband Matt was living.

Does anybody know WHY Norfolk? Was Dolly seeking a reconciliation with Matt?

I've been asking the question elsewhere for a few days, and so far the most popular answer received is that Dolly simply decided that Sam would benefit from living closer to his father - although nobody is absolutely certain.

If anybody knows the answer for sure, I'd be very chuffed indeed!

1989: Matt And Dolly Skilbeck - The End - Part 1

It was in November 1989 that Dolly Skilbeck (Jean Rogers) took some news to her estranged husband, Matt (Frederick Pyne). She didn't come straight out with it. The conversation began with the thorny subject of the Skilbecks' current financial arrangements - or lack of them.

Their bank account was £185 overdrawn, and as Dolly pointed out, usually it was never overdrawn. Matt began to go through the statement, questioning Dolly about a couple of withdrawals. What had she been spending the money on?

"I've got to live!" cried Dolly. "I still can't get anything out of our building society account, remember?"

"I'll have it put in joint names - you know you only have to ask!"

"I don't want to have to ask - it's our money!"

"What's this sudden interest in money? I mean, what's this gone on?" Matt indicated the bank statement withdrawals again.

"Matt - it's Christmas!"

"That's weeks off!"

"Yeah, but it's still got to be sorted out - and as usual, it's left to me! What have you done?"

"I've been busy," Matt sighed.

"Well don't you think you should've? I mean, what do you expect me to do - give presents and cards from 'Dolly, Matt and Sam'?"

"Some of us've got other things to think about!"

"Oh, so you won't be buying your own son a Christmas present?"

"Of course I will!"

"And what about Sandie and Louise, what about Kathy, what about everybody?"

"I'm not bothered about anyone else! Sam'll get what he wants from me, I'll 'ave 'im up 'ere for Christmas and..."

Dolly was furious: "Oh no you won't!"

"Oh yes I will - this is where he belongs! You can mess me about Sunday afternoons and any other time, but not at Christmas - Sam comes here!"

"No, no - the Mill's his home now, not Emmerdale!"

"And where do I fit in with that?"

"Where do I fit in with your arrangements for Christmas? Right then, me and Sam'll spend Christmas together."

"We'll 'ave to see about that!" And Matt shrugged on his coat and made to go out.

"Matt! I wanna divorce! I want it all sorted, I've 'ad enough!" said Dolly

Matt paused, startled: "Why've you changed your mind? I offered you a divorce months ago - didn't seem to me it'd make any difference, and I thought you felt the same!"

"But it's gone on too long. I'm sure you want something sorted out after all this time - think about Sam!"

"What about him?"

"If we had a proper settlement you could see him at set times - you'd know where you were and so would I. We wouldn't have these arguments. We could start to lead our own separate lives. Not like this - with everything in a complete mess!"

"Well, I'll have to give it some thought - but for now I've got work to do!" Matt left the cottage.

Dolly pursued him outside and round to the front of the Emmerdale farmhouse: "Matt! Matt- listen!"

"I've said I'll give it some thought, not NOW not HERE!"

Dolly dropped a bombshell. "I've already seen the solicitor."

Matt was rocked on his heels: "You've done WHAT?!"

"I've seen the solicitor and I'm going to divorce you, Matt - like you suggested. You don't have to do anything - all right? It's all set up. Solicitor's working on it now. He'll be writing to you..."

"That's instead of a Christmas card, is it?" said Matt, bitterly.

"We couldn't go on the way we are. He'll write to you in a week or two."

Matt was devastated and moved away quickly. Dolly, greatly distressed, got into her car and left the farm...

To Be Continued...

Emmerdale 1989: Annie Sugden Goes Dancing, Amos Brearly Gets Into Crop Circles, Alan Turner Becomes Nick Kamen And Rachel Hughes Plays With Fire...

Here we take the time tunnel back to 1989 - a highly dramatic year which saw, amongst other things, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the invention of the World Wide Web, which would bring computers into all our lives in the 1990s.

Below are some extracts from an Emmerdale Farm script - episode 1390, broadcast on 28 September 1989. My copy of the script was used by actor Martin Dale, Police Sergeant Ian MacArthur in the show from 1980 to 1994.

At Emmerdale Farm, Annie Sugden (Sheila Mercier) enjoys a mug of cocoa with Eddie Hughes (Geoffrey Banks), father of Annie's daughter-in-law, Kate (Sally Knyvette):

SC. 2. INT. FARM PARLOUR. NIGHT. 3.

TIME: 22.15 EDDIE AND ANNIE ON THE SOFA WITH COCOA.

ANNIE: Are you sure you didn't mind leaving the dance early?

EDDIE: No, no. Once they start into the Latin American I've had it anyway. How's your knees?

ANNIE: Better than they deserve to be. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed dancing. You're very good, Eddie.

EDDIE: Aye, I know. Used to go down the Conservative Club.

ANNIE: (TEASING) And what's a good steelworker doing down the Conservative Club, may I ask?

EDDIE: (GRIN) Using the dance floor. It were a good one. (BEAT) You should come and try it.

ANNIE: Sorry?

EDDIE: Come and stay for a weekend, and I'll take you dancing again. They'll not miss you for a day or two.

ANNIE: (GENTLE) Thanks, Eddie, but I don't think so. If you don't mind.

EDDIE: As long as you don't mind me asking.

ANNIE: I'm very flattered.

EDDIE: So you should be. I've not asked a lass back for a weekend since before the war. She said no as well. (BEAT) It's quiet here, isn't it? Where is everybody?

ANNIE: Still down at the pub, I imagine. They always have a bit of a celebration come harvest home.

At The Woolpack Inn, Amos Brearly (Ronald Magill) ponders a mystery, whilst Mr Wilks exhibits signs of jealousy...

SC. 4. INT. WOOLPACK BAR. NIGHT. 3.

TIME: 23.15

AMOS AND WILKS CLOSING AND CLEARING UP.

AMOS: I don't understand it, Mr Wilks. One minute it's standing room and mind your backs, next minute it's like the Marie Celeste. What's going on?

WILKS: (DISINTERESTED) No idea.

AMOS: It's that beer. First thing in the morning I'm writing a strong letter to the brewery.

WILKS: You do that.

AMOS: Joe, Matt. (BEAT) Jock and Bill. I mean usually I have to take the yard-broom to 'em. Even Annie and her Eddie only stayed -

WILKS: He is not her Eddie, he's - he's a visitor. She only left because she'd promised to go to some daft dance with him.

AMOS: Yes, I know, I'm sorry.

WILKS: Sorry? No need to say sorry to me, Amos. No skin off my nose.

AMOS: No, but -

WILKS: The person that should be saying sorry is that Eddie. Dragging her off like that. She's not the dancing sort. Too polite for her own good.

With Denis Rigg dead and the harvest at Home Farm unharvested, locals move to bring it in. When Annie Sugden finds out, she is furious and wastes no time in giving her family a tongue lashing. Matt Skilbeck (Frederick Pyne) is one of those on the receiving end:

ANNIE: Well? What have you got to say for yourselves?

KATE: Sorry, I'm not with you.

ANNIE: Oh yes you are, my girl. You're part of this family now, and what goes for them goes for you too.

JOE: Now hang on a minute -

ANNIE: You be quiet! I'm ashamed of the lot of you!

MATT: But what have we done?

Annie: (BEAT) Taken me for a fool for a start. D'you seriously think I've not heard the talk of the Home Farm wheat? And d'you seriously think when I hear the machinery coming into the yard at midnight I can't put two and two together? Did you get permission?

JOE: Hardly.

ANNIE: Then it's theft. Plain and simple.

JOE: It's not a simple theft at all, Ma, it's... it's - getting a harvest in! We haven't thoight about what to do with it yet.

ANNIE: (CYNICAL) Oh aye?

KATE: Nobody's been told to harvest. Have you forgotten the damage Rigg and his lot did to us? That was worse than theft!

ANNIE: (NOT QUITE SO CERTAIN) Two wrongs don't make a right and never did!

JOE: They owe us, Ma.

MATT: It'll rot where it stands if we don't get it in.

ANNIE: What d'you mean it WILL rot? Have you not finished?

JOE: (BEAT) Not quite.

Matt (LOW) You're not going to tell us to leave it, are you Ma?

ON ANNIE MAKING A DIFFICULT DECISION.

CUT TO...

Teenager Rachel Hughes (Glenda McKay) and married man Pete Whiteley (Jim Millea) are beginning an ill-fated love affair...

PETE: I am glad you came over.

RACHEL: Are you?

PETE: Yes.

RACHEL: Didn't have much choice really.

PETE: What d'you mean?

RACHEL: Just what I say. I don't seem to be in control any more. When you whistle I come running.

PETE: It's the same for me.

RACHEL: (SHAKES HEAD, SMILES) I don't think it is.

PETE: Alright, I don't run. I drive. I sit outside schools.

RACHEL: How did you know I'd come out?

PETE: (SHRUGS) I didn't. I just had to chance it.

RACHEL: (STATEMENT, NOT QUESTION) It's not just a one night stand, is it.

PETE: Doesn't look like it.

RACHEL: (WHISPER) Good. (BEAT) It's funny. Specially being here. Sometimes I hate Lynn.

PETE: Why?

RACHEL: I don't know. Straight jealousy, I suppose. She's got you and I haven't. I keep wanting to tell her what a good thing she's got.

PETE LOOKS ALARMED.

RACHEL: Don't worry, I won't. (LAUGH) It's pathetic, really, isn't it! Not rocking the boat 'cause you know you'll be the first one overboard if you do.

Amos - seen in our picture with Walter (Al Dixon) in 1985 - thinks that aliens are visiting Beckindale as crop circles hit the 1989 headlines and a field at Home Farm. He gets Mr Winstanley, an enthusiast from a local university, to come and have a look at them. Accompanied by Bill Whiteley (Teddy Turner) they make their way to the Home Farm field:

TIME: 13.30

AMOS, WHITELEY AND WINSTANLEY ARE WALKING TOWARDS THE FIELD. THEY DO NOT SEE AT FIRST THAT IT IS NOW HARVESTED.

WHITELEY: T'others have been taking the mickey out of Amos - reckoning it were space ships or some such twaddle.

AMOS: (QUICKLY) What ignorant folk say, Bill Whiteley, is of no interest to intelligentsia. Mr Winstanley here'll soon be able to make up his own mind. (HE TAKES OUT A NOTEBOOK) I measured them, you know. They were twenty one foot precisely... or as precisely as I could measure not having a measure with me, but happen you'll have one of those... and they were... (SMILES) Well, you can see for yourself.

THEY GO THROUGH A GATE/OVER A STYLE AND ARRIVE AT FIELD.

ALL THREE STARE AT A FIELD OF STUBBLE. AMOS GOBSMACKED.

AMOS: Heck.

WINSTANLEY RAISES HIS EYEBROWS QUIZZICALLY. AMOS SCURRIES INTO THE FIELD.

AMOS: Honestly, Mr Winstanley. This was the centre of one, (PACING, GESTICULATING) and... and it reached over to about here... and there was another one just that way... and a third one over there... (HE LOOKS HOPEFULLY AT WINSTANLEY, BUT THERE IS NO RESPONSE). You know, like I said, in a sort of triangle. (HE LOOKS DOWN) Look, look, if you come here you can still see where some of the stubble's bent over.

WHITELEY: That's 'cause you've stood on it.

CUT TO...

Nick Kamen thrilled the girlies by stripping off his jeans in the famous ad of the mid-1980s. Emmerdale had its own version of this scenario in 1989, as Mrs Bates (Diana Davies) returned to the house in Beckindale she shared with Alan Turner, unexpectedly bringing her mother, Alice (Olivia Jardith). Thanks to Seth Armstrong (Stan Richards), Alan had got landed with doing some (literally) dirty work for a change and he arrived home, tired and unkempt.

TIME 16.03

TURNER STANDS IN THE KITCHEN, PUTTING KETTLE ON, TAKING SOCKS AND SHOES OFF, FOLLOWED BY SHIRT AND TROUSERS, WHICH HE BUNDLES INTO WASHING MACHINE IN THE MANNER OF THE "LEVI 501" AD. IT IS NOT A PRETTY SIGHT. AS HE IS REMOVING HIS TROUSERS, ALICE PASSES THE DOORWAY, AND GASPS IN UNDERSTANDABLE SURPRISE. TURNER JUMPS OUT OF HIS SKIN AND PULLS TROUSERS UP AGAIN.

TURNER: Who the devil are you?

CUT TO...

Other events of the episode...

Amos discovered that Mr Winstanley, the man he believed was a university professor interested in crop circles, was actually a university caretaker; Eric Pollard (Christopher Chittell) got wind of the harvesting going on at Home Farm and began to make comments; Joe wanted Kate to have a baby. They talked and Kate confessed that she was finding it hard to give up her independence and that although she was happy to be married to Joe, she also felt invaded...

1984: The Shooting Of Bundle...

When Caroline Bates (Diana Davies) brought her Golden Labrador bitch, Bundle, into work at NY Estates one day in April 1984, she assured Alan Turner (Richard Thorp) that it was a temporary measure. The Bates family was living in a flat at that time, and Caroline's husband, Malcolm, usually returned home from work in his lunch hour to take Bundle out for a walk. But Malcolm was away for a few days, and Caroline felt that she couldn't leave Bundle cooped up in the flat all day.

And, she said, Bundle was used to farms.

As NY Beckindale manager, Alan should have known better: every farmer knows, no risks should be taken with dogs. But Alan simply accepted Caroline's word, and said that Bundle could have free reign at Home Farm.

Shortly after this, Matt Skilbeck (Frederick Pyne) and Jackie Merrick (Ian Sharrock) made a grim discovery: two of the Emmerdale ewes had aborted the lambs they were carrying. Something had obviously alarmed them.

Annie Sugden (Sheila Mercier) came across Jackie burying the aborted lambs, and reflected grimly on the bad old days at Emmerdale: a dog or fox worrying the sheep was the one thing absolutely sure to bring her husband, Jacob, from The Woolpack, she said. And he would keep grim vigil with his gun.

And so the Emmerdale gun was brought out.

Shortly afterwards, Jackie was out on the farm with his mother, Pat (Helen Weir), when both witnessed Bundle worrying the sheep. Jackie fired the shotgun, and Bundle ran away.

Jackie took the news to Home Farm and found Caroline firmly in denial: Bundle was a loving family pet and used to farms - she simply wouldn't do such a thing. Alan backed her up - how dare the Merrick boy cast such a slur on his secretary's dog?

Jackie left them with a grim warning - if it happened again, he might end up shooting Bundle.

Meanwhile, Dolly Skilbeck (Jean Rogers) had organised a visit to Emmerdale Farm for the Beckindale playgroup children to see the sheep and new lambs.

And it was on that day that Bundle chose to pay another visit, let off her lead by Alan whilst out for a walk with Seth Armstrong (Stan Richards).

Seth advised Alan not to let Bundle run free, but Alan fully expected her to stay close by, and was horrified when she ran off across the fields towards Emmerdale Farm.

And in no time at all, she was terrorising the sheep, in full view of the equally terrified Beckindale playgroup children.

And, in full view of the children, Jackie shot her dead.

It wasn't the most sensitive thing to do, but, highly distressed himself, Jackie took Bundle's body to Caroline at Home Farm in the Emmerdale Land Rover.

And Caroline was absolutely distraught.

As was Jackie. He had begun to develop a feeling for farming and the animals at Emmerdale, including Nell, Matt's faithful sheepdog, and was horrified by what he'd done.

Jack (Clive Hornby) told Jackie that he'd been lucky - as Matt or Joe (Frazer Hines) had usually dealt with sheep worrying dogs. And they had always felt awful afterwards.

But Jackie was not in the wrong. It was not a crime to shoot a dog under such circumstances.

Caroline could not believe it - she was convinced that Bundle had meant no harm to the sheep - and to her mind her dog had been murdered in cold blood.

She visited Sergeant MacArthur (Martin Dale) at the Beckindale police station, who informed her that no law had been broken. The police would be bringing no charges against Jackie.

So, Caroline and Malcolm Bates decided to bring a civil action.

Why had Bundle been let off her lead, she wondered? Alan lied to protect himself - claiming that something had gone awry with the clasp on Bundle's lead, and he'd been adjusting it when, distracted by Seth Armstrong's chattering, he'd momentarily let go of the dog's collar and away she'd gone across the fields.

It was all very sad for Alan. As he confided in Seth Armstrong, he had meant no harm in letting Bundle off for a run.

But, through that simple action, his inexperience as a farmer was made absolutely plain.

Seth was in a difficult position - he had his job to think of, and wasn't about to drop Alan in it, but when Caroline asked him for the truth, promising not to reveal her source, Seth told her.

Caroline was furious and lost no time in telling Alan so.

Alan fully expected her to resign, and dreaded the prospect.

Meanwhile, Matt Skilbeck had visited Home Farm on an entirely different matter, and struck by Caroline's cold front, had spoken to her about Bundle: Jackie was very distressed about the dog's death, he said, they had sheepdogs at the farm and cared for them a great deal. The fault was not Bundle's - dogs had an instinct to hunt. The fault rested with whoever had let Bundle off the lead, and the same went for other dogs like her that met an untimely end for sheep worrying.

Caroline remained convinced that Bundle would never have hurt the sheep, but was simply enjoying the chase. Matt gently pointed out to her that whatever Bundles' intentions, six aborted lambs was the result.

Having already met several of the Emmerdale Farm folk, Caroline called there and told Dolly that she and Malcolm would not be bringing any action against Jackie. She still didn't condone what he had done, but Matt had made her think.

Alan bought Caroline another Golden Labrador bitch - this time a puppy - and took it into The Woolpack so that he could have a courage-giving drink before making the presentation to Caroline.

In conversation with Seth and Amos (Ronald Magill) Alan referred to Mrs Bates' present as a she. Giving her to Seth to hold so that he could enjoy his drink - thus stopping Seth, with an armful of Golden Labrador, from enjoying his, Alan beamed upon the world.

When Amos frostily informed him that dogs were not allowed on "these licenced premises", Alan, the expert, was completely unfazed. He told Amos that the dog was all right with him - and besides he was on a lead, and dogs were perfectly safe on a lead. The sudden change of the animal's gender made it plain that as far as Alan was concerned the only dog on the premises was not Mrs Bates' bitch Labrador, but Seth Armstrong!

Seth, arms still full of canine loveliness, still unable to sup, could only scowl.

Andy's note: This was very much a cautionary tale with a strong message for real-life dog owners. In 1984, the farming content of Emmerdale Farm was increased and we were treated to the sight of a cow and several sheep giving birth - and also mating scenes, plus the sorry sight of aborted lambs in the fields. The "Bundle" story-line was treated in the same visual way - viewers actually saw the shooting.

Some viewers wrote to Yorkshire Television, seeking reassurance that "Bundle" was only acting her death scene.

She was.

Emmerdale Farm - Entering The 1980s!

What were the early months of 1980 like in Beckindale? Well, the start of a new decade should have brought smiles to a few faces.

Let's timewarp back and pop up to Home Farm to see Judy Westrop (Jane Cussons). Good old Judy's having a fag and saying: "I'm angry - and I'm enjoying it!"

Oh dear...

And Matt Skilbeck (Frederick Pyne) is at the hospital where there's bad news from the doctor: "I'm sorry, Mr Skilbeck, there's no choice. Your wife's condition is critical. We must operate now."

Oh no! But surely there's better news at The Woolpack? After all, Amos Brearly (Ronald Magill) is sure to want to start the new decade on a positive note...

Oh 'eck! Steady on, Amos - you'll do yourself a mischief!

"ARRRGGHHH!!!"

Too late!

Oh, well... much better news - Clive Hornby made his first appearance as Jack Sugden on 19 February 1980 - and Joe (Frazer Hines) greeted him: "Welcome back to Emmerdale, big brother!"

And a bit later there was a new woman at Annie's Aga - just temporary of course... but, hang on, doesn't she look familiar? Good grief, it's Pam St Clement, later Pat of EastEnders, getting an early taste of soap life as Mrs Eckersley in March 1980.

Eee, and Grandad Sam Pearson (Toke Townley) caught a big smelly fish whilst on holiday in Ireland: "I'm goin' to 'ave it stuffed, and it's goin' in a glass case over't mantelpiece," said Grandad.

Yeuk!

Funny old year. Funny old start to a new decade...

However, villagers and viewers alike were delighted to meet the new Dolly Skilbeck, now played by Jean Rogers. The new Dolly made her screen debut on 1 April, 1980.

More from the early months of the decade's first year soon!

Uttered In The '80s Part 7: "P*SS OFF!"

Ah, the 1980s! The man from Del Monte, he say Yes, Frankie, they say Relax, the Scotch Skeleton he say Re-Record, Not Fade Away (more here), and the man from Beckindale's local quarry, he say PISS OFF!

Harry Mowlam (Godfrey James) blasted into Emmerdale Farm in late 1983, the early months of Richard Handford's stint as producer. And he was trouble. In fact, you can give that "trouble" a capital 'T'.

Harry was rude to Dolly, dumped a load of stones in the Emmerdale farmyard, and mistreated his dog.

Richard Handford was giving the show a shake-up, and there is no doubt that this shake-up was influenced by Brookside's debut. Emmerdale Farm had never been as cosy as some believe (indeed, in 1981, Pat Merrick had been hit and bruised by her soon-to-be-ex-husband Tom) but under Richard Handford's leadership in 1983 the pace gathered speed, scenes grew shorter, and a real baddie arrived...

The breath-taking Harry Mowlam. The awe-inspiring Harry Mowlam. The terror-inducing Harry Mowlam.

And, via Harry, Emmerdale Farm followed in Brookside's 1982 footsteps by letting fly some verbal naughtiness in 1983.

Brookside supremo, Phil Redmond, had wanted down-to-earth language to feature in the new serial from its beginning in November 1982. He'd wanted a few choice words and phrases sprinkled into the dialogue. Like real life. But the audience hated the swearing, and Redmond dropped it, puzzled over the fact that, whilst people swore in their everyday lives, and knew they did, they seemed to have a deep-seated need to be offended by hearing it on the telly.

In late 1983, as Beckindale's thoughts turned towards Christmas, Matt Skilbeck (Frederick Pyne) witnessed Harry Mowlam abusing his dog and stole it away from him.

Harry was furious, and when young Mike (Martin Barrass) made a joke about the sorry state of the dog's kennel, Harry asked him what he knew about the dog?

"Nothing, it's just a joke, that's all," said Mike.

"Piss off!" said Harry.

In homes across the land, mouths dropped open... knives and forks clattered onto plates from suddenly nerveless fingers...

And then a howl of "WELL REALLY, HOW DISGUSTING!" (probably followed by torrents of outraged expletives), went up from houses all round the United Kingdom.

Toke Townley (Sam Pearson) once recounted a conversation with an Emmerdale Farm fan who told him that the show, for her, did not represent how life was, but how it should be.

It seems that, by 1983, this was changing...

Harry Mowlam didn't stick around that long initially... but he later returned...

Read all about him here.

1981: Break-In At Emmerdale Farm

When Dolly Skilbeck (Jean Rogers) took the best tea service and placed it on the dresser, ready for a wash as part of spring cleaning, she had no idea that this would bring about the end of a treasured possession for Annie Sugden (Sheila Mercier).

There had been a spate of burglaries in the district. And, late that night, the burglar came to Emmerdale Farm...

... and, once inside, began seeking valuables - as burglars tend to do.

Upstairs in the attic bedroom, Matt Skilbeck (Frederick Pyne) was restless, worried over a poorly ewe in the barn. He told Dolly he would go out to check on her, but Dolly advised not - it was best to get some sleep, he'd only disturb the ewe. Suddenly, there came a crash from downstairs! The clumsy burglar had managed to knock the tea service from the dresser to the floor as he probed around by the light of his torch.

Matt dashed downstairs, to find the burglar gone, the door wide open, and the shattered tea service all over the floor.

Sergeant MacArthur (Martin Dale) informed Matt and Jack Sugden (Clive Hornby) that although the door lock was strong, the wood around it was weak. There was no point in having a good lock if the surround was like plywood. And wasn't it a bit daft to keep the sheep dogs, Nell and Snip, in the buildings at the back of the farm?

Matt and Jack took the lecture quietly, although Jack later told Matt that he didn't like Sergeant MacArthur very much at all.

The next day, in the farmhouse, Dolly and Annie chatted. Annie was distressed over the loss of the tea service.

"It were a wedding present. I 'ad an aunt, lived in Richmond. We never saw 'er from one year's end to the next. But she turned up at the wedding with this present. It was good china, too - not the sort of present you expected in them days. You never knew Jacob, did you, lass? But you know things weren't always what they might have been between us. But there were good times - especially at the beginning. It was a marvellous wedding. Everybody singing and laughing and joking and folk all pleased to be with each other. Jacob had one too many, of course. But in them days he knew how to make folk laugh. And how to make folk love him... Somehow this china seems to stand for all that was good between Jacob and me..."

Matt was inducting Snip, a new sheepdog, at Emmerdale and one day, shortly after the burglary, Snip ran out into the road near the farm and was run over and killed by a speeding red Escort car.

Matt contacted the police.

Meanwhile, young Jackie Merrick (Ian Sharrock) and Andy Longthorn (David Clayforth) had stumbled across some of the burglar's loot at derelict Alder Cottages.

The burglar turned out to be the driver of the red Escort - he was pulled over and a stolen television and two radios were discovered in the back seat. Sergeant McArthur surmised that the man was in the act of hurriedly fleeing from the area, having discovered that the hiding place for his spoils at Alder Cottages had been rumbled.

Matt called the old faithful Nell out of service to resume sheepdog duties at Emmerdale.

And Jack, Joe (Frazer Hines), Matt and Dolly clubbed together to buy Annie a brand new tea service, an act which touched and pleased her greatly.