E-Mails - Wikipedia On Emmerdale And Amos' Brother...

Amos (Ronald Magill) and Walter (Al Dixon) in 1984 - ignored by Press and viewers alike? And the Plane Crash story-line of 1993/94.

Rob is rather annoyed having recently had a look at Wikipedia, which, apparently says that Emmerdale was ignored by Press and viewers alike until the Plane Crash storyline, which, basically made it popular...

I've been reading the BARB monthly ratings, and apparently Emmerdale Farm had up to 15 million viewers in 1978 - and remember, Thames and Anglia were showing it at 5.15pm at that time. In 1984 it had up to 15.1 million viewers - although Thames and Anglia were STILL showing it at teatime.

The plane crash brought the show 16.8 million viewers in January 1994, its highest ever rating, but then it plummeted out of the top twenty in February and bobbed up again in March with a paltry 11.7 million. In April 1994 it had 11.6 and in May, 11 million.

The "Emmerdale was only popular after the plane crash" spiel is pure Wikipedia myth. Saying it does not make it so!

I remember once using Wikipedia in all seriousness to research a subject and ending up in a right old pickle. Wikipedia is largely facts as its writers would LIKE them to be in my opinion, and it changes day-by-day. Having said that, I'm sure it has SOME reliable information. But the fact that anything can be altered by anyone makes it impossible to trust.

Cerys writes:

Interesting to see Amos' brother, Ezra, on the Bugle. Have you any more details of his relatives?

Well, Cerys, Amos' Auntie Amelia threatened to visit in 1976, but never turned up.

in 1980, Amos' Auntie Emily Brearly (Ann Way) first appeared. She made a further visit in 1983.

Amos spoke of his great-grandfather Brearly as the man who began the family's undertaking business in Bridlington, and his Uncle Arthur was occasionally mentioned (he died in 1983), as was his cousin Alicia (who also died in the early 1980s).

Amos mentioned a long-deceased Auntie Ruby in 1980 - he was afraid that she was haunting The Woolpack!

Perhaps I should try and knock up a Brearly family tree!

Emmerdale In The Popular Press - The Racy '80s!

The popular press tended to label Emmerdale Farm as "sleepy" until the 1980s. But then things changed.

From the Sunday People, April 14, 1985:

Muck-raking is no longer confined to the cowshed in Emmerdale Farm. Infidelity and intrigue have transformed the once-sleepy story of Yorkshire folk into the Dynasty of The Dales - and helped catapult it into the top twenty.

Click on the picture to read the whole article.

Late in the decade, the series was given parity with the other English soap operas. The whole country saw Emmerdale Farm on the same date and at the same time - networked - for the very first time in January 1988 - an historic moment - and that year the series was broadcast throughout the Christmas season for the very first time!

Do I think Emmerdale Farm was the Dynasty of The Dales in the 1980s? No. Studying the episodes, I think it was far more influenced by Brookside, which debuted in November 1982!

1984 - PURLEASE!!

Mrs Bates (Diana Davies) arrives...

Cerys writes:

I've been looking forward to your 1984 features since January. Yes, JANUARY. Come on, boy, get to it! Any more of this dilly dallying and I shall not be a happy bunny.

You're quite right, Cerys - I've been a bit sidetracked. I'm sorry! 1984 will follow asap!

Is Emmerdale Today The Same As Emmerdale Farm In The 1980s?

'80s incomer Alan Turner (Richard Thorp), who first appeared in March 1982.

Moggy has written to ask if I think the modern day Emmerdale serial is the same, in terms of style and story-line content, as Emmerdale Farm in the 1980s?

No, is the simple answer. Life changes and soaps evolve. The Emmerdale Farm of the 1980s was not the Emmerdale Farm of 1972-1979, and the Emmerdale of the 1990s was not the Emmerdale Farm of the 1980s, and the Emmerdale of the early 2000s is not the Emmerdale of the 1990s.

Tastes change, soaps have to change with them.

For instance, in the '72-79 era, Emmerdale Farm had a few outlandish storylines: the vicar's son was arrested for gun running in Athens, tramp-like wanderer Dry Hogben turned out to be stinking rich and on the run from his responsibilities, and Sam Pearson worried that one of his forebears was a witch. There were a few other such "oddball" storylines. But these was very much in keeping with the style of soaps back then. Viewers wanted a bit of escapism, a touch of the incredible in their soaps.

The '72-'79 show was also largely centred around older people: teenagers - like Rosemary Kendall - tended to be passing through.

In the 1980s, the show became grittier, more down to earth, faster moving, and more political - the anti-nuclear storyline of 1987 was hailed as a major step forward in the politicisation of soap operas by some, but as anti-government propaganda by others. There were permanent youth characters, an expanding cast, and more graphic and racy scenes - which had a mixed reception. In 1989, the decision was taken to edge farming out of the storyline to some degree and so "Farm" was dropped from the show's title.

The 1990s were a positive riot - with the glorious camp bitchery of Kim Tate and indeed the whole saga of the Tate family, a family very much at war. Once again, the show was keeping up with the times - much influenced by '80s era American soaps, like Dallas and Dynasty. Spectacular disasters - like the 1993 plane crash - altered the village landscape and viewers' perceptions of the show forever.

And so on to the current day.

If the Emmerdale of today was the same in style and content as the Emmerdale Farm of the 1980s, then I doubt it would be attracting viewers. Even EastEnders, which actually began in the 1980s, is not the same show it was back then. Viewers of the early 21st Century want different things from their soaps than the viewers of the 1980s did.

So, Moggy, I must say no, modern day Emmerdale is not the same show as 1980s Emmerdale Farm. I think anybody sitting down to watch, say, an episode of Emmerdale Farm from 1986, and then an episode of Emmerdale from 2009, would see the truth of what I'm saying.

Life moves on, soap moves on. This also applies to Coronation Street, EastEnders, etc.

Remember This Is Emmerdale Farm In The 1980s - Not Emmerdale In 2009!

I've just had a somewhat perturbed e-mail from Mel asking why there is no material about Charlie Hardwick on this blog? The answer, Mel, is revealed in the blog's header - the subject is Emmerdale Farm in the 1980s, when Amos Brearly (Ronald Magill) and Henry Wilks (Arthur Pentelow) owned The Woolpack, not Emmerdale today!

There's plenty of on-line stuff about Emmerdale if you take a look around the Web.

The 1980s AND The 1990s?

1984 - Amos is furious that Walter has been sneaking off to The Malt Shovel; 1994: Jack Sugden surveys the devastation after the plane crash which ended 1993.

I've had an e-mail from Karl:

I love your blog - it's informative, fun and packed with great pictures. Would you consider extending the Beckindale Bugle to cover the 1990s, as well as the 1980s? It would be great to see these two wonderful Emmerdale decades here.

I'd love to, Karl, but I didn't see a great deal of Emmerdale in the '90s for various reasons. The Bugle is written out of affection for the 1980s era in the show, which gave me lots of viewing pleasure.

Still, there's no doubt that the 1990s were a fascinating decade in the show. How about starting a 1990s Emmerdale blog yourself?

Thanks for your kind words about The Bugle. There's much more to come as we put 1981 and 1984 under the spotlight.

Worst Story Line And Who Are They?

Thanks to Cerys for this e-mail:

I agree that the 1980s were a great time for Emmerdale Farm but every decade contains a few dud moments. I think my worst story line of the '80s was Joe's affair with Karen Moore - a desperate attempt to stir up more trouble between Jack and Joe. What was your worst Farm storyline of the '80s?

I have to say Dolly's affair with Stephen Fuller. Matt and Dolly and their very ordinary marriage were favourite Emmerdale Farm ingredients for me.

I always thought that the Skilbeck scenes, with young Sam often in attendance, seemed very warm, natural and low key, and I hated to see Matt and Dolly's relationship end.

I'll leave you for now with a little mystery: pictured above are members of a Beckindale family in the early 1980s. Who are they? More soon.

Poem: Beckindale In The '80s

Amos Brearly and the newly arrived Walter in 1980.

The Beckindale Bugle is getting verse! Many thanks to Mrs Violet Howes for e-mailing her poetic tribute to Emmerdale Farm in the 1980s! I'll drop you a line to answer the '80s cast queries you raised later today, Mrs H!

1980 was a year of change,
Our Jack returned to a home on the range
He had a new face, Dolly did too,
Whilst from Malt Shovel to Woolpack
Seth Armstrong flew

A busy year for Amos
With new allotment and Courier reports so true
And sitting at the bar was
Walter Mark Two

1981 - Pat was Jack's only one
A love so strong, so pure, and good
Did Pat's kids approve?
If only they would!

1982 - a child was born
Dolly and Matt had good news
As did Pat and Jack -
A wedding day
Free of blues

At Home Farm, Alan Turner arrived
Which worried Seth not
At work he still skived

'83 and Joe was in a trance
In love with Barbara
And then off to France

Archie appeared -
Socialist slob
And redundancies loomed
Was John out of a job?

1984 - Sam Pearson died
How we missed him
I cried and cried.

Jack bedded another
Marriage vows he did flout
But Pat found out
They were reconciled
Have no doubt

At Home Farm,
Mrs Bates was on draught
Sensible woman - she found Alan daft
Whilst he blustered and ranted
She just laughed and laughed

1985 - midway through
And lots and lots of news for you
Seth's donkey ran amok
Whilst Amos kept bees
And Mrs Bates' marriage break-up
Almost brought her to her knees

1986 - terror for Matt
Harry Mowlam murdered
Now WHO did that?

Eric Pollard at the market
And Pat Sugden in horror crash
The year was thunder and lightning
But not over in a flash

1987 - nuclear fears were rife
No Nukes In Beckindale!
A threat to land and life
The cry seemed to be ignored
But won through in the end
A happy ending and a safe future
For many a Beckindale friend

1988 - Kathy and Jackie did marry
Their happiness was untapped
But Dolly was untrue to Matt
And so the Skilbecks' marriage
Began to come unwrapped

At Crossgill disaster came with fire
For Annie Sugden the house
Almost became her funeral pyre

1989 - the decade was on the fizzle
But the affair of Rachel and Pete
Gave its dying months some sizzle

Home Farm was sold
The Tates moved in
Mrs Bates departed
Alan's future looked grim

Goodbye to Matt, the Reverend Hinton too
The 90's would see stories
Which seemed silly and untrue

1980 Month - Feedback And Queries

First, some queries:

Pete asks: "Is it true that Seth Armstrong was not a regular at The Woolpack in early 1980?"

Of course, Pete. He was a Malt Shovel man. In early-to-mid 1980, Seth was a semi-regular in the storylines - there are a couple of quite long runs of episodes where he didn't appear at all. By about midway through the year he was a Woolpack regular - winding Amos up at every opportunity! In December, Tom Merrick called Seth a "snob" for deserting The Malt Shovel.

Lorraine asks: "How long did Nellie Ratcliffe appear for?"

I believe that Nellie was originally a temporary character, established in 1978 for a storyline about NY Estates seeking to evict her from her cottage. In 1980, she appeared occasionally - featuring quite heavily in storylines about the horticultural show, Sam Pearson's birthday, the return of the Merricks to the village and the Allotment Association's bonfire night celebration. She also featured in 1981. Amos mentioned her in 1986 and it seems she was still a village resident, but I don't think she appeared on-screen at that point.

Nick asks: "I remember the Merricks' caravan as being quite convincing, was the interior real or a studio set?"

It was convincing, but I believe it was a studio set.

Mrs Shook asks: "Did we actually see The Malt Shovel in 1980?"

No, it wasn't featured - and neither was Ernie Shuttleworth, who underwent a change of actor in the early 1980s.

Greg says: "Tom Merrick, nicking Christmas trees - I read that was 1981."

No, Greg, it was just before Christmas 1980.

Thanks to all those who have written with compliments and suggestions about 1980 Month. I have been asked if a "1981 Month" is a possibility. It certainly is, but will take some time to prepare and will not appear until October at the earliest if I choose to go ahead with the idea.

A Suggestion...

A great e-mail just received from "Jacko".

Thanks for your compliments on "1980 Month" - several more features are on the way - and thanks also for your suggestion:

I don't remember Emmerdale in the 80's, but I'm very interested in it. I do find things a little confusing, working out who lived where and when, etc. Could you prepare a 1980's Emmerdale "Who's Who" - an easy reference for us newcomers?

Great idea, Jacko. Once "1980 Month" is completed, I'll give it my full consideration. Thanks for writing.

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

Emmerdale Farm - Always A Soap...

A scene from the soapy '70s - Sam Pearson is held at gun point.

I've just received an e-mail from Janine:

I've just read on a Crossroads Network Forum that Emmerdale Farm went downhill and became a soap in the mid-1980s. Did it? Or should I be taking notice of Crossroads fans?

In my opinion, Emmerdale Farm was always a soap (despite producer Richard Handford stating it wasn't in 1985), and I saw the series from its very early days. I recall the car crash involving Joe and Mr Wilks, the murder of Sharon Crossthwaite, the death of old Trash the tramp, the Vicar's son being charged with gun running, the death of Peggy Skilbeck - and the brutal way her children were despatched, the suicide of Jim Gimbel (he shot himself), and the gun hold-up storyline involving Amos, Mr Wilks and old Sam Pearson. There were lots of cliff hangers, lots of storylines designed to bring in viewers.

Soap was frowned upon in the 60s, 70s and 80s - and several soap producers refuted the claim that their shows were soaps, including Bill Podmore, producer of Coronation Street.

But Emmerdale Farm always adhered to a soap format - the show simply became pacier, grittier and more daring in the 1980s.

As for whether you should take notice of Crossroads viewers, I used to like it myself!

Some Recent E-Mails...

Collin:

I like this, it's cool. Good to find out back history and you tell it well. Any chance of more up to date stuff, too? After all, if you like the 1980's, Viv Hope (Deena Payne) wears really '80's clothes!! Or she did last time I watched. I followed Emmerdale up to 2006 and I'd love to see you give it the same treatment you have the 80's.

Sorry, Collin, writing a general blog on Emmerdale is something I can't get my head round, and as the '80s were my favourite era, I'll stick with them. Thanks for the kind words.

Sandra:

I do remember some of the things you write about. Especially Alan and Caroline in their office and Seth marching in and out, sciving off work! The Emmerdale memories you feature remind me of My Little Pony, Rubik's Cube and the ZX Spectrum! And wearing really garish clothes with shoulder pads and things. I was at school. And guess what? THEY ARE the happiest days of your life! Keep up the good work!

I'm glad you like it. As for garish '80s gear, I dabbled in the New Romantic scene, then was a Miami Vice clone for several years mid-way through the decade...

Let's face it, there's fun fashion, then there's plain embarrassing fashion! Still, it gives me a laugh when I look back at it all!

Archie Brooks - '80s Man Activist

Archie's caravan was destroyed by Nick Bates in the Emmerdale Farm tractor. YIPIS stood for "Yorkshire Independence Party And International Socialists".

An e-mail from Carol...

The best Emmerdale Farm character in the 1980s was Archie Brooks, played by Tony Pitts. He was politically aware and a bit of an activist - highly involved in the anti-nuclear protests of 1987, and an "80s Man" or "New Man" too. He was determinedly non-sexist and in the early '90s helped Nick care for baby Alice.

He reflected the concerns of a lot of young people in the '80s and was a breed of youngster that was involved and politically active. It's absolute trash the way people try to dismiss the '80s as being simply greedy. They were a very polarised and turbulent era. These days, of course, apathy rules and youngsters would rather have an ipod than social/political justice, and insist they are far more caring than '80s youngsters whilst doing nothing to justify it.

Please can you do a write-up of one of Emmerdale's most original and true-to-life characters, who truly reflected the era he lived in?

It was fitting that the character was killed off when the show turned completely stupid and insensitive with the plane crash of December 1993.

I agree that Archie, who made his debut in November 1983, was a great character, Carol, he was a huge favourite of mine - and yes, there were a lot of Archies around in the 1980s. A very well-written and acted character. A quote from Emmerdale Farm - The Official Companion by James Ferguson, 1988:

The realistic behaviour and speech which Tony uses is based upon his own twenty-one-old brother, who is chairman of the Socialist Workers' Party in Sheffield.

The character is nowadays too often overlooked. Thanks for writing!

From the Sun, January 1983. Read more about the '80s/New Man here.

The '80s Were Best!

1983: Annie advises Sandie to tell her mother that she is pregnant.

I've had several e-mails since starting this blog. Thanks to those who have got in touch and for the good wishes. Brian from the Wirral has written:

I'm so glad you're covering Emmerdale Farm from the 1980's. The show was in its prime and it was ceasing to live in the past like it did in the 70's. The 70's soaps got off on nostalgia too much. In the 80's, Sandie's pregnancy storyline reflected the plight of a couple of girls I knew at my comp. school and there were other great storylines. The Jack and Karen scenario was commonplace in the 1970's, let alone the 1980's, so RESPECT to Kevin Laffan's memory, but I don't know why he hated the story so much.

The other side of the coin was the introduction of Al Dixon who took on Walter's role. I always thought he looked sort of striking sitting there at the pub in his cap, but also really funny. Classic! Then there was Caroline Bates and Alan Turner and my hero ERIC POLLARD! the dashing anti hero of Emmerdale. And Amos and Henry were great, as was Seth. And Annie was still cooking on that old fashioned "Aga" stove thing! "Annie's Aga Saga" we called it!

I like reading this because it makes me remember so much. I shall keep reading!

Thanks, Brian. The blog basically covers the 1980s because I have material from that decade, but I am particularly fond of the Emmerdale Farm era from 1980-1987!