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!

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

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

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

.

More about Albion Market here.

25 Years Ago - The Way Things Were - Gossip From Beckindale 1983 - Part 1...

When Grandad Pearson was presented with fish fingers for dinner, he was not impressed. "I never thought I'd ever see them served up in this house!"

"Now you have," said Annie, rather sternly. "So eat up and stop blethering!"

"To tell you the truth, Annie, I don't know how to start eating 'em," said Grandad.

Jackie stuck in his four penn'orth: "Oh, that's easy - you just pick 'em up and put 'em in your mouth."

Sam was most unhappy: "This is not the way the Lord made fish, lad - that's all I'm saying. I know how to eat fish."

Pat had bought the fish fingers because Sandie liked them, but Sam was adamant...

... fresh fish - and indeed fresh food in general - was best. "That's nowt like fresh food, is there, Annie, eh? It's got a kind of life to it."

Annie made a balancing comment - pointing out that the freezer did have its uses. But Sam was not convinced.

Good News For Mr Wilks

From the TV Times soaps page by Alan Kennaugh, 2-8 May, 1987.

Mr Wilks hears good news from daughter Marian. Arthur Pentelow's portrayal of the good hearted, down-to-earth businessman was one of my favourite Emmerdale Farm ingredients. Friend and business partner of Amos, friend of Annie and mover and shaker at Emmerdale Farm - his contribution to Beckindale life was immense.

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".

Walter Walks Out...

Thank you very much indeed to those who have sent e-mails regarding the Emmerdale '80s quizzes. It's good to know they were enjoyed and there will certainly be more to come. And to take you into 2008, here's a little something to ponder: why did faithful customer Walter (Al Dixon) leave the Woolpack in utter disgust in 1983, the last of Amos and Mr Wilks' regulars to desert the bar?

The answer will follow - in 2008!

UPDATE - 1/1/2008 - The Answer!

This was how things were...

Amos was being his usual difficult self. He wanted to get the Woolpack a glowing review from the Hotten Courier, and he wanted to quell the NY Estates workers, who were in dispute with Alan Turner. They held rather a loud meeting about their industrial strife at the Woolpack and Amos stuck his nose in, siding firmly with Alan. So the NY lads boycotted the Woolpack and other regulars followed suit.

But Walter remained.

Until the night when Amos set peanuts out on the bar (to impress any visiting hostelry reviewers from the Courier) and told Walter they were not for him. He graciously conceded that Walter could have one, and told him off quite fiercely when he caught him taking more.

Walter mulled the situation over, rapped on the bar sharply with his pint pot, and walked out.

"Walter! You can't!" said an aghast Amos. But he could. And he did.

It took a little while for Amos to discover he might be at fault, but an unpleasant experience at the local golf club, where he'd been taken by Alan Turner, set Amos thinking. Slagged off by a frightfully posh Major, who was positively fawned over by Alan, Amos realised that currying favour with this set was not worth it. And he realised who his true friends were.

Amos apologised to the NY Estates men and they returned to the Woolpack...

... as did Walter.

And the Woolpack was restored to its old peculiar normality.

Wishing You A Very Happy New Year!

More from our '80s Beckindale timewarp in 2008.

Ernie Shuttleworth - The Two Faces Of...

Ernie Shuttleworth was, of course, landlord of Beckindale's other hostelry, the Malt Shovel, and a long time rival of Amos Brearly. Ernie was not a regular character in the show, and was originally played by actor John Comer (on the right in the DVD cover illustration above), who also appeared as cafe owner Sid in Last Of The Summer Wine, and as Mr Brandon in I Didn't Know You Cared.

I don't know how many appearances Mr Comer made as Ernie Shuttleworth, but two Emmerdale Farm publications list him in the role - a 1976 special and the 1982 10th Anniversary magazine - although there is a printing error in the 1982 publication and the actor's surname appears as "Corner".

John Comer died in 1984. See his IMDB profile here.

Here's Amos and Ernie Shuttleworth mark II arguing it out at the Woolpack in 1986. Peter Schofield, who was a well-known face on UK TV, made sure that the Shuttleworth/Brearly war of the boozers continued to entertain. Remember him as Joe Dawson, the nasty cafe owner who reported Len Fairclough for not having a loo at his Kabin cafe in 1978? See Mr Schofield's IMDB profile here.

A brief role for Peter Schofield as unloved cafe owner Joe Dawson in Coronation Street.

I enjoyed the Amos/Ernie absurdities in Emmerdale Farm. I've just been revisiting some 1986 episodes with a storyline revolving round a dominoes tournament. Amos and the Peter Schofield era Ernie were at their absolute best, the script was witty, the acting superb and I was greatly entertained.

Happy days in Beckindale.

Ian Sharrock

Back to the '70s - far grimmer and far more stagnant than recent chortlings and hype would have you believe. Thinking back, and reading through '70s newspapers, I always wonder what on earth the BBC was playing at with their I Love 1970s series, as quite a lot of the pop culture featured crops up in the wrong years and, on about eight separate occasions, in the wrong decade! The series mercilessly plundered the 1960s and 1980s. Anyway, here's Ian Sharrock featured in the Sun, December 13, 1975 - about to appear on BBC1 in the pop operetta Smike - previously shown on BBC2.

And here's Ian as Jackie Merrick, at home on the farm, in the 1980s.

1985: Farm Favourite

Daily Mirror, 23 May, 1985:

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

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

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