If you're a fan of long-running soap Emmerdale, you'll probably have already watched the show's 50th anniversary which aired October 16, 2022. The very special anniversary show was full of all the drama and emotion you'd expect from Emmerdale's 50th and there was plenty in store for the residents of the fictional village.
When was the 50th anniversary?
Emmerdale celebrated its 50th birthday with an hour-long episode on Sunday 16 October, exactly 50 years to the day since the programme first appeared on our screens. For Emmerdale regulars, the usual episodes on Monday to Friday also aired with the extra episode on Sunday.
Emmerdale 50th anniversary best bits – spoilers ahead
If you'd rather watch the special show back without any spoilers, look away now!
If you can't help but want to know more or relive the special episode, then there's the deadly windstorm that causes disarray and leaves lives on the line, with potential deaths too. There are also three big returns over the next couple of weeks from some memorable faces.
Village destruction
The Emmerdale village that we all know and love is destroyed when a raging storm takes over, wreaking havoc in more ways than one. The road to recovery is set to be a long one.
Guess who's back...
Popular characters Aaron Dingle, Diane Sugden and Tracy Metcalfe return to the Dales for their own respective storylines. We're especially loved seeing the return of soap legend Elizabeth Estensen as Diane after she left the show last year following over 20 years on the ITV show.
Love triangle showdown
There's also a showdown between love rivals Kim Tate and Harriet Finch after previous drama. Kim and Will Taylor's wedding is set to air during the 50th celebrations but Will's ex Harriet plans to stop him going through with the nuptials.
A new arrival?
Emmerdale fans are wondering whether pregnant teen Amelia Spencer could give birth during the big episodes. Producer Jane Hudson recently revealed: "Amelia is due soon, and whether or not she has the baby in the 50th celebrations I'm obviously not going to tell you. But Amelia does play a very big part in the storm and when she needs to be found, because she's stuck on her own, she does play a very big part."
Fun facts about Emmerdale
• Emmerdale Farm, renamed ‘Emmerdale’ in 1989, was first transmitted in October 1972. It was launched by Yorkshire Television as ‘the living story of the Sugden family – the excitement of country life’ and intended to fill a lunchtime slot, twice a week, for only 13 weeks.
• No one actually lives there! It’s a purpose-built set situated in the Yorkshire countryside and is a life-size replica of Esholt, in West Yorkshire, where they filmed the show originally. It took just 20 weeks to construct but the houses look amazingly authentic. “It’s all proper dry stone walling and even the chimneys have smoke that comes out of them, but it’s all fake,” says Claire. “The make-up rooms and the dressing rooms are in the interiors.”
• The majority of interior shots are filmed at the ITV studio in Leeds.
• In The Woolpack, the beer is apple juice while the wine is grape juice, but things weren’t always so innocent. Claire recalls scenes with her late co- star Richard Thorp, who played Alan Tate: “When we were filming in Esholt, it was a real pub and Richard and I would book our lunch and actually order a bottle of wine to go with it, then go back on set in the afternoon. Those were the good old days, you wouldn’t dream of doing that now!”
• The Emmerdale cemetery contains real headstones. A London graveyard was cleared for development and the headstones (nothing else!) relocated to the village set.
• Twelve wind machines of different sizes were used to create the storm scene. Some were six to eight feet wide and looked like hovercraft fans; they were blown at the foliage, and trees, whipping a realistic wind through the village.
• You can tour the village yourself. Head to the Yorkshire Dales and visit the Emmerdale set, following in the footsteps of the characters. Visit before the end of the year and celebrate Emmerdale’s 50th anniversary with a limited edition tour script, exclusive prop exhibition and more – find full details at emmerdalevillagetour.co.uk