Major Emmerdale storylines
Encyclopedia
Popular ITV
soap Emmerdale
has featured numerous famous storylines since it began in 1972. For a full list of major storylines in Emmerdale, see List of major storylines in Emmerdale.
, Coronation Street
, and Brookside
. This changed with the sensational plotline of a plane crashing on to the village of Beckindale on 30 December 1993. The crash killed four regular characters and led to the onscreen renaming of Beckindale to Emmerdale (the village name change was a tribute to the Sugden Family whose farm was known as Emmerdale Farm). The story gained a lot of press and audience attention, giving Emmerdale its highest ever viewing figures of 18 million, and consequently keeping the show as one of the most watched soap operas on British television. The plot line attracted controversy due to the similarity to the Lockerbie disaster; it was aired near to the time of the fifth anniversary of that disaster.
The first scene of the plane crash was when Frank Tate
was looking at his wife Kim
’s stables when suddenly a ball of fire hits the stables. Nick Bates and Archie Brooks were walking home when they are blinded by some fluid and Archie is engulfed in flames. This would be the last we see of Archie, however his body was never recovered and suspicion remains if he actually died, nevertheless he is declared dead.
The Woolpack
windows explode in and Joe Sugden
crashes his car when a wing of the plane collides with the car. Annie
and Leonard Kempinski
were also in the car. Joe suffered a broken leg and Annie remained in a coma
for several months. However, Leonard died. He and Annie were only married for two months. Up at the stables, Kim had to be restrained from trying to retrieve her horses, she listened helplessly as her horses screamed for help. People in the Woolpack started to regain consciousness. Eric Pollard
started wandering around looking for his wife, Elizabeth. As the hours passed, he started to draw attention as many people became suspicious of his behaviour. Elizabeth is eventually found dead and is declared a victim of the plane crash. However, many people, on and off-screen, believe Eric killed his wife as she was on her way to the police to report him for forging cheques. Outside, Alan Turner
picks up a plane ticket with the name Kurshkov on it, he notices more wreckage in the field together with Angharad and Bernard McAllister
and it becomes more clear what has happened. The local school is used as a base. Mark Hughes’s arm can be seen sticking out of some rubble. At the school, Jack Sugden
notices Mark's watch amongst the personal belongings that have been found, it is the one that Annie gave him at Christmas. Jack has the unfortunate task of identifying his body. Chris Tate
is discovered in the wine bar but his legs are trapped under heavy rubble. When he is retrieved from the rubble, he is airlifted to hospital. Chris would later learn that he has lost the use of his legs. As Annie was being cut out of the car which Joe had crashed a news bulletin was being heard on the radio about a passenger jet had crashed on the Yorkshire village of Beckindale and it was on its way to Canada from eastern Europe and all 250 passengers and crew had believed to have been killed. We then saw Joe Sugden resting on the back of the ambulance when a paramedic told him that they were unable to save Leonard but Annie was still alive.
Many buildings in the village were left in ruins as a result of the plane crash. Excluding the four dead characters, many other bodies were found all over the village.
In 1994, Scott Windsor
's long lost father; Reg Dawson turned up in Emmerdale, claiming that he wanted to build bridges with his son. Vic Windsor
, Scott's adoptive father, didn't trust him from the start. It soon emerged that the real reason Reg had come to the village was because he and his gang planned to kidnap his ex wife, Viv, and hold her hostage at Home Farm, and steal the money and valuable items that were there. Home Farm was then owned by the Tates' who were on holiday at the time.
Reg and his gang stormed the post office, shot Alan Turner
and kidnapped Viv Windsor, and Alan's wife Shirley
and took them up to Home farm. The police were alerted and they did a stakeout at the house just as Reg was about to shoot Viv. Shirley performed an act of bravery and jumped in front of Viv, only for her to be shot dead. Reg was later gunned down by a police marksman, but the whole incident left the then 14 year old Scott traumatized, hurt and ashamed by his father, and Alan was left to mourn his wife, Shirley.
.
Emmerdale was to experience another big disaster ten years on from the plane crash as a storm put villagers in peril. The storyline paved the way for Tricia Dingle's exit and provide a lot of New Year drama and a ratings boost for the show.
The storm hit the village on New Year's Eve
2003 and saw popular characters such as Ashley Thomas
and Louise Appleton
become stuck on the roads as a result of the terrible weather with Ashley so hurt that he could have lost his leg but they were saved in time.
The episode also focused on Marlon
and Tricia Dingle. Marlon had had a one-night stand with his cousin Charity Tate
when Tricia was in India
and when Tricia found out he had been unfaithful, she decided to leave him and the Dales. However, upon reading the 101 reasons as to why Marlon loved her, she decided to reconcile with him and headed back to The Woolpack.
Upon reaching the Woolpack, lightning stuck an oak tree which caused Tricia to trip, and another bolt hit the roof of The Woolpack causing the roof to collapse and the chimney to fall through. This in turn caused the wall of the pub to collapse onto a helpless Tricia. She was taken to hospital, critically injured, and was put on life support until Marlon decided to finally let her go.
Ashley and Louise were rescued from the rubble, and in an extension of the storyline, popular character Bernice Thomas
, made a brief return. Viewing figures for the special hour long episode averaged 10.7 million. Ratings soared and the storyline went down in Emmerdale history. The year to come would see the show gain an even higher profile.
On Thursday 13 July 2006, the Kings unveiled their brand new showhome which was to house married couple, Marlon Dingle
and Donna Windsor-Dingle
. When local resident, Noreen Bell opened a cupboard door inside the house, it triggered an automatic light switch that an electric spark
discharged in the gas pipes that caused a large gas explosion that catapulted her down the stairs. The explosion ripped through the bathroom floor knocking Jimmy King
and Sadie King
to opposite sides of the bathroom. The estate agent David Brown, who was located near the cupboard, was set alight. While running towards the house, Marlon and Donna were thrown back by another explosion. Debris such as a spark plug, a toaster, a boiler, and windows started to fly towards the residents as the house started to explode in various places. Diane Sugden
was knocked out by a collapsing ceiling while Danny Daggert
and Dawn Woods
, who were running behind her, got caught in another explosion. The bathroom floor gave way and Jimmy fell through, shortly followed by Sadie. The house then fully collapsed horrifyingly as the residents of Emmerdale watched in shock. Three were confirmed dead: Noreen Bell, who was hit by the full force of the initial explosion and died instantly, Dawn Woods, who was rescued from the rubble but later died in hospital as a result of internal injuries from burns and Smoke inhalation
, and the estate agent David Brown from burns.
This was an hour long episode, and attracted 6.7 million viewers, beating EastEnders
in the ratings. It was the most watched television programme of the day.
At the 2007 British Soap Awards Emmerdale won two awards, one of which was 'Most Spectacular Scene' for the Kings River Explosion.
The House Collapse won an ITV competition to find the best Emmerdale moment, coinciding with Emmerdale's 5000th Episode.
In September 2006, Cain Dingle
and Sadie King
plotted to kidnap millionaire Tom King and demand a £2.5 million ransom. They did carry out the plot but Cain discovered that Sadie had paid for his girlfriend, Jasmine Thomas
, to have an abortion privately and kidnapped her and Tom. He took them to a deserted barn and threatened them with a gun. The kidnap did follow a few twists and turns involving a car explosion, numerous theft of cars after Cain blew up his old car, a police car and helicopter chase, crashing into a flooded quarry only to find the car empty. He shot Sadie and demanded that his sister Chas
be the one to bring the money. She did and soon it was revealed that Sadie was alive and that she was working with him. However, when it came to the escape, Cain left Sadie stranded. They both left the soap afterwards. The hour-long episode shown on Tuesday 19 September attracted around 9 million viewers, leaving rival soap EastEnders with just 4.8 million viewers. The culmintation of the storyline on 22 September attracted 8.7 million viewers.
, who was killed on Christmas Day 2006. The ensuing weeks were be full of twists and turns as some of the show’s most popular characters were placed at the centre of the enquiry, facing fierce interrogation in the hunt for the killer - the police are determined to leave no stone unturned.
In a world first, the whole storyline was fully interactive allowing viewers the opportunity of becoming super sleuths to help solve the crime via a dedicated ITV online portal. Launched in November, it consists of blogs, clues, secret e-mails and voicemails. Emmerdale Online was created for ITV by Branded Storytelling producers Hoodlum.
The viewer were taken inside the show and had direct online interaction with the storyline. The cast was seen trying to piece together the murder and their findings will, in turn, be immediately available for viewers to tap into online.
To add to the mystery, and for the first time ever, Emmerdale filmed 10 secret scenes, each showing a different suspect committing the murder and therefore enabling 10 different possible outcomes. As a result, even the cast and crew didn't know who the killer was.
On the same day, he married Rosemary Sinclair in a lavish ceremony, he headed up to the bedroom but somebody hit him with an ornament (a bronze horse head statue) and pushed him through the bedroom window to his death.
As so many people wanted Tom King dead, the list of suspects was narrowed down to ten:
All suspects had their own ending recorded to stop viewers finding out who killed him.
It has been revealed that Emmerdale has filmed a secret eleventh ending which sees three from the line-up kill Tom together: his sons - Jimmy, Matthew and Carl. Carl and Matthew held their father still, while eldest brother Jimmy whacked Tom over the head with the horse statuette that figures in all eleven murder scenarios.
After a few months, it was determined that one or all of the three of his sons had killed him after DNA found that there was fibres of the sons' wedding suits under Tom's fingernails.
Tom King's final video has come to light. It was intended for his close friend Chief of Police Charles Vaughan. It sees Tom speaking candidly to camera about who, of those around him, would have had the motive to kill him. This first part shows Tom discuss Bob Hope, Jamie Hope and Terry Woods.
The second part of Tom King's final video shows Tom speak of Len Reynolds and how he doesn't know his three sons as well as he thought. The third, and final part of Tom King's video shows Tom speak of Chas Dingle, Rosemary and Grayson Sinclair and why he thinks everybody hated him so much.
Eventually, nearly five months after the murder was aired on TV, it was revealed that Carl King, his son, had killed him. Carl had gone to his dad's bedroom to argue with him about Tom attempting to pay Chas Dingle (Carl's girlfriend) to split up with him. Tom gave him an ultimatum, split up with Chas or lose his multi-million pound inheritance. In a fit of frustration, Carl hit him over the head with a bronze horse's head statue, and as Tom clung on to him, he pushed him away. This made him fall out of his bedroom window, to his death.
Carl was never prosecuted for killing him, as there was not enough evidence to prosecute one particular brother. When all three brothers was charged for conspiracy to murder, their trial collapsed when it was revealed that two key witnesses had lied in their statements for money, and there was insufficient evidence to find the brothers guilty without the statements.
At the Broadcast Digital Channel Awards in 2008, Emmerdale won the award for 'Best use of Interactive' for the storyline.
told his children that his wife, Diane
, had feelings for Billy Hopwood
. Victoria
was full of guilt and sobbing, insisting it was all her fault and she wished she’d never followed the pair and heard their conversation. An angry Victoria paid Billy a visit. During the heated argument in which Victoria blamed Billy for ruining her family, he implied that the Sugdens' had never been saintly and brought up the subject of Sarah
’s death, Victoria's mother. “Bit of a coincidence, Jack being there the night your mother died,” he said, smiling. “Think about it Victoria - have they ever really told you what happened to her?”. Victoria didn't want to listen to Billy but it was clear her desire to discover her mother's killer had resurfaced.
On 16 October 2007, after yet another row with Jack about Diane, Victoria went off alone and got drunk. The teenager had been rifling through old newspaper clippings of the fire that killed her mother. One of the pictures was of Sarah’s lover, Richie Carter, who had been there and survived. Victoria had decided to pay Richie a visit, in a last ditch attempt to find out the truth about the night her mother died. Richie told her he couldn’t help her. Begrudgingly, Richie described the events leading up to fire, including how Jack had threatened to kill him and Sarah for their betrayal. Richie was adamant, telling Victoria it wasn't her dad. Victoria didn't believe Richie and returned to the village and was promptly sick from the alcohol. Spotting Andy
down the road, she ran into a nearby garage to hide. She overheard Andy bump into Jack, who told him Victoria had not gone to school. The pair set off to look for her together. Inside the garage, a clearly disturbed Victoria spotted a petrol can. She picked it up. Victoria took the can home and doused the furniture with petrol. Moments later, Jack and Andy returned to Annie’s Cottage and immediately smelled the fumes. Then they saw Victoria, poised with a lighter in her hand, ready to set the place alight. Victoria was screaming at her dad to tell her the truth about how her mother died or else they'd know what it feels like to burn. Unable to stay quiet any longer, Andy shocked Victoria by telling her that he had started the fire that led to Sarah's death. Victoria looked at her brother in horror and then fled upstairs where she fell and hurt her head badly. She was put on her bed, bleeding. Andy stayed with her while Jack went into the bathroom to soak a towel in warm water to clean his daughter’s head. He had forgotten about the petrol fumes in the house when he turned on the hot tap. The pilot light in the boiler came on and ignited the fumes. A massive explosion ripped through the house.
Daz
had been walking towards the cottage and was knocked to the ground with the force of the blast. Inside Annie’s Cottage, the lounge was a raging inferno, where Victoria had soaked everything in petrol. As the fire took hold, there was a second explosion. Andy and Victoria were in her bedroom and Andy smashed her window. He swept her up in his arms and carried her to the window. By now many of the villagers, including Jonny
, Matthew, Perdy
, Diane and Billy and others, were standing outside. Jonny waited below the bedroom window with his arms up, telling Andy to drop his sister down. With Victoria safe, Andy went back for Jack but a wall of fire separated them. Billy climbed a ladder, which was set up outside, and got Andy to the window where he jumped out onto a hay truck, that Matthew had hot-wired and parked under the window. Using a blanket for cover, Billy got Jack from the bathroom and out the bedroom window. As Billy was about to climb out, numerous half-empty alcohol bottles caught fire creating another explosion, which blew Billy across the room. The fire services retrieved an unconscious Billy from the house.
While all of this was going on Eric Pollard
was trapped in the house next door after he got Pearl Ladderbanks
out, but was retrieved by Ross Kirk
.
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
soap Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
has featured numerous famous storylines since it began in 1972. For a full list of major storylines in Emmerdale, see List of major storylines in Emmerdale.
The Plane Crash (1993)
Until 1993, Emmerdale was largely ignored by press and viewers alike, in the face of better-known soaps such as EastEndersEastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
, and Brookside
Brookside
Brookside is a defunct British soap opera set in Liverpool, England. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003...
. This changed with the sensational plotline of a plane crashing on to the village of Beckindale on 30 December 1993. The crash killed four regular characters and led to the onscreen renaming of Beckindale to Emmerdale (the village name change was a tribute to the Sugden Family whose farm was known as Emmerdale Farm). The story gained a lot of press and audience attention, giving Emmerdale its highest ever viewing figures of 18 million, and consequently keeping the show as one of the most watched soap operas on British television. The plot line attracted controversy due to the similarity to the Lockerbie disaster; it was aired near to the time of the fifth anniversary of that disaster.
Frank Tate (Emmerdale)
Francis Ronald "Frank" Tate is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He was played by Norman Bowler.Frank arrived in Beckindale in 1989 with his second wife Kim, son Chris and daughter Zoe...
was looking at his wife Kim
Kim Tate
Kimberly Jane 'Kim' Tate is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. who appeared between 1989 and 1999, She was played by actress Claire King. Kim Tate is seen as one of the most iconic characters in the history of British soap opera, having been dubbed The Soap Superbitch...
’s stables when suddenly a ball of fire hits the stables. Nick Bates and Archie Brooks were walking home when they are blinded by some fluid and Archie is engulfed in flames. This would be the last we see of Archie, however his body was never recovered and suspicion remains if he actually died, nevertheless he is declared dead.
The Woolpack
The Woolpack
This article is about the soap opera. Click the link for the Cumulus cloud formation synonym.The Woolpack is a fictional public house on the popular ITV soap opera Emmerdale. Its sign is a wool bale, a popular symbol in sheep-rearing country. It has played host to many of the soap's storylines and...
windows explode in and Joe Sugden
Joe Sugden
Joseph "Joe" Sugden is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale. He was played by Frazer Hines.Joe was one of the main characters in the Yorkshire-set soap for a 22-year period between 1972–1994 with a brief intermittancy of three years in the 1980s...
crashes his car when a wing of the plane collides with the car. Annie
Annie Brearly
Anne "Annie" Brearly is a fictional character in the popular soap opera Emmerdale. She was played by Sheila Mercier as a regular character between 1972 and 1994, making guest appearances in 1995, 1996 and 2009. Annie was one of Emmerdale Farm's original characters, appearing in its first episode...
and Leonard Kempinski
Leonard Kempinski
Leonard Kempinski is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Bernard Archard.Leonard came to the village in 1992 as a friend of Amos Brearly that Annie Sugden met while out visiting Amos in Spain. She invited him back with her and stayed with the Sugden family for...
were also in the car. Joe suffered a broken leg and Annie remained in a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
for several months. However, Leonard died. He and Annie were only married for two months. Up at the stables, Kim had to be restrained from trying to retrieve her horses, she listened helplessly as her horses screamed for help. People in the Woolpack started to regain consciousness. Eric Pollard
Eric Pollard
Eric Charles Pollard is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Chris Chittell.Pollard has appeared on the show since 1986, making him the second longest running current character after Alan Turner who has appeared since 1982. He has lied to, cheated and swindled...
started wandering around looking for his wife, Elizabeth. As the hours passed, he started to draw attention as many people became suspicious of his behaviour. Elizabeth is eventually found dead and is declared a victim of the plane crash. However, many people, on and off-screen, believe Eric killed his wife as she was on her way to the police to report him for forging cheques. Outside, Alan Turner
Alan Turner (Emmerdale)
Alan Jonathan Turner is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Richard Thorp. He first appeared on 18 March 1982, and is the longest running character in the soap. Originally portrayed as an inept, boozing and bullying manager for NY Estates at Home Farm, he has...
picks up a plane ticket with the name Kurshkov on it, he notices more wreckage in the field together with Angharad and Bernard McAllister
Bernard McAllister
Dr. Bernard McAllister was a fictional character in the popular soap opera Emmerdale played by Brendan Price.Bernard arrived in Emmerdale in late 1993 with wife Angharad, daughter Jessica and son Luke. The moment they set foot in Emmerdale, trouble came their way. Kathy Tate developed an unhealthy...
and it becomes more clear what has happened. The local school is used as a base. Mark Hughes’s arm can be seen sticking out of some rubble. At the school, Jack Sugden
Jack Sugden
John Jacob "Jack" Sugden is a fictional character in the British television soap opera Emmerdale. The character was originally played by Andrew Burt from 1972 to 1974 with a brief return in 1976, when he left for Italy to write a book. On his return in 1980 he was played by Clive Hornby...
notices Mark's watch amongst the personal belongings that have been found, it is the one that Annie gave him at Christmas. Jack has the unfortunate task of identifying his body. Chris Tate
Chris Tate
Christopher Francis "Chris" Tate is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He was played by Peter Amory.-Early storylines:...
is discovered in the wine bar but his legs are trapped under heavy rubble. When he is retrieved from the rubble, he is airlifted to hospital. Chris would later learn that he has lost the use of his legs. As Annie was being cut out of the car which Joe had crashed a news bulletin was being heard on the radio about a passenger jet had crashed on the Yorkshire village of Beckindale and it was on its way to Canada from eastern Europe and all 250 passengers and crew had believed to have been killed. We then saw Joe Sugden resting on the back of the ambulance when a paramedic told him that they were unable to save Leonard but Annie was still alive.
Many buildings in the village were left in ruins as a result of the plane crash. Excluding the four dead characters, many other bodies were found all over the village.
Home Farm Siege 1994
Scott Windsor
Scott Windsor is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale.From 1993-1996, Scott Windsor was played by Toby Cockerell...
's long lost father; Reg Dawson turned up in Emmerdale, claiming that he wanted to build bridges with his son. Vic Windsor
Vic Windsor
Victor "Vic" Windsor is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Alun Lewis for a period of five years, from 1993 until 1998. Vic was the second husband of shopkeeper, Viv Hope then Windsor, and also father of Kelly Windsor and Donna Windsor-Dingle...
, Scott's adoptive father, didn't trust him from the start. It soon emerged that the real reason Reg had come to the village was because he and his gang planned to kidnap his ex wife, Viv, and hold her hostage at Home Farm, and steal the money and valuable items that were there. Home Farm was then owned by the Tates' who were on holiday at the time.
Reg and his gang stormed the post office, shot Alan Turner
Alan Turner (Emmerdale)
Alan Jonathan Turner is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Richard Thorp. He first appeared on 18 March 1982, and is the longest running character in the soap. Originally portrayed as an inept, boozing and bullying manager for NY Estates at Home Farm, he has...
and kidnapped Viv Windsor, and Alan's wife Shirley
Shirley Turner (Emmerdale)
Shirley Turner is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She was played by Rachel Davies.She was married to Alan Turner but unfortunately for both the marriage was short lived for Shirley was shot when Viv Windsor's ex-husband Reg Dawson robbed Home Farm and in the process...
and took them up to Home farm. The police were alerted and they did a stakeout at the house just as Reg was about to shoot Viv. Shirley performed an act of bravery and jumped in front of Viv, only for her to be shot dead. Reg was later gunned down by a police marksman, but the whole incident left the then 14 year old Scott traumatized, hurt and ashamed by his father, and Alan was left to mourn his wife, Shirley.
The Barn Fire (2000)
Andy Sugden set fire to a barn so his adoptive Dad could claim the insurance money. However, he accidentally killed his adoptive Mum, who was in the barn finishing her affair with toyboy, Richie Carter. Carter survived and made a brief return to the soap in 2007 for the 35th anniversary of Emmerdale, when Andy's little sister, Victoria tracked him down to get answers about her mother's death. This led to Victoria setting fire to a cottage and the truth about the night seven years before, coming out. (See "Sugden House Fire" section below). Andy was therefore jailed which changed him and caused him to domestically abuse his wife, Jo, on his release in 2008.The Storm (2003)
The storm hit the village on New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
2003 and saw popular characters such as Ashley Thomas
Ashley Thomas
Ashley Michael Thomas is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by John Middleton.-1996–99:Ashley soon began developing feelings for the landlady of the Woolpack pub, Bernice Blackstock. He tried putting them aside as Bernice was engaged to Gavin, despite suspecting that...
and Louise Appleton
Louise Appleton
Louise Appleton is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Emily Symons. Aussie Louise arrived in the village as a temporary barmaid and ended up as co-landlady with best friend Diane Sugden, before selling to Diane's sister Val Lambert in 2006...
become stuck on the roads as a result of the terrible weather with Ashley so hurt that he could have lost his leg but they were saved in time.
The episode also focused on Marlon
Marlon Dingle
Marlon Sebastian Dingle is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Mark Charnock. -1996–:...
and Tricia Dingle. Marlon had had a one-night stand with his cousin Charity Tate
Charity Tate
Charity Tate is a fictional character on the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She is played by Emma Atkins.The character was involved in numerous high-profile storylines during her first stint on the show, such as her marriage to Chris Tate, lesbian affair with Zoe Tate, the arrival of her...
when Tricia was in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and when Tricia found out he had been unfaithful, she decided to leave him and the Dales. However, upon reading the 101 reasons as to why Marlon loved her, she decided to reconcile with him and headed back to The Woolpack.
Upon reaching the Woolpack, lightning stuck an oak tree which caused Tricia to trip, and another bolt hit the roof of The Woolpack causing the roof to collapse and the chimney to fall through. This in turn caused the wall of the pub to collapse onto a helpless Tricia. She was taken to hospital, critically injured, and was put on life support until Marlon decided to finally let her go.
Ashley and Louise were rescued from the rubble, and in an extension of the storyline, popular character Bernice Thomas
Bernice Thomas
Bernice Marie Thomas is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She was played by Samantha Giles.-Storylines:...
, made a brief return. Viewing figures for the special hour long episode averaged 10.7 million. Ratings soared and the storyline went down in Emmerdale history. The year to come would see the show gain an even higher profile.
Kings River explosion July 2006
Marlon Dingle
Marlon Sebastian Dingle is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Mark Charnock. -1996–:...
and Donna Windsor-Dingle
Donna Windsor-Dingle
Donna Windsor Dingle is a fictional character that appeared in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She was originally played by Sophie Jeffery, and later replaced by Verity Rushworth in 1998. Donna was the third longest running character on Emmerdale at the time of her departure. She made her first...
. When local resident, Noreen Bell opened a cupboard door inside the house, it triggered an automatic light switch that an electric spark
Electric spark
An electric spark is a type of electrostatic discharge that occurs when an electric field creates an ionized electrically conductive channel in air producing a brief emission of light and sound. A spark is formed when the electric field strength exceeds the dielectric field strength of air...
discharged in the gas pipes that caused a large gas explosion that catapulted her down the stairs. The explosion ripped through the bathroom floor knocking Jimmy King
Jimmy King (Emmerdale)
James Frederick "Jimmy" King is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He is played by Nick Miles. He made his first appearance on 19 February 2004 and has appeared on the show ever since.-Backstory:...
and Sadie King
Sadie King
Sadie Jacqueline King , was a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She was played by Patsy Kensit...
to opposite sides of the bathroom. The estate agent David Brown, who was located near the cupboard, was set alight. While running towards the house, Marlon and Donna were thrown back by another explosion. Debris such as a spark plug, a toaster, a boiler, and windows started to fly towards the residents as the house started to explode in various places. Diane Sugden
Diane Sugden
Diane Sugden is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She is portrayed by Elizabeth Estensen.-Backstory:...
was knocked out by a collapsing ceiling while Danny Daggert
Danny Daggert
Danny Daggert is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He is played by Cleveland Campbell.-Character's background:When Danny and his family arrived in the village in 2001, it was clear they were really struggling for money. At the first chance he got, Danny went out to get a job so...
and Dawn Woods
Dawn Woods
Dawn Woods is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Julia Mallam.-Storylines:Dawn came to Emmerdale in early 2003 as the fiance of Terry Woods. It was revealed that she is Bob Hope's daughter but she had not seen much of him since he left her, her mother Jean,...
, who were running behind her, got caught in another explosion. The bathroom floor gave way and Jimmy fell through, shortly followed by Sadie. The house then fully collapsed horrifyingly as the residents of Emmerdale watched in shock. Three were confirmed dead: Noreen Bell, who was hit by the full force of the initial explosion and died instantly, Dawn Woods, who was rescued from the rubble but later died in hospital as a result of internal injuries from burns and Smoke inhalation
Smoke inhalation
Smoke inhalation is the primary cause of death in victims of indoor fires.Smoke inhalation injury refers to injury due to inhalation or exposure to hot gaseous products of combustion. This can cause serious respiratory complications....
, and the estate agent David Brown from burns.
This was an hour long episode, and attracted 6.7 million viewers, beating EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
in the ratings. It was the most watched television programme of the day.
At the 2007 British Soap Awards Emmerdale won two awards, one of which was 'Most Spectacular Scene' for the Kings River Explosion.
The House Collapse won an ITV competition to find the best Emmerdale moment, coinciding with Emmerdale's 5000th Episode.
Tom King kidnap plot September 2006
Cain Dingle
Cain Dingle is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He is played by Jeff Hordley.-Character creation:In 2000 series producer Kieran Roberts introduced three new members of the Dingle family. The new characters were introduced to the regular cast in 2000, who first arrived...
and Sadie King
Sadie King
Sadie Jacqueline King , was a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She was played by Patsy Kensit...
plotted to kidnap millionaire Tom King and demand a £2.5 million ransom. They did carry out the plot but Cain discovered that Sadie had paid for his girlfriend, Jasmine Thomas
Jasmine Thomas
Jasmine Thomas is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She was played by Jenna-Louise Coleman.-Storylines:Jasmine arrived in Emmerdale on 30 June 2005. Sent to the village by her parents during her holidays from boarding school, she stayed with her uncle Ashley Thomas, the...
, to have an abortion privately and kidnapped her and Tom. He took them to a deserted barn and threatened them with a gun. The kidnap did follow a few twists and turns involving a car explosion, numerous theft of cars after Cain blew up his old car, a police car and helicopter chase, crashing into a flooded quarry only to find the car empty. He shot Sadie and demanded that his sister Chas
Chas Dingle
Chastity "Chas" Dingle is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Lucy Pargeter.-Storylines:...
be the one to bring the money. She did and soon it was revealed that Sadie was alive and that she was working with him. However, when it came to the escape, Cain left Sadie stranded. They both left the soap afterwards. The hour-long episode shown on Tuesday 19 September attracted around 9 million viewers, leaving rival soap EastEnders with just 4.8 million viewers. The culmintation of the storyline on 22 September attracted 8.7 million viewers.
Interactive storyline 2006/2007: "Who Killed Tom King?"
In October 2006, ITV announced plans for a fully interactive storyline, surrounding the death of Tom KingTom King (Emmerdale)
Thomas "Tom" Albert King was a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He appeared in the show from February 2004 to December 2006. Ken Farrington played him during the character's run.Tom grew up in Emmerdale and was keen to return...
, who was killed on Christmas Day 2006. The ensuing weeks were be full of twists and turns as some of the show’s most popular characters were placed at the centre of the enquiry, facing fierce interrogation in the hunt for the killer - the police are determined to leave no stone unturned.
In a world first, the whole storyline was fully interactive allowing viewers the opportunity of becoming super sleuths to help solve the crime via a dedicated ITV online portal. Launched in November, it consists of blogs, clues, secret e-mails and voicemails. Emmerdale Online was created for ITV by Branded Storytelling producers Hoodlum.
The viewer were taken inside the show and had direct online interaction with the storyline. The cast was seen trying to piece together the murder and their findings will, in turn, be immediately available for viewers to tap into online.
To add to the mystery, and for the first time ever, Emmerdale filmed 10 secret scenes, each showing a different suspect committing the murder and therefore enabling 10 different possible outcomes. As a result, even the cast and crew didn't know who the killer was.
On the same day, he married Rosemary Sinclair in a lavish ceremony, he headed up to the bedroom but somebody hit him with an ornament (a bronze horse head statue) and pushed him through the bedroom window to his death.
As so many people wanted Tom King dead, the list of suspects was narrowed down to ten:
- Jamie HopeJamie HopeJames "Jamie" Hope is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He was played by Alex Carter and first appeared onscreen on 16 February 2006...
- Chastity Dingle
- Matthew King
- Jimmy KingJimmy King (Emmerdale)James Frederick "Jimmy" King is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He is played by Nick Miles. He made his first appearance on 19 February 2004 and has appeared on the show ever since.-Backstory:...
- Carl KingCarl King (Emmerdale)Carl Thomas King is a fictional character appearing on the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He is portrayed by Tom Lister and made his first appearance on 6 February 2004....
- Len ReynoldsLen ReynoldsLeonard "Len" Reynolds is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He was played by Peter Martin.-Character's background:...
- Bob HopeBob Hope (Emmerdale)Robert Reginald "Bob" Hope is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He is played by Tony Audenshaw.-Character's background:...
- Rosemary King
- Grayson SinclairGrayson SinclairGrayson Sinclair is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He was played by Christopher Villiers.-History:Grayson is part of the wealthy Sinclair family. He was married to Perdita Hyde-Sinclair, he is the eldest son of Rosemary King and brother of Alasdair Sinclair.He first...
- Terry WoodsTerry Woods (Emmerdale)Terence "Terry" Woods is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Billy Hartman. He was one of the longest-serving characters in the show when he was killed off in early 2011, after 16 years.-1995–2003:...
All suspects had their own ending recorded to stop viewers finding out who killed him.
It has been revealed that Emmerdale has filmed a secret eleventh ending which sees three from the line-up kill Tom together: his sons - Jimmy, Matthew and Carl. Carl and Matthew held their father still, while eldest brother Jimmy whacked Tom over the head with the horse statuette that figures in all eleven murder scenarios.
After a few months, it was determined that one or all of the three of his sons had killed him after DNA found that there was fibres of the sons' wedding suits under Tom's fingernails.
Tom King's final video has come to light. It was intended for his close friend Chief of Police Charles Vaughan. It sees Tom speaking candidly to camera about who, of those around him, would have had the motive to kill him. This first part shows Tom discuss Bob Hope, Jamie Hope and Terry Woods.
The second part of Tom King's final video shows Tom speak of Len Reynolds and how he doesn't know his three sons as well as he thought. The third, and final part of Tom King's video shows Tom speak of Chas Dingle, Rosemary and Grayson Sinclair and why he thinks everybody hated him so much.
Eventually, nearly five months after the murder was aired on TV, it was revealed that Carl King, his son, had killed him. Carl had gone to his dad's bedroom to argue with him about Tom attempting to pay Chas Dingle (Carl's girlfriend) to split up with him. Tom gave him an ultimatum, split up with Chas or lose his multi-million pound inheritance. In a fit of frustration, Carl hit him over the head with a bronze horse's head statue, and as Tom clung on to him, he pushed him away. This made him fall out of his bedroom window, to his death.
Carl was never prosecuted for killing him, as there was not enough evidence to prosecute one particular brother. When all three brothers was charged for conspiracy to murder, their trial collapsed when it was revealed that two key witnesses had lied in their statements for money, and there was insufficient evidence to find the brothers guilty without the statements.
At the Broadcast Digital Channel Awards in 2008, Emmerdale won the award for 'Best use of Interactive' for the storyline.
Sugden house fire 16 October 2007: "Emmerdale's 35th Anniversary Episode"
Jack SugdenJack Sugden
John Jacob "Jack" Sugden is a fictional character in the British television soap opera Emmerdale. The character was originally played by Andrew Burt from 1972 to 1974 with a brief return in 1976, when he left for Italy to write a book. On his return in 1980 he was played by Clive Hornby...
told his children that his wife, Diane
Diane Sugden
Diane Sugden is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She is portrayed by Elizabeth Estensen.-Backstory:...
, had feelings for Billy Hopwood
Billy Hopwood
William "Billy" Hopwood is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale and was played by David Crellin. Billy is the biological father of half-brothers Andy Sugden and Daz Eden.-Storylines:...
. Victoria
Victoria Sugden
Victoria Anne Sugden is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale originally played by Jessica Heywood, then Hannah Midgley and currently Isabel Hodgins.-1994–:...
was full of guilt and sobbing, insisting it was all her fault and she wished she’d never followed the pair and heard their conversation. An angry Victoria paid Billy a visit. During the heated argument in which Victoria blamed Billy for ruining her family, he implied that the Sugdens' had never been saintly and brought up the subject of Sarah
Sarah Sugden
Sarah Sugden is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera, Emmerdale. She was first played by Madeleine Howard from 1988 until 1994 then by Alyson Spiro from 1994 until 2000.-1988–1997:...
’s death, Victoria's mother. “Bit of a coincidence, Jack being there the night your mother died,” he said, smiling. “Think about it Victoria - have they ever really told you what happened to her?”. Victoria didn't want to listen to Billy but it was clear her desire to discover her mother's killer had resurfaced.
On 16 October 2007, after yet another row with Jack about Diane, Victoria went off alone and got drunk. The teenager had been rifling through old newspaper clippings of the fire that killed her mother. One of the pictures was of Sarah’s lover, Richie Carter, who had been there and survived. Victoria had decided to pay Richie a visit, in a last ditch attempt to find out the truth about the night her mother died. Richie told her he couldn’t help her. Begrudgingly, Richie described the events leading up to fire, including how Jack had threatened to kill him and Sarah for their betrayal. Richie was adamant, telling Victoria it wasn't her dad. Victoria didn't believe Richie and returned to the village and was promptly sick from the alcohol. Spotting Andy
Andy Sugden
Andrew "Andy" Sugden is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Kelvin Fletcher.-1996–2007:...
down the road, she ran into a nearby garage to hide. She overheard Andy bump into Jack, who told him Victoria had not gone to school. The pair set off to look for her together. Inside the garage, a clearly disturbed Victoria spotted a petrol can. She picked it up. Victoria took the can home and doused the furniture with petrol. Moments later, Jack and Andy returned to Annie’s Cottage and immediately smelled the fumes. Then they saw Victoria, poised with a lighter in her hand, ready to set the place alight. Victoria was screaming at her dad to tell her the truth about how her mother died or else they'd know what it feels like to burn. Unable to stay quiet any longer, Andy shocked Victoria by telling her that he had started the fire that led to Sarah's death. Victoria looked at her brother in horror and then fled upstairs where she fell and hurt her head badly. She was put on her bed, bleeding. Andy stayed with her while Jack went into the bathroom to soak a towel in warm water to clean his daughter’s head. He had forgotten about the petrol fumes in the house when he turned on the hot tap. The pilot light in the boiler came on and ignited the fumes. A massive explosion ripped through the house.
Daz Eden
Darren "Daz" Eden is a fictional character in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, portrayed by Luke Tittensor until April 2009. He made his first appearance in the show on 9 October 2003....
had been walking towards the cottage and was knocked to the ground with the force of the blast. Inside Annie’s Cottage, the lounge was a raging inferno, where Victoria had soaked everything in petrol. As the fire took hold, there was a second explosion. Andy and Victoria were in her bedroom and Andy smashed her window. He swept her up in his arms and carried her to the window. By now many of the villagers, including Jonny
Jonny Foster
Jonathan "Jonny" Foster is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Richard Grieve. He appeared from 2007 to 2008 and in 2009...
, Matthew, Perdy
Perdita Hyde-Sinclair
Perdita "Perdy" Hyde-Sinclair is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She was played by Georgia Slowe.-Character's background:...
, Diane and Billy and others, were standing outside. Jonny waited below the bedroom window with his arms up, telling Andy to drop his sister down. With Victoria safe, Andy went back for Jack but a wall of fire separated them. Billy climbed a ladder, which was set up outside, and got Andy to the window where he jumped out onto a hay truck, that Matthew had hot-wired and parked under the window. Using a blanket for cover, Billy got Jack from the bathroom and out the bedroom window. As Billy was about to climb out, numerous half-empty alcohol bottles caught fire creating another explosion, which blew Billy across the room. The fire services retrieved an unconscious Billy from the house.
While all of this was going on Eric Pollard
Eric Pollard
Eric Charles Pollard is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Chris Chittell.Pollard has appeared on the show since 1986, making him the second longest running current character after Alan Turner who has appeared since 1982. He has lied to, cheated and swindled...
was trapped in the house next door after he got Pearl Ladderbanks
Pearl Ladderbanks
Pearl Ladderbanks is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She is played by Meg Johnson. She first appeared on the show during the episode airing on 30 July 2003.-2003–07:...
out, but was retrieved by Ross Kirk
Ross Kirk
Ross Kirk is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Samuel Anderson. He appeared from 2007 to 2009. A cousin of Paddy Kirk, Ross is a police officer and during his 15 months in the village he has an affair with Donna Windsor-Dingle, and is imprisoned after being charged...
.