Storylines of Emmerdale

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Storylines of Emmerdale (known as Emmerdale Farm until 1989), the British ITV soap opera, have spanned more than five decades, from the programme's inception in October 1972 until the present day. Emmerdale has covered a number of storylines that created dispute and debate in the media and caused public outcry from viewers. A viewer poll conducted in January 2021 found that the top three storylines/episodes voted by viewers were the Emmerdale plane crash of 1993, the Storm of 2003 that occurred on around the 10th anniversary of the plane crash, and the Hotten Bypass Crash in 2016.^[1] Some storylines are seen as having caused controversy amongst viewers and in the media due to the sudden sacking of an actor by the programme's producer, or as a result of a topic or theme that openly shocked viewers or was seen as taboo.

1990s and earlier[]

Before the plane crash in 1993, Emmerdale had a number of major storylines during the 1970s and 1980s.

The Death of the Skilbeck Twins (1976)[]

In 1973, shortly after giving birth to twins, Sam and Sally Skilbeck, Matt Skilbeck's (Frederick Pyne) first wife Peggy Skilbeck (Jo Kendall) died of a brain hemorrhage, leaving Matt to face life as a single parent. Matt found life as a single parent difficult, going what with bringing them up and his work on the farm so Sam and Sally were sent to live with Matt's aunt, Beattie. However tragedy struck in January 1976 when their car stalled at a level crossing and was hit by a train killing Beattie, Sam and Sally instantly. Matt struggled to face up to the fact that he had now lost all his immediate family and he spent the night wandering around the Dales alone before finally coming home. He told Annie Sugden (Sheila Mercier) he should never have come to the farm as all he's brought is pain and misery to the family, but Annie reassured him that Peggy couldn't have had a better husband, Sam and Sally a better father, or her a better son-in-law, and she made it clear to him that he was and always would be one of the family.

Pat Sugden's Car Crash (1986)[]

In late August 1986, Pat Sugden (Helen Weir) was driving her sister Janie back to the railway station after her visit to Emmerdale Farm. Her husband Jack Sugden (Clive Hornby) was supposed to have driven Janie back, but Pat wanted to do so, despite the fact it was nearing their son Robert Sugden's (Richard Smith) feeding. After dropping Janie safely at Hotten Station, Pat was in a hurry so she first overtook a milk lorry, by which time she was speeding along Hotten Road. She then turned a corner where some sheep were blocking the road having escaped from their field. Pat swerved her car in order not to hit the sheep, but drove off a hillside, where her car rolled down the hill, killing her instantly. The police broke the news to Jack and his mother, Annie Sugden (Sheila Mercier). Jack then broke the news to her children, Jackie (Ian Sharrock) and Sandie Merrick (Jane Hutcheson), who were devastated. Pat's death had an effect on everyone in the Sugden family: Sandie broke down in front of Jack; Jackie was trying to remain strong; and Jack himself fell into a deep depression that took him years to get over. Robert never knew Pat as he was only four months old at the time. Ironically, he would lose his adoptive mother, Sarah Sugden, a decade later in an equally tragic way.

The Crossgill Fire (1988)[]

In December 1987, Matt Skilbeck (Frederick Pyne) discovered that he had been left Crossgill Cottage by Mr Metcalfe (Bernard Kay) an old friend of his. His wife, Dolly Skilbeck (Jean Rogers), wanted to move in straight away, but Matt was happy with his life in Emmerdale Farm. Phil Pearce (Peter Alexander), had decided to renovate the cottage in early 1988; however, one day, he carelessly left some rags, which caught fire. Annie Sugden (Sheila Mercier), who had been inspecting the cottage on Matt and Dolly's behalf, was trapped in the inferno. Luckily, Dolly and Phil had been on the way to the cottage that afternoon and witnessed one of the windows explode and heard Annie's cries for help. Phil dashed into the burning cottage and rescued Annie just in time. She survived with mild smoke inhalation. The burning of the cottage, however, put an end to Dolly's dreams of a home of her own.

Jim Latimer's return/kidnapping of Sarah (1991)[]

This storyline really begins two decades earlier when Jim Latimer was convicted of the murder of Sharon Crosswaithe in 1973. Jack Sugden (Clive Hornby) had been one of the people that testified against him, and Jim held a grudge. He was released from prison after eighteen years, and followed Jack and his girlfriend Sarah Connolly (Madeleine Howard) to Kathy Merrick (Malandra Burrows) and Chris Tate's (Peter Amory) wedding. He kidnapped Sarah shortly after the party ended; however, Sarah used her calm intellect to take advantage of the situation. She was eventually released, and Jim was sent back to prison.

The Plane Crash (New Year: 1993/1994)[]

The plane crash in the village of Beckindale occurred on 30 December 1993. The disaster killed four regular characters, including Archie Brooks, Elizabeth Pollard, Leonard Kempinski and Mark Hughes. Chris Tate was also injured, leaving him in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down. This 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. 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.

The plot line attracted controversy due to the similarity with the real-life bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland on 21 December 1988, and was aired near to the time of the fifth anniversary of that disaster. The Emmerdale storyline also made a brief crossover into Brookside, as the Liverpool Echo (a real newspaper based in Liverpool), which was being read by one of the characters in Brookside, had a front-page story featuring the crash in Emmerdale.

The story garnered significant press and audience attention, giving Emmerdale its highest ever viewing figures of 18 million. In January 2021, it was voted #1 in a viewers' poll of the top 10 episodes that defined the soap opera.^[1]

Post Office Robbery/Home Farm Siege (1994)[]

In 1994, Reg Dawson (Niven Boyd) turned up in Emmerdale, claiming that he wanted to build bridges with his son Scott Windsor (Toby Cockerell). Scott's adoptive father Vic Windsor (Alun Lewis) didn't trust him from the start. It soon emerged that the real reason Reg had come to the village was that he and his gang planned to kidnap his ex-wife Viv Windsor (Deena Payne), and hold her hostage at Home Farm, and steal the money and valuable items that were there. Home Farm was then owned by the Tate family, who were on holiday at the time.

Reg and his gang stormed the Post Office, shot Alan Turner (Richard Thorp) and kidnapped Viv, plus Alan's wife, Shirley Turner (Rachel Davies), and took them 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 Scott traumatised, hurt and ashamed by Reg, and Alan was left to mourn Shirley.

2000s[]

2000 – Bus crash and barn fire[]

In the spring of 2000, a Tate lorry driven by Pete Collins (Kirk Smith) was faulty. Pete raised his concerns to Chris Tate (Peter Amory), but he was too busy, so Pete, despite his misgivings, used the lorry. In the village, Viv Hope (Deena Payne) was protesting against the village community bus. The bus passengers were Kathy Glover (Malandra Burrows), Butch Dingle (Paul Loughran), Alan Turner (Richard Thorp), Sarah Sugden (Alyson Spiro), her daughter Victoria Sugden (Hannah Midgley), Marc Reynolds (Anthony Lewis), Seth Armstrong (Stan Richards) and a councillor friend of Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell). On the road, Pete was having difficulties with his lorry, as it couldn't brake. Just as the bus was about to make its way to Hotten, the lorry crashed into the minibus, killing Pete instantly. Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) was first on the scene and he rescued Alan, breaking his hand in the process. Angie Reynolds (Freya Copeland) reported the incident and was shocked to discover that Marc was inside the bus. As the fire brigade pulled out survivors, Butch's girlfriend Emily Wylie (Kate McGregor) watched worriedly with his stepmother Lisa Dingle (Jane Cox), hoping for Butch to survive. Marc was first out, followed by Seth; both were taken to hospital. The fire brigade learned that the lorry could completely collapse on the bus if they rushed the rescue, which would have killed everyone on the bus. Meanwhile, Chris and his sister Zoe Tate (Leah Bracknell) thought that Chris' son Joseph Tate (Oliver Young) was on board the bus along with Zoe's girlfriend, Frankie; a few minutes later, however, both Frankie and Joseph arrived at the scene, as Frankie had taken Joseph to the play park. Sarah's husband Jack Sugden (Clive Hornby) and his son, Robert Sugden (Christopher Smith) and his adoptive son Andy Sugden (Kelvin Fletcher), eventually arrive and a few moments later Sarah is pulled out the bus badly injured and hysterical, as Victoria is still on the bus along with Kathy and Butch; the councillor had died at the scene.

In the next episode, Victoria and Kathy are finally rescued and taken to hospital. Butch was taken out a while later, but had more severe injuries, as he was sitting in direct impact of the lorry. He was taken to hospital with Emily at his side, but it was clear he would not live. In a touching scene, Butch married Emily on his deathbed and died hours later. His death devastated his family, but none more so than his father Zak Dingle (Steve Halliwell) - who had previously lost one of his other sons, Ben Dingle (Steve Fury), just six years earlier. The Dingles subsequently blamed Chris for what happened, as it was one of his lorries involved in the crash.

Later in 2000, Andy Sugden (Kelvin Fletcher) set fire to a barn so his adoptive dad, Jack (Clive Hornby), could claim the insurance money. However, he accidentally killed his adoptive mum Sarah (Alyson Spiro), who was in the barn finishing her affair with toyboy, Richie Carter (Glenn Lamont). Richie survived and made a brief return in 2007 for the 35th anniversary of Emmerdale, when Andy's sister Victoria (Hannah Midgley) 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, resulting in Andy's imprisonment.

The Storm (New Years: 2003/2004)[]

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 (Sheree Murphy) 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 (John Middleton) and Louise Appleton (Emily Symons) 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 Tricia and her husband, Marlon (Mark Charnock). Marlon had had a one-night stand with his cousin Charity Tate (Emma Atkins) 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 struck 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 (Samantha Giles), 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.

The Kings – River explosion, kidnap and Who Killed Tom? (2006–2007)[]

On Thursday 13 July 2006, the Kings unveiled their new showhome to house married couple, Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) and Donna Windsor-Dingle (Verity Rushworth). When local resident Noreen Bell (Jenny Tomasin) opened a cupboard door inside the house, it triggered an automatic light switch that an electric spark discharged causing a gas ignition and a large gas explosion. The explosion ripped through the bathroom floor knocking Jimmy (Nick Miles) and Sadie King (Patsy Kensit) to opposite sides of the bathroom. While running towards the house, Marlon and Donna were thrown back by another explosion. Debris including a toaster, boiler and windows flew towards residents as the house began to explode in various places. Diane Sugden (Elizabeth Estensen) was knocked out by a collapsing ceiling while Danny Daggert (Cleveland Campbell) and Dawn Woods (Julia Mallam), who were running behind her, got caught in another explosion. The house then fully collapsed as residents watched in shock. Three were confirmed dead: Noreen Bell, who was hit by the full force of the initial explosion, Dawn Woods, who was rescued from the rubble but later died in hospital from internal injuries and Smoke inhalation, and estate agent David from burns.

The episode was an hour long 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 (Jeff Hordley) and Sadie King (Patsy Kensit) plotted to kidnap millionaire Tom King (Ken Farrington) and demand a £2.5 million ransom. They carried out the plot, but Cain discovered that Sadie had paid for his girlfriend, Jasmine Thomas (Jenna-Louise Coleman), 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 followed 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, and the car crashing into a flooded quarry, only to later be found empty. He shot Sadie and demanded that his sister Chas (Lucy Pargeter) 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 culmination episode of the storyline on 21 September attracted 8.7 million viewers, leaving rival soap EastEnders with just 4.8 million viewers.

In October 2006, ITV announced plans for a world first^{[citation needed]} fully interactive storyline, surrounding the death of Tom King (Ken Farrington), who was killed on Christmas Day 2006. Popular characters were at the centre of the enquiry, facing interrogation in the hunt for the killer.

The storyline offered viewers the opportunity to help solve the crime via a dedicated online portal. Launched in November, it comprised blogs, clues, secret e-mails and voicemails. Emmerdale Online^[2][3] To add to the mystery, and for the first time, Emmerdale filmed 10 scenes, each showing a different suspect committing the murder and allowing for 10 potential outcomes. As a result, the cast and crew didn't know who the killer was.^[4]

On the same day, Tom married Rosemary Sinclair (Linda Thorson) and headed to the bedroom, whereupon he had an confrontation with someone off-screen - this culminated with the unseen assailant hitting Tom on the head with an ornament (a bronze horse head statue) before he was pushed through the bedroom window to his death.

As many wanted Tom King dead, the list of suspects was narrowed down to ten:^[5] All suspects had their own ending recorded to stop viewers finding out who killed him.

An eleventh ending was filmed which saw his sons Jimmy (Nick Miles), Matthew (Matt Healy) and Carl (Tom Lister) kill Tom together.^[6] After a few months, it was determined that one or all of his sons had killed him after DNA found that there was fibres of the sons' wedding suits under Tom's fingernails.

In Tom King's final video, intended for close friend Chief of Police Charles Vaughan, saw him speak candidly to camera about who, of those around him, would have had the motive to kill him, initially discussing Bob Hope (Tony Audenshaw), Jamie Hope (Alex Carter) and Terry Woods (Billy Hartman). ^[7]

The second part saw Tom speak of Len Reynolds (Peter Martin) and how he didn't know his sons as well as he thought.^[8] The third and final part showed Tom speak of Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter), Rosemary and Grayson Sinclair (Christopher Villiers).^[9]

Nearly five months after the murder, it was revealed that his son Carl had killed him. Carl had gone to his dad's bedroom to argue about Tom attempting to pay Chas Dingle (Carl's former ex-girlfriend) to split with him. Tom gave an ultimatum, split up with Chas or lose his millionaire inheritance. In frustration, Carl hit him over the head with a bronze horse's head statue then pushed him out of his bedroom window, to his death. Carl was never prosecuted as there was not enough evidence to prosecute one particular brother. When all three were charged for conspiracy to murder, the trial collapsed when it was revealed 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.

2010s[]

Village arson/fire (2011)[]

In early 2011, crooked policeman Nick Henshall (Michael McKell) decided to set fire to his girlfriend's house late at night; Katie Sugden (Sammy Winward) shared the news with Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) and Genesis Walker (Sian Reese-Williams), so he could save her and be deemed a hero. His plan went awry when Andy Sugden (Kelvin Fletcher) saw the house alight. Carl King (Tom Lister) was driving back from Hotten and also saw the fire; he and Andy rushed to alert Katie, Chas and Gennie, who by which time had been rescued, though the fire had spread. Betty Eagleton (Paula Tilbrook) escaped and needed hospital treatment for smoke inhalation. Viv Hope (Deena Payne) had passed out from wine consumption as the fire reached her flat with the twins Cathy and Heath in the next room; Bob Hope (Tony Audenshaw) and Terry Woods (Billy Hartman) went in to rescue them. While Bob saved the twins, it became clear Terry and Viv may not survive. The fire brigade arrived and just as they were about to rescue Terry and Viv, the café exploded. By the next morning, it was clear Terry and Viv had lost their lives.

Andy was accused of the crime and many villagers turned against him, except for Debbie Dingle (Charley Webb), Katie and his family; Diane Sugden (Elizabeth Estensen), Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins), Diane's sister Val Pollard (Charlie Hardwick) and her husband Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell) also didn't believe Andy was the culprit. The storyline lead to the brief return of Viv's step-daughter Kelly Windsor (Adele Silva), to check Bob was ok and to show her son Elliot the village where she grew up and to meet his father; Jimmy King (Nick Miles). Terry's funeral was in the village whilst Viv's body was transported to her hometown in Essex in agreement with her other children, Scott Windsor (Ben Freeman) and Donna Windsor-Dingle (Verity Rushworth), rather than be buried next to her second husband Vic Windsor (Alun Lewis), who had died in 1998.

The storyline shocked many viewers, since Viv and Terry had been among the show's longest serving characters before they were killed off. Viv had been on the show for eighteen years, and was involved in many of the show's storylines since her arrival in 1993. Terry first appeared in 1995. Actress Deena Payne was disappointed with the manner of her exit although was happy to depart the show at that time.^[10]

Who Attacked Cain? (2011)[]

In autumn 2011, it was announced that the show's serial villain Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) would be attacked by a mystery assailant.

Named suspects

Character	Potential Motive	Viewers poll[11]
John Barton (James Thornton)	Tried to end John's marriage by having an affair with Moira. John was the first suspect in the investigation as he had a fight hours before he was attacked.	26.3%
Amy Wyatt (Chelsea Halfpenny)	Cain got Amy pregnant over a one-night stand and kept pressuring her to terminate her pregnancy, but she refused. Amy was the last person to see Cain before he was attacked.	19.9%
Zak Dingle (Steve Halliwell)	Zak decides that Cain needed a lesson taught after his wrongdoings. Zak was later revealed as the attacker.	17.3%
Moira Barton (Natalie J. Robb)	Had an affair with Moira.	16.3%
Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins)	Tried to end Charity's relationship with Jai.	10.4%
Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson)	Mounted a terror campaign against Jai. Jai was the first to find Cain following the attack, but ran off after Cameron Murray (Dominic Power) caught him standing over Cain.	9.8%

In the two-part episode aired on 8 December 2011, entitled "Judgement Day", Debbie kicked Cain out as she didn't feel safe around him. Cain later goes to The Woolpack but isn't served, instead insulting the attendees before leaving. He later tried to reside at Marlon Dingle's (Mark Charnock) house for the night, but is attacked with a crowbar by an unseen assailant en-route. He was hospitalised and required brain surgery.

John was initially arrested but later released due to lack of evidence. When Cain awoke from his coma, he attempted to frame Jai for the attack, but was later convinced to drop the charges against him. On 5 January 2012, Zak was revealed as his son's attacker.^[12]

The storyline which saw Cain get his comeuppance proved popular with viewers and soap critics.

Emmerdale's live episode (2012)[]

Emmerdale marked its 40th anniversary by announcing a week of episodes centred around two days of "life-changing" events, including a live episode on 17 October 2012, the first ever soap to stage a live outside broadcast of an episode.

The plot focused upon the wedding of Katie Sugden (Sammy Winward) and Declan Macey (Jason Merrells), along with Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) and Dan Spencer (Liam Fox) also tying the knot. Both weddings were beset by drama with Declan's sister, Megan (Gaynor Faye), attempting to stop his marriage to Katie as revenge for him stealing profits from the Home Farm music festival the previous week. Chas had planned to flee with her former flame Carl King (Tom Lister), but was caught while packing to leave and immediately dumped by Dan.

The wedding reception for Chas and Dan ended prematurely when Genesis Walker (Sian Reese-Williams) went into labour and gave birth to a baby girl. Simultaneously, Debbie Dingle (Charley Webb) also gave birth to a baby boy in the hospital, which was planned to act as a "saviour sibling" to help with her daughter Sarah's (Sophia Amber Moore) treatment for leukaemia.

The live episode was notable for featuring the death of a well-known character. Following a violent confrontation between Carl and Chas, which saw Carl confess to killing his father Tom (Ken Farrington) and attempting to rape her, Chas attacked Carl with a brick in self-defence and then fled, believing to have killed him. Carl survived, only to encounter love rival Cameron Murray (Dominic Power), who used the same brick to deliver a second fatal blow. Before Carl was killed, he managed to send pictures of Cameron and Chas together in bed to Debbie's phone, resulting in Debbie ending their relationship.

The episode won "Best Single Episode" at The British Soap Awards 2013.

The Woolpack Siege (2013)[]

In 2013, it was announced that the episodes that would air on the week of the soap's 41st anniversary would be centred on a "dramatic stunt.”

Having murdered Carl King (Tom Lister) in the 40th anniversary live episode, Cameron Murray (Dominic Power) proceeded to kill Alex Moss (Kurtis Stacey) in December 2012 and Genesis Walker (Sian Reese-Williams) in July 2013, in desperate attempts to hide his first murder. His crimes were exposed by Debbie (Charley Webb) and Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) in September 2013 and he was consequently jailed. In the week prior to anniversary week, Cameron escaped police custody and secretly returned to the village.

During the anniversary week, set while the village was hit by torrential rain, Cameron panicked Debbie by taking her daughter Sarah (Sophia Amber Moore) to an abandoned barn, leading Debbie to believe she had been snatched. She is rescued by father Andy (Kelvin Fletcher) and Moira Barton (Natalie J. Robb) who hear her shouting. Later that night, Cameron stole Zak Dingle's (Steve Halliwell) shotgun and headed to The Woolpack. Breaking in through the back door, he knocked out Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) and locked him in the cellar before entering the pub armed, taking numerous villagers hostage. As police negotiate with Cameron, he told Debbie he returned for her so they could flee the village to start a new life, to which she refused. Alicia is shot in the stomach in a failed attempt by Zak and Chas to overpower Cameron.

Cameron eventually freed everyone with the exception of Chas and Debbie, as he still demanded to leave with Debbie. Marlon, still locked in the cellar, came round to discover the cellar was on the verge of flooding; he escaped, hit Cameron on the head and took possession of the gun. Meanwhile, Chas and Debbie were in the flooding cellar as Cameron had sent them to investigate a noise that Marlon had made as a distraction. After a struggle, Marlon overpowered Cameron and escaped just as the lights in the pub went out and armed police raided the building. Debbie and Chas struggled to escape the rising floodwaters, particularly as Cameron was now with them and pulling them underwater. Aided by police, Debbie and Chas were able to get out; as Cameron followed them, he came into contact with the live submerged cellar light which electrocuted and killed him instantly.

At the hospital, Alicia's life hung in the balance as she flatlined and was given CPR. Surgeons managed to restart her heart and she was taken to theatre for further surgery.

Hostages in the siege included:

The cast spent a week filming scenes in Pinewood Studios.^[13] The siege won "Spectacular Scene of the Year" at The British Soap Awards 2014, under the title of "The Woolpack siege and flood". The award was accepted by Charley Webb (Debbie) and Mark Charnock (Marlon).

The Helicopter Crash (2015)[]

In July 2015, a trailer was broadcast announcing a major summer storyline involving the death of many regulars, stating "Who will meet their Summer Fate?" The Summer Fate storyline was kept a secret until 1 August 2015 when it was announced that a helicopter would crash into the village hall at Pete Barton (Anthony Quinlan) and Debbie Dingle's (Charley Webb) wedding. The crash would be caused by an explosion after Chrissie White (Louise Marwood) set alight her husband Robert Sugden's (Ryan Hawley) car during a heated argument at the scrapyard. The fire edged close to some gas canisters, causing them to explode into the air colliding with the helicopter, leading the helicopter to then hurtle towards and crash into the village hall. Ruby Haswell (Alicya Eyo) was the first person to die following the disaster after Dan Spencer (Liam Fox) and Kerry Wyatt (Laura Norton) were unable to save her. The helicopter later exploded and Diane Sugden (Elizabeth Estensen) and Val Pollard (Charlie Hardwick), who were stuck in a fairground mirror maze nearby, were affected by the blast. Before Val's death her last words were: "I'm H.I.Val. I'm Valerie Pollard of the Valerie Pollard foundation...I'm Val!" A falling shard of mirror struck Val and killed her. Outside the hospital, Pete and Ross Barton (Michael Parr) came to blows one last time and Pete pushed Ross to the floor, causing Ross to hit his head on a concrete wall. Pete carried on beating him, unaware that Ross had immediately died from his injuries. Panicking, Pete decides not to call for help and decided to place Ross' lifeless body in the boot of his car, takes him to a ditch in the woods and buries him there and covers his body with leaves and later returns to the hospital to see his injured wife Debbie. It was revealed that Ross, Val and Ruby had met their summer fate. Ross, however, was shown to be alive a few weeks later.

Who Shot Robert Sugden? (2015–2016)[]

Emmerdale launch a whodunit storyline with a trailer being realised one week previously. In the final scene of two-hander Episode 7301, on 25 September 2015, Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) is shot by an unseen assailant whilst having a heated with Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter). The two prime suspects are Chas' son Aaron Livesy (Danny Miller) and Robert's adoptive brother, Andy Sugden (Kelvin Fletcher). In the following two-hander, Episode 7302, Robert's condition is critical and is expected to make a full recovery. However, Lawrence White's (John Bowe) handgun had gone missing from the safe where it was being kept.

On Emmerdale's website, a poll was released for viewers to share their thoughts about who they thought pulled the trigger. The top two in the poll were Lachlan White (Thomas Atkinson) in first and Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) in second.

On 22 October 2015, one month after the shooting, Robert is still in hospital recovering from his injuries. In Episode 7326/7327, entitled "Rewinds", flashbacks were presented to the night of the shooting - where it was revealed that Robert's enemy, Ross Barton (Michael Parr) was the shooter. It transpired that Ross had hatched a deal with Andy that he would help kill Robert in exchange for Andy killing Ross' older brother, Pete (Anthony Quinlan). However, while Andy rejected the offer to kill Pete due to their friendship, Ross ended up shooting Robert. Shortly afterwards, Ross fled from the scene of Robert's shooting by scaling through a high-fence; during his escape, he dropped Lawrence's handgun from his pocket - which was later found by Aaron.

Robert was discharged from hospital following his recovery and soon found out on the eve of New Year's Day 2016 that it was Ross that shot him. He decides to seek revenge on Ross by holding him at gunpoint and forcing him to reveal the truth to his girlfriend and Andy's ex-lover, Debbie Dingle (Charley Webb). He then decided not to shoot Ross, as Robert wanted to ruin his relationship with Debbie and also get revenge on Andy by using these events to prompt Debbie in taking his children Sarah and Jack away from him. Indeed, Debbie left the village with her and Andy's children to start anew in France without Ross - temporarily securing Robert's revenge on Ross and Andy. However, Debbie later returned to the village in the following year - though by then Robert has evolved into a better person and the village had already discovered the truth about his shooting.

Mill Cottage explosion (2016)[]

It was announced by incoming producer Iain Macleod in February 2016 that he plans for two separate big events to rock the village in 2016. First of them, occurring in late June, would involve Lawrence White, Nicola King, Priya Kotecha, Rakesh Kotecha and Ronnie Hale and would be a large explosion taking place at Mill Cottage. The storyline came to fruition on 20 June 2016, when Rakesh Kotecha (Pasha Bocarie) set fire to his building development after encountering major financial problems. This was in a bid to claim insurance on the property and pay off his debt. However, as he trashed the place and set it alight, he was unaware of Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler) hiding upstairs. The property quickly went up and Nicola tried to get out, but a column collapsed and whacked her on the right-hand side of her head, knocking her out. The fire later became apparent, and Nicola's whimpering cries were heard by Rakesh and local builder Ronnie Hale (John McArdle) and they dived into the property to rescue her. While Rakesh managed to get Nicola out of the building safely, Ronnie was knocked unconscious by the toxic fumes emanating from the fire. He was rescued in the nick of time before the building burned up and exploded, thankfully leaving no fatalities. Unfortunately, Ronnie lay in a coma for several weeks, and Nicola was later found to be completely paralysed on her right-hand side, potentially for life, which devastated Nicola and her family. It all came to nothing, as the insurance company concluded the fire was started fraudulently, and as a result, Rakesh's plan backfired.

The Hotten Bypass crash (2016)[]

On 1 October 2016, a trailer was uploaded to the show's YouTube channel, with the keywords "Who will take their last dance?" The minute long trailer features Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy) and Ashley Thomas (John Middleton), Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley), Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller), Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock), Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt), Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry), Pierce Harris (Jonathan Wrather), James (Bill Ward) and Emma Barton (Gillian Kearney) dancing in the fog. However, as they dance, a mysterious ghostly figure is among them. One death is confirmed, with speculation that it could be Ashley, Robert, Aaron, or even James.

The week followed the characters in the same 24 hour time period, with the first four episodes featuring a flash forward to the funeral for the character who dies. Each day showed a different vision, such as Aaron drowning in a lake, Pierce with blood on his hands, Paddy covered in blood appearing to pass out, James falling and Ashley trapped. The initial episode concludes with Aaron and Robert involved in a car crash, with Robert's former stepson Lachlan White (Thomas Atkinson) hostage in the boot. Other episodes feature the involvement of other characters, such as Paddy and Rhona who chase after Pierce and James and Emma face-to-face by the side of the road.

On Thursday's episode, Ashley forgets who his daughter Dotty is during her christening and, thinking he is late due to a faulty digital clock, takes a drive. Unbeknownst to him, James and Emma are on a motorway bridge. As Ashley drives past, Emma accidentally pushes James, falling on Ashley's car, causing the vehicle to flip and crash. Pierce swerves to avoid, stopping in the middle of the road. An oncoming truck hits Ashley's and Pierce's vehicles. Pierce watches helplessly as Paddy and Rhona's car flips multiple times before getting hit by a van. As Aaron and Robert's car approaches, Emma tries to warn them but Aaron crashes into the lake with Lachlan in the boot.

Ashley exits his car to assess the damage and is nearly hit by a motorbike upon noticing Emma. Pierce runs to try and rescue Paddy and Rhona, panicking when he finds no pulse on Rhona. Finn Barton (Joe Gill) arrives at the scene and finds Ashley, who again thinking he should be at his daughter's christening, later wanders off into the woods. Underwater, Robert awakes and attempts to wake Aaron. Pierce initially suggests Rhona was alone in the car when questioned by the authorities, but later chooses to save Paddy. Meanwhile, Robert finally wakes up Aaron as they are still trapped underwater, failing to free him after several attempts. Himself free, he surfaces for air to provide Aaron. The ambulance arrives at the scene as Laurel, Doug Potts (Duncan Preston), Adam Barton (Adam Thomas) and Victoria Barton (Isabel Hodgins) turn up.

Rhona, Paddy, Aaron and James are severely injured and taken to hospital, while Ashley collapses in the woods as his wife Laurel and her father Doug search for him. Rhona is in critical condition, although later recovers. Elsewhere, both Aaron and James suddenly succumb to their conditions moments after Aaron accepts Robert's proposal, although survives while James goes into cardiac arrest and dies in front of his family. The scene flashes forward to the funeral where Pete, Ross, Finn, Emma, Moira, Adam, Victoria, Paddy, Pierce, Rhona, Robert, Chas and Aaron stand by the coffin as Harriet finishes saying her prayer before laying James to rest; the storyline ends with a picture of James falling to the floor, signalling that he is the character who has been killed off from the show and, thus, has taken his last dance.

A reporter writing for the Inside Soap Yearbook 2017 described the car crash as "stunning stuff"^[14] and added that they were "shocked" by Emma's poisoning of the cat.^[14] They later named the week as one of the "best bits of October", describing it as "one of the biggest stunts in soap history".^[15] They added that the week featured "everything you could possibly want from a soap" and named Emma pushing James from the bridge as "the big moment" of the week.^[15]

Ashley Thomas's dementia (2015−2017)[]

On 19 November 2015, Ashley Thomas (John Middleton) was at a doctor's appointment where he was diagnosed with early onset vascular dementia. Ashley marries Laurel Dingle (Charlotte Bellamy) on 18 March 2016, and his illness begins to show. He also experiences mini-strokes, which affects his brain and he loses more memory.

During the Hotten Bypass motorway pile-up, Ashley forgets his daughter, Dotty's (Tilly-Rue Foster), christening, and is involved in the car pile-up. He sees Emma Barton (Gillian Kearney), who caused the crash, on the bridge above the motorway. He then wonders into the woods and collapses. Ashley is found by police officers. When Emma finds out about this, however, she confuses and upsets Ashley.

On 20 December 2016, Ashley leaves the hospital and starts to wonder the streets of Hotten alone and confused. Two teenagers take pictures of him as he is wearing his pyjamas. Laurel's father, Doug Potts (Duncan Preston), finds him wondering but Ashley flees. Ashley then comes across a music shop. The owner becomes aware of Ashley's condition after he notices a dementia charity flyer in his wallet. The shop owner then offers Ashley a duffel coat and The Undertones CD, both for free. Ashley is found in a church by Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller). Aaron takes him back to Emmerdale where he tells Laurel some memories he is starting to remember of his mother in Helsinki. Later that night, Ashley doesn't remember who Laurel is.

In March–April 2017, Ashley unintentionally leaves the care home and goes missing for two days, later being found and returned home, but diagnosed with pneumonia. Slipping into a coma, his family learns he has days or weeks left of life, yet manages to regain consciousness on 7 April 2017, to speak his last word; "Laurel…", is uttered in a faint voice, to the astonishment of his wife who is overjoyed that he remembered her. Whilst Laurel heads upstairs to fetch some pillows, Ashley dies peacefully.

Following the storyline's conclusion, actor John Middleton criticised what he described as "woeful" attention to research in dementia by major political parties. Speaking at the Royal Festival Hall in London, he mentions how often he was getting stopped in the street by people who had been affected by dementia in some way, thanking him for doing the story. Middleton's assessment was that dementia is the "biggest health problem that we have in the western world", believing that not enough was being done to address it.^[16]

Who Killed Emma Barton? (2017)[]

Emmerdale confirmed on 9 May 2017 that Gillian Kearney, playing Emma Barton, was to leave the show in October as her character's, crimes would ultimately be uncovered. Kearney's contract, originally expiring in May 2017 was extended until October.

During an altercation with Moira Dingle (Natalie J. Robb) in a barn, Emma confessed to pushing James Barton (Bill Ward) off the bridge and a fight between the two ensued. The barn caught fire, causing Moira to go into an unexpected labour, whilst Emma identified it as a sign that Moira should die due to historic infidelity. Upon being convinced the baby was Pete Barton's (Anthony Quinlan), Emma instead opted to help Moira out of the barn, which exploded shortly after.

Adam (Adam Thomas) and Victoria Barton (Isabel Hodgins) noticed the blaze whilst driving and subsequently found Moira, heavily bleeding with her newborn baby beside her. A chase ensued into the forest with a shotgun which Emma later found, seemingly abandoned, and in the confusion, unbeknowingly shot her youngest son, Finn Barton (Joe Gill). Finn was found the following day by Harriet Finch (Katherine Dow Blyton) and Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley), barely conscious and later died. Emma, by now mentally unstable, learned of Finn's death on the radio and kidnaps Moira's baby from hospital, though was convinced by a hallucination of James to "do the right thing". Opting for suicide, Emma drove to the Hotten Viaduct to contemplate her fate; she was shortly after seen falling from the bridge, but it was unclear if she jumped or was pushed. A flashback reveals Ross Barton (Michael Parr) found Emma dead but he ran off. Finn's funeral was interrupted by police, who disclosed new evidence which suggested Emma may have been pushed, collaborated by a post-mortem examination.

Emmerdale confirmed a "whodunnit" storyline would unfold. The primary suspects all had motives: for Pete and Ross, it was Emma murdering their father and killing their younger brother, Finn; for Gabby, it was Emma's emotional torment towards Gabby's late father, dementia-sufferer Ashley Thomas (John Middleton); for Cain, it was Emma's constant interference and looking down upon his family; for Moira and Adam, it was Emma attempting to murder Moira just before the birth of Moira's son.

Moira had abandoned her son at the hospital, which she confessed Cain's mother, Faith Dingle (Sally Dexter). Pete began to suspect Gabby while Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy) claimed to be visiting her sister Caroline (Sarah Moyle), however, her statement was false and convinced Bob Hope (Tony Audenshaw) to be her alibi. On 3 November 2017, Laurel was named as a suspect; her motive being the same as Gabby's. A series of flashbacks showed several suspects' whereabouts before Emma's death, with Moira driving at the viaduct, Pete arguing with Emma, Ross pinning Emma against a car door, Cain driving to the viaduct and Adam at home reading Emma's suicide note.

On the day of Emma's funeral in December, Moira was revealed as the killer following a final confrontation. As the suspects cast back to the day of Emma's death, we see Ross drag Emma into his car and driving off to a viaduct. Emma believes Ross will push her, but is left to deal with her problems. Moira spots Emma on the viaduct and approaches her. In a confrontation, Emma insults Holly's memory, forcing a reaction from Moira, who pushes her. Casting back to present day, Moira explains that she cannot undo her actions because it was impossible and confesses to Cain that she killed Emma.

Big Night Out (2019)[]

On 12 April 2019, a 1-minute long promo was released on the Emmerdale YouTube channel to advertise dramatic episodes later in the month. The trailer shows several characters getting ready for a big night out in front of their mirrors. Each of their reflections foreshadows what is to come. Whilst applying lipstick, Victoria Barton's (Isabel Hodgins) reflection appears cold and distressed. Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) looks on to see his half-brother Ellis Chapman (Asan N'Jie) staring back at him, petrified. Maya Stepney's (Louisa Clein) reflection is seen kneeling on the ground, bleeding and visibly shaken. Leyla Harding (Roxy Shahidi) is the last to be seen, admiring herself in the mirror. Suddenly, her reflection turns violent and shatters the mirror to pieces.

The dramatic two-part episode aired on 25 April 2019, and followed several characters on a group night out that started going terribly wrong. However, the episode ended with many questions still unanswered. Then between 7 May and 8 May 2019, 3 flashback episodes aired which showed how Billy was responsible for his brother Ellis' stabbing, Leyla, Tracy Shankley (Amy Walsh) and Priya Sharma's (Fiona Wade) part in the attack on Maya and the revelation that she had survived, and the brutal rape of Victoria.

2020s[]

Who Killed Graham Foster? (2020)[]

In December 2019, a minute-long promotional trailer premiered to advertise January episodes, which would feature Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough) getting murdered.^[17] The suspects were featured in the trailer, and were: Jamie Tate (Alexander Lincoln), Andrea Tate (Anna Nightingale), Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock), Kim Tate (Claire King), Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson), Charity Dingle and Al Chapman (Michael Wildman), all of whom have a personal rivalry with the character.^[18] As Graham's perspective of the murder is unveiled, the true culprit is shown to be Pierce Harris (Jonathon Wrather). Pierce's motive for the murder was that Graham is in a relationship with his ex-wife, Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry) along with a previous violent confrontation.^[19]

Jamie Tate vs the Dingle family (2020)[]

In 2020, Jamie Tate (Alexander Lincoln) leaves Moira Dingle (Natalie J. Robb) for dead after he hits her with his car.^[20] Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) initiates a romantic relationship with Jamie, who later confides in her that he is responsible for the hit and run. She informs Jamie that due to her "devotion" to him, she agrees to keep his secret.^[21] Jamie then turns Belle against her family.^[22] However, it is later revealed that all of Belle's actions were planned in order to avenge Moira when she betrays Jamie and reports him to the police.^[23] Taylor-Draper enjoyed "preserving the twist" due to storyline details often being leaked, which she felt ruins the shock element to certain scenes of the soap. She also hinted that Jamie would not "go down easily", and that he "will have something up his sleeve" that Belle does not expect.^[24]

Jamie "cruelly" frames Belle for his crime, and she is questioned by the police. Belle informs the police that Andrea Tate (Anna Nightingale), Jamie's ex-wife, will back up her story. However, unknowingly to Belle, Jamie signs his daughter Millie (Willow Bell) to Andrea for an alibi.^[25] With only her in the frame for the crime, Belle relapses into schizophrenia, and Jamie adds to her worries when he calls her threatening to "destroy" her.^[26] Belle stops taking her medication, and later begins to hear voices again. The voices begin by telling her that Andrea is to blame for everything happening, causing Belle to inform Millie that her mother is evil.^[27] She then hears the voice of her mother Lisa (Jane Cox), who died a year prior.^[28] She attempts digging into Lisa's grave to make the voices stop. Lisa tells Belle that Jamie will harm her and her family, and warns her to do something about it. She takes a knife and goes into the woods, where she hallucinates visions of Jamie following her.^[29] She then hallucinates while speaking to Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb), believing he is Jamie. After this, she believes that Tracy Metcalfe (Amy Walsh), the pregnant partner of Nate, is Jamie, and approaches her with a knife. Belle cuts her hand gripping onto the knife, and when Tracy informs her, she realises that Tracy is not Jamie. She is then taken to hospital.^[30] Realising that Belle could not cope in prison due to her mental illness, Nate takes the blame for the hit and run, and faces a potential prison sentence.^[31] He faces a five-year prison sentence, but is not imprisoned as this was a suspended sentence along with a driving ban and community service.^[32]

Gabby Thomas' involvement with the Tate family (2021)[]

In January 2021, it was announced that 2021 would have a large focus on the younger characters of Emmerdale, including Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham). Details of a storyline that see Gabby become involved with the Tate family were announced, with Claire Crick of What's on TV hinting that Gabby could be set to become "the next Kim Tate".^[33] Bentham stated that Gabby "sets her sights on Home Farm", the largest property in the village, owned by Kim. Producers confirmed that the storyline will be "huge", with producer Sophie Roper explaining that "a fight for power will quickly ensue" after Gabby discovers that she is pregnant with Jamie's baby, Kim's son. Roper noted that Gabby would find herself "at the centre of a family at war", and hinted that Gabby could either "succumb to the manipulations at Home Farm" or could "end up being the one who pulls the strings".^[34] In order to place distance between Jamie and love interest Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley), Gabby gets her fired, which Kim appreciates since she does not like Dawn. Producers confirmed that they would develop an alliance between Gabby and Kim,^[35] with Kim's portrayer King explaining that Kim sees potential in Gabby. King explained that Kim thinks she can manipulate Gabby into being a "useful accomplice" for her, and noted that Kim sees her younger self in Gabby.^[36] King also hinted that the storyline could run for months or potentially years, and that there is "real potential" for there to be a battle for the Home Farm property.^[36] Bentham enthused at the thought of Gabby taking over Home Farm, since it would "launch her into something completely new and exciting".^[37] When Gabby reveals to the Tates that she is pregnant, Bentham stated that Kim responds well, due to being happy about building her Tate empire, while Jamie is "not thrilled" about being linked to someone through a child. Bentham added that due to Kim buying the baby gifts early into the pregnancy, Gabby gets a taste of the Home Farm life, and it leads her to want more.^[38]

References[]