Major Emmerdale storylines

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.

The Plane Crash (1993)

Main article: Emmerdale plane crash

Until 1993, Emmerdale was largely ignored by press and viewers alike, in the face of better-known soaps such as EastEnders, 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 of many fireballs

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.

Home Farm Siege 1994

Viv is held hostage by Reg

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.

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)

Tricia is injured after the roof falls through

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Ashley and Louise are trapped and injured after their car crashes into a lake

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.

Kings River explosion July 2006

The showhome at the moment of the Kings River explosion

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.

Tom King kidnap plot September 2006

Cain surprises Tom and Sadie

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.

Interactive storyline 2006/2007: "Who Killed Tom King?"

Main article: Who Killed Tom King?

In October 2006, ITV announced plans for a fully interactive storyline, surrounding the death of Tom King, 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^[1] was created for ITV by Branded Storytelling producers Hoodlum.^[2]

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.^[3]

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:^[4]

• Jamie Hope
• Chastity Dingle
• Matthew King
• Jimmy King
• Carl King
• Len Reynolds
• Bob Hope
• Rosemary King
• Grayson Sinclair
• Terry Woods

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.^[5] 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.^[6]

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. ^[7]

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.^[8] 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.^[9]

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 Sugden 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 is thrown across the road after the first explosion

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.

1. ^ Emmerdalemurder.itv.com
2. ^ "Hoodlum" hoodlumactive.com.
3. ^ "Cluedo murder rocks the Dales" Digital Spy.
4. ^ "Emmerdale murder suspects revealed" Digital Spy.
5. ^ "Emmerdale shoots secret murder ending" Digital Spy.
6. ^ "Emmerdale murder picture" Digital Spy.
7. ^ "Tom King's final video: Part 1" Digital Spy.
8. ^ "Tom King's final video: Part 2" Digital Spy.
9. ^ "Tom King's final video: Part 3" Digital Spy.