Emmerdale’s 50th Anniversary is Sunday. The show marks half-century of television programming with an epic catastrophe that causes a tornado to rip through the normally-sleepy community.
The soap has come a long way since its sleepy beginnings in 1972, when some of the most dramatic events included Jack Sugden’s takeover of his family’s farm, and Peggy Skilbeck’s surprise pregnancy, with recent years seeing the country village hit by tragedy, death and destruction.
As Emmerdale fans mark the historic occasion with more tragedy and fan-favourite characters, we take a look back at some of the most memorable moments from this Yorkshire village.
Emmerdale turns 50! MailOnline looks back on some of the most memorable moments from Emmerdale as it marks 50 years in the ITV soap.
Historic: Back in the early 1990s, LGBT soap characters were few and far between, so when Zoe Tate realised that she was gay, and came out to her family, it made headlines nationwide
1993 – Zoe Tate is gay.
The first LGBT soap character was rare in the early 90s. Zoe Tate, a gay actress, came out to her family and made national headlines.
Despite originally forming a romance with Archie Brooks, Zoe struggles to be intimate with him, and for many months kept her sexuality a secret due to concerns around how her loved ones would react.
After Frank raised concerns, Zoe finally decided to speak out and tell her family. Despite his initial shock, Frank promised to continue to support Zoe.
Zoe went onto enjoy romances with a slew of female village beauties, including Frankie Smith, Susie Wilde, Emma Nightingale, and even Charity Dingle.
Realisation: Eventually, after sparking concern from her father Frank, Zoe decided to come out to her family, and despite her dad’s initial shock, he vowed to support her
1993 – The Emmerdale village is thrown into chaos by a big-budget airplane crash
Emmerdale had been on the screen for 20 years. ITV threatened to end it after a decrease in viewership and slow storylines.
In 1993, Brookside’s and Hollyoaks’ frontman Phil Redmond were given the task of overseeing the revamp. He decided to rekindle excitement by crashing into the village in its first major catastrophe.
A record 18 million viewers tuned into the episodes, which aired over the Christmas period and cost around £1 million, and saw the death of four major characters; Archie Brooks, Elizabeth Pollard, Leonard Kempinski and Mark Hughes.
Wow! Wow!
Devastating: A record 18 million viewers tuned into the episodes, which aired over the Christmas period and cost around £1 million, and saw the death of four major character
2003 – Tricia Dingle, and also the Woolpack were destroyed in a tornado.
Although adverse weather is a common occurrence in soap country, Emmerdale was not hit by a wind-based catastrophe for the first time.
Tricia Dingle, who had just ended her marriage to Marlon and was getting ready to welcome in the new year at Woolpack, was leaving the village.
Tricia decided to remain after reading the romantic note from her husband. But when she returned home, an lightning strike caused her iconic pub to crumble on her.
Marlon was devastated when Tricia died after falling into a coma. Tense scenes showed Tricia fighting for her life.
Dramatic! Dramatic!
He’s dead! After alienating many of his village neighbors with his behavior, Villain Tom King was killed. This sparked a massive Whodunnit with 11 suspects.
2006: Who Killed Tom King in 2006?
After just a few months, Tom King, a businessman, became Emmerdale’s most hated villain. He upset the three boys with his clever plots and his plans to amass he vast wealth.
Rosemary, Tom’s wife, was married on Christmas Day. Tom was then beaten on the head and shoved out of a window. This triggered a massive ‘Whodunnit?’ investigation with 11 possible suspects.
Fans speculated about the plot and viewers were able to view 11 versions of Tom’s murder through an internet competition. Each suspect was convicted of the crime before it was finally revealed who the real culprit was.
After learning that Chas Dingle had forced Carl King to divorce him, it became clear that Carl King was the one responsible. While he and his brothers were ultimately arrested, the lack of evidence caused the trial to collapse and Carl never was prosecuted.
Dark: Emmerdale sparked controversy in 2011 when it tackled the divisive topic of assisted dying, illegal in the UK, and in graphic pre-watershed scenes depicted the moment a paralysed Jackson Walsh ended his life
Jackson’s assisted suicide, 2011.
Emmerdale caused controversy when it addressed the controversial topic of assisted death, which is illegal in the UK. It also featured graphic scenes that depicted Jackson Walsh’s final moments.
Jackson became quadriplegic following a train accident. Jackson begged Hazel and Adam for help, but they refused.
Hazel finally realized, through tear-jerking scenes that she needed to let go of her son and delivered the drink in an emotional scene that would end his life.
Ofcom received a lot of criticisms about the episode. However, bosses maintained that they handled the storyline with Marc Silcock as actor. They also said that the programme-makers made sure the death wasn’t glorified.
RIP: In 2012 Emmerdale celebrated its 40th Anniversarywith a live episode, which along with two weddings and two births, saw the death of bad boy Carl King at the hands of Cameron Murray
2012. The Live Episode
Emmerdale’s 40th anniversary was celebrated in 2012 by a special live episode. It featured plans for two marriages, two births, and one unexpected death.
Chas is preparing to marry Dan Spencer. She wants to escape her furious ex Carl and she comes close to murdering him when she hits him with a brick.
The eventful hour-long episode also saw Katie Macey tie the knot with Declan, to Megan’s fury, and both Debbie Dingle and Gennie Walker give birth to their babies in dramatic scenes.
A shocking finale to the Anniversary special saw Cameron face-to-face and then grab the brick Chas was using, killing him in an unexpected cliffhanger.
Epic scenes: In 2016 Emmerdale delivered one of its most spectacular stunts yet, as multiple lives were left hanging in the balance after a huge car pile-up hit a motorway
RIP: Sparked by a demented Emma Barton, who violently pushed her husband James from a viaduct after keeping in hostage in their home, the crash saw a dementia-stricken Ashley grind to a halt when James landed on his bonnet
2016 – A devastating pileup of bridges
Emmerdale pulled off one of the most dramatic stunts in 2016: multiple lives were at stake after an enormous car pileup struck a motorway.
A demented Emma Barton, pushing her husband James off a viaduct, held him hostage inside their home. The crash was caused by Ashley Thomas who had dementia. James crashed onto his bonnet before colliding with many other vehicles.
The tragedy led to James’ tragic death, while Rhona Goskirk and Aaron Dingle were left fighting for their lives in hospital, and Emma spent weeks desperately covering her crimes.
Tragedy: In 2015 Emmerdale bosses announced that much-loved vicar Ashley Thomas would be diagnosed with dementia, setting the stage for his eventual exit from the soap after 22 years
2017. Ashley dies from dementia in 2017.
Emmerdale bosses revealed that Ashley Thomas was being diagnosed with dementia in 2015. This announcement set the stage for Thomas’ exit from Emmerdale, which he had been on for 22 years.
After being well-received by viewers, the hard-hitting storyline was expanded. It even featured a highly-acclaimed episode that showed how Ashley viewed the world after being diagnosed with the disease.
Although Ashley’s deteriorating health left viewers weeping, the storyline saw him rekindle their relationship with Laurel and the couple remarry before welcoming Dotty, his baby girl.
Ashley died peacefully after a tragic turn.
Heart-breaking: After taking a turn for the worst, Ashley was brought home to die surrounded by his family, and following a short reunion with Laurel, the priest quietly passed away in heart-wrenching scenes
Violent: After first entering the village as the devastated husband of Tess Harris, Pierce slowly began to show his true colours after he began a relationship with Rhona Goskirk, who herself was cheated on by her husband Paddy
2017 – Pierce Rapes Rhona
Pierce, the husband who was devastated by Tess Harris’s death, slowly showed his true colours when he started a relationship Rhona with Rhona, who had herself been cheating on her husband Paddy.
Pierce was a possessive, controlling character, and Rhona and Rhona had a fast-paced affair that raised suspicions from the entire village. Pierce recorded a sex tape with Rhona without her consent, before accusing Vanessa of it.
After Rhona discovered that he had drunkenly kissed ex Paddy with Rhona, she refused to go out with her husband. Pierce then raped Rhona.
Rhona eventually revealed all the details to Pierce, who was later sentenced for five years imprisonment. But Pierce made an unannounced return to the village to kill Graham Foster in 2020.
Scary: The couple met their end on Rhona’s wedding day. He discovered Rhona had been drinking with Paddy and refused to leave the village. When Rhona tried to flee, Pierce grabbed her and raped it.
Bunny boiler: In 2020, Emmerdale’s newest bombshell Meena Jutla was revealed as one of the soap’s greatest serial killers, murdering Leanna Cavanagh after she learned the truth about her grisly past
2021 – Meena’s reign of terror
Emmerdale’s latest bombshell Meena Julla, who was a serial killer in the soap, murdered Leanna Cavanagh, after learning the truth.
Meena was a terrifyingly dark woman, but her true colors were hidden for months. Victims Andrea Tate, Ben Tucker, and others paid the price. The village learned the truth when footage surfaced showing Victoria Barton being drowned by Meena.
Meena ran away from the village to take revenge on Dawn and Billy, but she was eventually captured by the authorities.
Meena’s subsequent trial saw her attempt to charm jurors by playing the innocent victim. As the serial killer was sentenced, Meena was then hysterically taken back to jail for her last appearance on soap.
Emmerdale celebrates 50 years with a special hour-long episode at 7pm ITV.
She is going down! Meena fled the village, and went on the run to exact her revenge. She was captured by authorities. Her subsequent trial left viewers riveted.