An official and comprehensive celebration of 50 years of Britain's most iconic rural soap
Everything you need to know about Britain's most iconic rural drama can be found in this beautifully designed and fact-filled book.
Celebrating 50 years since the show's creation, this book is packed with history, engrossing features, long lost imagery, and plenty of behind-the-scenes detail. Each character, event, family and location is explored in exhaustive detail, with special features on Emmerdale legends, the show's villains, births, marriages, deaths, and celebrity cameos, bringing all the highlights together with interviews and insights from cast and crew members past and present.
This book also includes gatefold section on key family trees, a specially commissioned map of Emmerdale and bespoke artworks for each location, making it a truly desirable package to read or give as a gift.
50 Years of Emmerdale is a stunning and engrossing book, which will delight every fan of this iconic show.
I'm a relatively new viewer of Emmerdale, which made this book about its first half century a very welcome read. The show had humble beginnings as a family farming drama (under the name of Emmerdale Farm), but over the years it has become pure soap. The events that have taken place in the village are astounding (if you thought Midsomer County was a dangerous place to live, this book makes clear that Emmerdale is the deadliest place in the UK).
This book is divided into sections: the origin of the show, details about the main village properties, vignettes of key characters, a summary of major storylines and a behind-the-scenes look at how the show is produced. One very interesting tidbit is the fact that, unlike Coronation Street, there are only a few village houses where the interiors are actual sets. Many of the interiors are production facilities (one house is used for storage, another for security, one for extras to wait, another for the bathrooms, etc.). I find that to be a very unique double act and a clever use of resources. And speaking of the village, there is a fantastic map of it in the book, complete with names of current and past residents of each property. The beautiful village - specially built on the Harewood Estate for Emmerdale - is a star in its own right.
A valuable resource for new viewers, and a nice keepsake for longtime fans. It would have benefited from additional cast interviews, but is still a very worthwhile read.
I have been watching Emmerdale for over 10 years and also really enjoy the Classic episodes aired on ITV3 so buying this book was a no brainer for me. After doing the tour earlier this summer and learning a lot about the production etc, it was a nice surprise for this book to be published for the 50th anniversary so I could learn even more. The book is an in depth dive into one of Britain's most loved tv shows. If you are a newbie to Emmerdale, this is the book you need.
The book was very well researched and written. Parfitt has clearly poured his heart and soul into this book, including speaking to several current and former cast members. The stories of various characters and many of the families who have resided in the village over the years are explored, alongside a map of the graveyard that shows where various villagers who have died are laid to rest. There is also a lot of information about the buildings that make up the village, including a list of who has resided in each one. There are family trees (a must have for the Dingles!) and a map of the village. The book features a timeline of the 50 year history and a chapter of behind the scenes information. Then it concludes with a list of all the cast members who have featured in the show over the years. My only wish is there has been a page paying tribute to the many cast members who have passed away.