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Craig Jones

Emmerdale boss explains why there won't be a 50th anniversary special live episode

We are anticipating many surprises during Emmerdale’s month-long 50th anniversary celebrations but please don’t expect a live episode.

Down the years, many soaps have celebrated major occasions with live episodes. Emmerdale did so, having one to mark their 40th anniversary in 2012.

Although, this year we won’t be getting one for a very understandable reason. The news comes from a special press event with the Emmerdale team to preview October’s 50th anniversary milestone.

Read more: Mark Charnock let's slip about 'sensational' Emmerdale anniversary storylines

Emmerdale boss Jane Hudson had a simple reply when asked about the prospect of a live episode. She said: “No!” A relieved Jeff Hordley, who plays Cain Dingle, then interjected: “Thank goodness!

The coronavirus pandemic played a major impact in hampering any brief thoughts of a live episode. Jane explained: “There’s a reason the viewers like the lives and that’s because they are looking for something to go wrong - I think. The problem with live episodes is you are really restricted to the stories you can tell.

“We know one of the things our viewers love is that stunts we pull out of the bag. You can’t do those things in a live. Another big factor is covid. If we suddenly have people test positive the day of the live, for example, we go ‘Jeff is now not available for that big story’ I’m not sure what we’d do. So, no to a live and please let there never be any lives.”

So, it sounds like we can expect some major stunts doing the Emmerdale 50th birthday commemorations. From the press conference, we know there will be lots of big storylines coming which will likely impact many of the show’s favourite characters.

You can visit our Emmerdale homepage to find the latest gossip about the soap and its stars. There you'll also find our Emmerdale features and further news about the show's 50th anniversary plans.

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