The boss of Emmerdale has defended the soap's latest stunt as another storm is set to cause havoc on the stunning village and its much-loved residents. To mark the ITV soap's 50th anniversary on Sunday, October 16, those behind the scenes have been working for more than a year to bring 'death, destruction, and tears' to the Dales.
It was revealed back in August that the fictional Yorkshire village of Emmerdale will never be the same again as a wind storm shakes up life in the Dales for every single resident. And Kim Tate and Will Taylor's wedding will kickstart all the drama that's to come for the rest of the month and the rest of the year to come.
But loyal Emmerdale fans will be aware that it isn't the first time a storm has caused chaos for those living in the village. How can anyone forget the heartbreaking scenes back in 2003 when Tricia Dingle, who was estranged from husband Marlon at the time due to an affair he had with Charity Tate, became a victim in the natural disaster.
The character, played by Sheree Murphy, planned to leave the village despite the raging storm. However, when she read a list written by Marlon of the 101 things he loved about her she decided to forgive him but as she approached the Woolpack, a bolt of lightning struck an oak tree and it came crashing down toward her, causing Tricia to trip and fall screaming to the ground.
As she did, she terrifyingly saw another lightning bolt hit the chimney of the Woolpack directly above her, causing the whole roof to collapse into the pub, and as a huge lump of wall plummets straight down onto her. Marlon saw Tricia lying motionless in the rubble. As he desperately tried to get debris off her, she faintly told him: "I came back, Marlon". But despite being airlifted to hospital, Tricia was later declared brain dead and she died a week later.
And Emmerdale's executive producer Jane Hudson has defended why they have chosen another storm, just shy of 20 years on, to be the latest disaster to hit the village. "I was quite conscious of eye rolls because we have done a storm before," she told the Manchester Evening News and other press. "[But] we have done every story before, so it is always about how we make this storyline feel different, and bigger and better."
She added, also sharing why this time the storm, which is a windstorm as opposed to rain, is set in the daylight: "I think what was really important for us when we started talking about our 50th, which was well over a year ago, was our beautiful village and we wanted to show off our landscapes, our farms, our scenery.
"I was really determined that we would have a storm in the daylight as I think it is quite easy when you do something special to go dark and gloomy but then you can't see what makes it so special."
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