The village of Emmerdale will not be the same again from October onwards as a wind storm is set to shake up life in the Dales for every single resident. As fans know, the ITV soap's 50th anniversary is edging closer and there's set to be a month's worth of dramak with one very dramatic episode in amongst it all.
Last week Emmerdale kicked off its 50th birthday celebrations with cast and producers marking the occasion with a huge cake of the Woolpack. New pictures show Fiona Wade (Priya Sharma), Chris Bisson (Jai Sharma), Lisa Riley (Mandy Dingle) Mark Charnock (Marlon Dingle), Zoe Henry (Rhona Goskirk), Jay Kontzle (Billy Fletcher), and Katherine Dow Blyton (Harriet Finch) all smiles as they posed with a pretty impressive cake depicting the iconic pub.
But the smiles on their character's faces may not last as Emmerdale's boss has teased that the village will never be the same again after a natural disaster wreaks havoc on their Yorkshire home.
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Speaking at a special press event earlier this month, Jane Hudson, executive producer of Emmerdale, revealed what is to come: "As you're probably aware it's our 50th birthday in October and we thought instead of just celebrating one day, why don't we celebrate the whole month? And that's exactly what we're going to be doing," she told the Manchester Evening News and other press.
"We have got, in true Emmerdale style, every story imaginable. We have got things that are going to make you laugh, make you cry, make you surprised and stunts that are going to rock your world!"
She said shooting for the special month began on August 1 and that it was not only important for them to celebrate the soap's 'wonderful characters' but the village itself and so the whole month of episode will be set in the Yorkshire-based village.
However, there will be one particular episode, to air on October 16, that will really kickstart events with Kim Tate and Will Taylor's wedding. "Of course, it's not going to go smooth," Jane teased. "It's the week that's going to deliver the most epic of stunts," she added before handing over to Kate Brooks, Emmerdale's series producer, to share more.
"We're all super excited about our 50th, it's a massive privilege to be a part of this massive celebration and a lot of work and a lot of effort has gone into making sure that what hits the screens is magnificent and that [the viewers] will enjoy it as much as we have done making it."
Sharing exactly what will be at the centre of the epic celebrations, Kate continued: "As part of our big 50th week, although we are doing a month of celebrations, the big 50th week will focus on a massive storm that is going to rip through the village and leave a massive trail of destruction in its wake.
"Some of our best-loved villagers will be in peril and it's safe to say that literally, the village won't be the same after this and won't ever be the same again because the impact this storm has on people's lives is just massive."
But while the storm is being derived as the 'set piece stunt', there will be plenty of other stories which will be 'peaking' over the month. "Two big centre pieces are the Woolpack and Home Farm," Kate said. "We're keen to make sure we've covered all the different characters and that all the families who are in the village are affected and impacted in some way by what happens."
And the scale of the production means it's 'unprecedented' to anything Emmerdale has done before. "There's elements of the big storm week that I've not seen on a soap before and it's very exciting slash nerve-wracking to be a part of that and hopefully it will all be brilliant and fantastic when you get to watch the episodes."
As if that isn't enough, there will also be the return of three very familiar faces, with Kate telling is that Danny Miller, Amy Walsh and Elizabeth Estensen will all be reprising their roles as Aaron Dingle, Tracy Metcalfe and Diane Sugden on a 'temporary basis'. "They'll come back and be at the heart of some really big stories that will impact their lives and not just them but the lives of the characters they leave behind."
And at the end of the month, when fans think they can breathe, a whole host of other storylines will begin. Jane said that the Faith Dingle storyline will continue at the start of the month before they enter into their big storm week. "Then, when we get to October, it might be the end of our celebrations but we will be ending that month with a storyline that kicks off a whole new story," Jane said before dropping the bombshell: "And potentially sees one of our characters spending the rest of their life in jail."
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