Once upon a time, Emmerdale was a 30-minute soap that went out on Tuesday and Thursday dinner times in the YTV region on ITV. Its main concerns surrounded a farming family called the Sugdens and what happened on their farm. It was a Yorkshire-based version of The Archers, but with better visual content and a wonky set.
That was in the 1970s. Fast Forward to 2015 and it's the best-acted, best-written and best-plotted show on TV in the UK, and it has been for about the past two years.
The soap produces six 30-minute episodes every week and affairs, blackmail, more affairs, violence, crime, yet more affairs and bitter family feuds are what it does on a regular basis. It does still, however, throw in the occasional farming storyline and relatives of its original family, the Sugdens, are still involved, too.
But alongside the dramatic blockbuster moments is a bedrock of believable and largely likeable characters that long-term fans have a vested interest in. Most Emmerdale characters are people you'd probably want to spend time with in a pub. EastEnders should take note.
The centrepiece of its latest storyline is the wedding of hunky farmer Pete Barton to Debbie Dingle, the daughter of the machiavellian pairing of canoodling cousins Cain and Charity Dingle. Debbie, however, had been bonking Pete's dodgy brother Ross Barton, a muscled id with nearly fashionable facial hair and a good line in self-confidence, and the secret affair threatening to come out was one of the key stories brewing in the build-up to the wedding.
The truth about the affair did, obviously, come out just before the first dance kicked off… then events elsewhere saw a helicopter plummet into the reception and leave the wedding party with slightly bigger problems that a betrayed groom and a damaged wedding cake.
The build-up to the wedding and the disaster has been a masterclass in both long-term storylining and character development. The actual wedding and disaster is simply superior TV drama. It's well-written, it's well-acted, it's well-produced… and, most importantly, the various plot strands that come together this week are all utterly believable. The aftermath also gives the show for lots of material for future story development.
Kate Oates, the series producer, recently went on record as saying that she thought she had the best ensemble cast of any soap. And, watching Emmerdale this week, it's hard to disagree. There are some beautiful moments, with comedy characters like Dan Spencer and Kerry Wyatt doing genuinely moving dramatic scenes as Ruby Haswell breathes her last. And Val Pollard returning from the grave to say goodbye to hubby Eric is a touching, funny and surprisingly poignant moment.
The big dramatic hitters, such as Michael Parr and Anthony Quinlan as Ross and Pete Barton, and Jeff Hordley as Cain Dingle, are also fabulous. As are Charlie Hardwick and Elizabeth Estensen as warring sisters Val Pollard and Diane Sugden.
But it really is an ensemble piece and it's an excellent one. Enders has been in terminal decline for some years now, and Corrie is still excellent, but Emmerdale has consistently raised its game and, this week in particular, it's hit new heights.
Emmerdale kicks all sorts of arse. Fact.
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