Emmerdale stars reflect on the show nearly being axed

The hit ITV soap Emmerdale celebrated its milestone 50^th anniversary in an extended episode that aired last night – and the drama for the big birthday will continue throughout the week.

But while the show has been a staple of the ITV schedule for some time, it came close to being cancelled in the early '90s when viewing figures had dropped to a level so bad that the show’s bosses were forced to change things up.

ITV were not happy with how the show was performing so, wanting to get new viewers, the producers decided to blow things up quite literally by dropping a plane on the village.

Speaking on the anniversary special, Emmerdale: 50 Unforgettable Years, Eric Pollard actor Chris Chittell said: "The powers that be read the riot act out to our bosses and said, 'You're going to have to do something to boost the viewing figures."

chris chittell as eric pollard in emmerdale

ITV

"There was talk of it being pulled,” added Claire King, who plays Kim Tate, highlighting just how close we came to living in an Emmerdale-free world.

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It was Brookside and Hollyoaks creator Phil Redmond who came on board to help save the flagging soap, and he was behind the 1993 plane crash story that changed life in the Dales forever.

Four key characters were killed off when the plane came down over Christmas in 1993, with Elizabeth Pollard, Archie Brooks, Leonard Kempinski and Mark Hughes all perishing in the disaster.

While the stunt became one of the most talked about moments in British soap, it was not without its controversy, with many calling the show out due to the stark similarities with the Lockerbie disaster that occurred in 1988 – also over Christmas.

emmerdale village in the storm storyline

AMY BRAMMALL//ITV

But the huge story did the job with viewers, as the soap went from strength to strength and ended up not just challenging the likes of Coronation Street and EastEnders for the title of top UK soap, but it has bested them on many occasions.

The soap had only gone through another revamp 5 years earlier when bosses decided it needed to be freshened up – changing the title from Emmerdale Farm to simply Emmerdale in the process.

As for the show in 2022, a big storm hit the Dales and lives were left on the line in the episode that aired on Sunday evening. Who will survive as the massive week continues?

Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV, and streams on the ITV Hub.