Betty Eagleton

Last updated

Betty Eagleton
Emmerdale character
Betty Eagleton.jpg
Portrayed by Paula Tilbrook
Duration1994–2015
First appearance12 April 1994 (1994-04-12)
Last appearance25 December 2015 (2015-12-25)
Classification Former; regular
Introduced byMervyn Watson
In-universe information
OccupationRetired cleaner
Father Arthur Prendegast
MotherNora Prendegast
SistersMargaret Prendegast
HusbandWally Eagleton (backstory)

Betty Eagleton is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale , played by Paula Tilbrook. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 12 April 1994. Betty is characterised as the village gossip who is kind hearted, fun, adventurous and enjoys a sherry. Tilbrook was initially cast for three episodes and the character was introduced as the wartime girlfriend of Seth Armstrong (Stan Richards). Upon her arrival, the characters reconcile and their relationship continues until Seth's death in 2005. Tilbrook retired in 2015 and the character departs in the episode broadcast on 25 May 2015, returning briefly for a cameo appearance in the Christmas episode that year. The character and Tilbrook's performance were widely praised by both viewers and critics alike; Brian Beacom of The Herald labelled her "a national treasure". [1]

Contents

Storylines

Betty was born in Beckindale in January 1934, but left to work as a tiller girl in London. She later returned to Beckindale and married old school friend, Wally Eagleton in 1954. Following Wally's death in 1993, Betty returns to Beckindale village and finds her former partner Seth Armstrong (Stan Richards). They reconcile and host a 1940s theme night at Christmas. Betty regularly stands up for her beliefs, and even tries to call off Zoe Tate's (Leah Bracknell) lesbian wedding.

Betty's former boyfriend Reggie arrives in the village. It transpires that Betty and Reggie dated while working in the Windmill Theatre in London. On the day she went to tell him she was expecting their baby, she found him in bed with another woman and had an abortion. This left her unable to have any children of her own, which she kept a secret. Knowing this, Reggie tries to blackmail Betty by threatening to tell Seth. Instead, Betty tells him herself and Seth drives Reggie out of the village. Betty decides to visit her friend Kathy Glover (Malandra Burrows) in Australia and goes on an extended holiday. Seth joins her, but she gets homesick and returns to Emmerdale alone several months later. On his way home, Seth dies on the aeroplane; Betty was waiting at the airport when Kathy tells her the news that he has died.

After Seth's funeral, Betty takes the coffin and buries it in the countryside, helped by Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy), Zak Dingle (Steve Halliwell) and Sam Dingle (James Hooton). A fake coffin arrives containing a sack of sand and is buried in the Emmerdale cemetery. The funeral also sees the brief return of Betty and Seth's former lodger, Biff Fowler (Stuart Wade). Soon after, Alan Turner (Richard Thorp) moves in with Betty. After lamenting a lack of contact with his son, Terence Turner (Nick Brimble), Betty gets in touch with him and convinces him to return to the village. It soon emerges that Terence sexually abused his sister, Steph Stokes (Lorraine Chase), as a child; Betty discovers this and warns Alan. However, he struggles to accept this and lashes out at Betty, before moving into Holdgate Farm with Terence. Alan realises the truth not long after and apologetically returns. Steph's new husband, Adam Forsythe (Richard Shelton), murders Terence soon after this, and both Adam and Steph are sent to prison for their crime. As Betty and Alan struggle to get over this, a new person enters Betty's life: Sandy Thomas (Freddie Jones), the father of local vicar Ashley Thomas (John Middleton). Ashley and Sandy are estranged, so Sandy moves in with Betty and Alan.

When Mark Wylde's (Maxwell Caulfield) body is found, Betty originally thinks it might have been Seth's and admits to Alan that they buried him in Home Farm grounds and sandbags were buried at the cemetery. When a fire spreads through Emmerdale, it reaches Betty's house and she has to be rescued by the residents; she is taken to hospital suffering with smoke inhalation, but eventually recovers with the help of her friends Alan, Edna Birch (Shirley Stelfox) and Pearl Ladderbanks (Meg Johnson). Betty subsequently goes on a six-month cruise and upon returning, she sells her house to Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins); she and Alan become sitting tenants. This causes some problems, particularly when Victoria insists on swapping bedrooms with Alan, but she also helps to do a lot of repair work that Alan and Betty are no longer capable of doing.

Betty is saddened when Alan dies in his sleep on the night of his return from a bike tour. With Pearl, she arranges a fitting funeral for Alan, but are shocked when his daughter, Steph, attends with a prison escort. Betty is on the judging panel to decide who the next vicar of Emmerdale will be – Ashley or newcomer Harriet Finch (Katherine Dow Blyton). Although Edna and Pearl are keen for Ashley to return, Betty feels that Harriet will be better able to modernise the church. Betty departs on a cruise around New Zealand by herself. On her return, she is furious when Victoria explains that she had stopped reading her emails because she found them boring. Betty later announces that she is leaving Emmerdale to move back to Australia, but makes up with Victoria shortly before she leaves. On the day of her departure, Betty learns that Laurel is an alcoholic and she advises her to get clean. A crowd gathers to see Betty off, before her new partner, Reuben Archibald (Edmund Herd), arrives in a limousine to take her away. On Christmas Day, she video calls Victoria, who then takes the laptop to the Woolpack where Betty talks to all of her friends. In 2017, Finn Barton (Joe Gill) visits Betty in Australia for three weeks, and the following year, Sandy goes to live with Betty in Australia. In February 2020, Betty rings Laurel to tell her that Sandy has died.

Development

Characterisation

"I think Betty is likeable. She's a big softy with a hard crust. She lives on gossip and I think most women do. She gets me frustrated, she makes me laugh, and there are odd times that she makes me cry as well." [2]

—Tilbrook on Betty's characterisation.

Betty is characterised as the village gossip who is fun, cheeky, flirtatious and adventurous. She enjoys finding out information about her neighbours and commenting on it with other people, but does not like finding out information last. [3] Actor James Hooton dubbed the character "a busybody, who knew everybody's business". [4] Despite her nosiness, Betty has a good heart and is a loyal friend. When choosing an alcoholic drink, Betty enjoys a sherry. [3] Tilbrook thought that Betty's life experience has led her to believe that "she knows better than anyone else". [2] She did not believe the character had changed dramatically in her stint on the soap, but did note that as she has aged, Betty has tried to "keep up with the times". [2]

The character is a retired cleaner and lives in Keepers Cottage. [3] [5] In later years, she has entertained lodgers such as Alan Turner (Richard Thorp) and Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins), the latter of whom she sold the cottage to at a discounted rate, on the condition that she and Alan could live there until their deaths. [3] The character's backstory states that she was a Tiller Girl and was in a relationship with Seth Armstrong (Stan Richards) during the war, but chose marriage with scrap dealer Wally Eagleton instead. They separated after he chose his "old rag-and-bone" horse over her; he died in late 1993. [5] [6]

Relationship with Seth Armstrong

Tilbrook was cast as Betty in 1994 for an initial run of three episodes. [6] The character made her first appearance in the episode originally broadcast on 12 April 1994, [3] and her first scene was in The Woolpack pub where she ordered a sherry and asked about Seth. [2] Betty was introduced as Seth's former wartime girlfriend and they were soon reunited, having both become widowed. Tilbrook thought that their reunion made Betty consider whether she should have chosen Seth instead. She added that she "liked the idea of two people in their autumn years". [5] In the book 50 Years of Emmerdale, Tom Parfitt called Betty and Seth the "quintessential Emmerdale couple" with a "rich and chequered history". [4] Betty and Seth planned to marry in December 1994 but changed their minds after deciding they were "too old to be exchanging vows" and instead, they held a 1940s themed party for the village. [5] Richards explained that although Seth is "terrified" of Betty, she "loves him dearly, though – otherwise, she wouldn't stick with him." [7]

The character's relationship was often used for comedic effect, something which Tilbrook enjoyed. In particular, she liked the everyday married life scenes they would portray as she deemed that very realistic and relatable. [2] At one point, Betty and Seth were living in a caravan, which was stolen by the Dingle family while they were inside. When someone knocks on the door, Betty opens it and whacks the person on the head with a cast-iron pan, unaware that it is a policeman. Consequently, she was arrested. Tilbrook enjoyed this plot and found it fun to film. [2] Seth cares a lot about horses and one story sees Betty offer the ultimatum of his horse or her. Tilbrook thought this was a tough choice for Seth, joking that the horse was "a good-looking horse". [2] Richards died in 2005 and Seth was consequently written out of the series. In the narrative, Seth dies while returning from a trip to Australia. Betty is waiting for him at the airport when she learns the news. [8]

Departure

Tilbrook's retirement was announced in April 2015, after 21 years portraying Betty. Tilbrook described her retirement as "both the saddest and the happiest day of my life" and was pleased to leave the show "on a high". [9] Kate Oates, the show's series producer, said that it is "impossible to overstate how much everyone at Emmerdale will miss Paula". [9] She described the actress as "an integral part of the Emmerdale family: an inspiration to those she works with, as well as a fabulous raconteur and hilarious storyteller". [9] The character departs in the episode first broadcast on 25 May 2015, when she leaves the village after deciding to move to Australia with her new boyfriend. On her final day, she visits Seth's grave and speaks with Laurel Dingle (Charlotte Bellamy), who is struggling with alcoholism. Before she leaves, her friends express their concern that her new boyfriend is a conman, but Betty "silences everyone with an extravagant exit that the locals won't forget in a hurry!" [10] Her boyfriend, Reuben Archibald (Edmund Herd), appears and is revealed to be a Seth "lookalike". [11] Tilbrook felt "overawed" and extremely emotional about her character's departure. [2] After deciding to retire, she spoke to Oates and asked her not to have her character murdered. She explained that she was "fed up of murders" and joked that Emmerdale village had become "a very, very dangerous place". [2] Tilbrook returned for a cameo appearance via webcam in the episode first broadcast on 25 December 2015. [12] Tilbrook died in December 2019, four years after her departure. [12]

Reception

Brian Beacom of The Herald called Betty "an immediate hit" on the soap and "a national treasure". [1] He described her as "an international-class soap gossiper". [1] Hooton thought the character was "iconic", while author Parfitt said she was "legendary". [4] A reporter for The Irish Independent labelled Betty "a no-nonsense, sherry-loving northerner who was always the first to know the latest gossip". [6] Series producer Kate Oates opined that Tilbrook had "created a British television icon: someone who has lit up our screens and touched our hearts". [9] Aidan Millan, writing for the Metro , opined that Betty and Seth's relationship was "one of the best in Emmerdale history". [13] A fan of Betty's pairing with Seth, Parfitt felt the relationship finished with "a poignant end" following Richards' death. [4] Laura-Jane Tyler from Inside Soap praised the character during her final scenes, saying "She may be a touch frail these days, but Betty Eagleton proved she was still a force to be reckoned with in Emmerdale this week – funny, feisty and smart as a whip. They don't make 'em like actress Paula Tilbrook any more!" [14] Daniel Kilkelly from Digital Spy included Betty's departure in his Picture of the day feature on 25 May 2015, [10] and called her exit "heartwarming". [2] The Metro's Duncan Lindsay praised Betty's exit story and commented, "Sending Betty away with a Seth lookalike was simply inspired." [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>Emmerdale</i> British soap opera

Emmerdale is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale, a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale Farm was first broadcast on 16 October 1972. Interior scenes have been filmed at the Leeds Studios since its inception. Exterior scenes were first filmed in Arncliffe in Littondale, and the series may have taken its name from Amerdale, an ancient name of Littondale. Exterior scenes were later shot at Esholt, but are now shot at a purpose-built set on the Harewood estate.

Paula Tilbrook was an English actress who played Betty Eagleton in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale from 1994 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurel Thomas</span> Fictional character from Emmerdale

Laurel Thomas is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Charlotte Bellamy. She debuted on screen during the episode airing on 3 September 2002. Laurel has been off-screen at various times while Bellamy has taken maternity leave. Laurel is shown to have a thoughtful and caring attitude towards other characters, however, this changed dramatically in 2015 when she developed an addiction to alcohol which often caused her to become violent and aggressive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edna Birch</span> Fictional character from Emmerdale

Edna Birch is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Shirley Stelfox. She made her first appearance during the episode first broadcast on 25 May 2000. Edna is characterised as a proud and independent Christian woman who often judges her neighbours' lifestyles. She is recognisable amongst the public for her pudding-basin hat and dog – firstly, Batley the Yorkshire Terrier, followed by Papillon Tootsie. Many of her stories have involved her dogs, including being run over saving Tootsie and the death of Batley, which won an award. Writers have established friendships for Edna with many characters of a similar age and in later years, she was paired with Sandy Thomas, which generated many comedic scenes.

Alan Turner (<i>Emmerdale</i>) Fictional character from Emmerdale

Alan Turner is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Richard Thorp. He debuted on-screen on 23 March 1982. Thorp died on 22 May 2013 and the last scenes that Thorp filmed as Alan were aired on 4 June 2013 in a special hour-long episode dedicated to him. It was announced on 12 September 2013 that Alan would be killed off-screen in late October with his daughter Steph returning for his funeral. Alan died in his sleep on 24 October 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Forsythe</span> Fictional character from Emmerdale

Adam Forsythe is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He was played by Richard Shelton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandy Thomas</span> Fictional character from Emmerdale

Sandy Thomas is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Freddie Jones. Sandy was introduced as the father of Ashley Thomas. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 6 November 2005. The character originally departed in March 2008, but returned to the show in February 2009. On 6 February 2018, it was confirmed that Jones had filmed his final episode and he made his final appearance as Sandy on 19 February 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seth Armstrong</span> Fictional character from Emmerdale

Archibald Seth Armstrong is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Stan Richards from 1978 until 2004. The role of Seth began as a temporary "bit part" and he was due to appear for just a few episodes, but proved so popular that further appearances were made until Seth became a full-time regular character in the summer of 1980. Seth continuously annoyed the landlord Amos Brearly and later Alan Turner who took over in 1991, who memorably often shouted "Get out Seth!".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steph Stokes</span> Fictional character from Emmerdale

Mary Stephanie "Steph" Stokes is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She was played by Lorraine Chase for a period of four years between 2002 and 2006. It was announced on 12 September 2013 that Steph would return for a guest appearance, which she did on 30 October 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biff Fowler</span> Fictional character from Emmerdale

Brian Ian Francis "Biff" Fowler is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Emmerdale, played by Stuart Wade from 1994 until 1999. Wade reprised his role as Biff in 2005 in a one-off appearance for Seth Armstrong's funeral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amos Brearly</span> Fictional character from Emmerdale

Amos Brearly is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Emmerdale, played by Ronald Magill. He made his first appearance during the serial's debut episode on 16 October 1972. Amos ran The Woolpack pub and was the village gossip. A double act was later formed between Amos and Henry Wilks, which lasted for 19 years. Amos became known for his bushy sideburns and catchphrase "Nay, Mr Wilks". Magill left the show in January 1991, but reprised the role for several brief appearances until July 1995.

Graham Clark (<i>Emmerdale</i>) Fictional character from Emmerdale

Graham Clark is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Kevin Pallister. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 19 August 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lily Butterfield</span> Fictional character from Emmerdale

Lily Butterfield is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Anne Charleston. She made her first appearance on 3 November 2006. Lily is Edna Birch's estranged sister and the biological mother to Edna's son, Peter Birch. Charleston quit her role in April 2009 and the character departed on 3 August 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathy Glover</span> Fictional character from Emmerdale

Katherine "Kathy" Brookman is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Emmerdale, played by Malandra Burrows. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 26 November 1985. In 2001, new series producer Steve Frost decided to write the character out. Burrows briefly reprised the role in 2005, as Kathy returns for the funeral of Seth Armstrong. She was one of the show's central characters throughout that time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lizzie Lakely</span> Fictional character from Emmerdale

Lizzie Lakely is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Kitty McGeever. Lizzie is Emmerdale's first blind character, and was played by a blind actress. She made her first on-screen appearance on 28 April 2009. Lizzie's last appearance was on 28 March 2013. McGeever had health problems, but, in June 2013, producer Kate Oates stated there had been plans for her to return. McGeever died in August 2015, however, without having returned to the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Oates</span> British television producer

Kate Oates is a British television producer, who was born in Nottingham and graduated from Warwick University. She began her career working as a researcher and editorial assistant for Germaine Greer, before becoming a script editor for the soap opera Crossroads. In 2003, she joined the radio soap The Archers as a producer, a position which Oates credits as the majority of her training. After resigning from this job, Oates began working on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale as a script editor, during which time she assisted with the soap's fortieth anniversary celebrations and worked on British Soap Award-winning storylines. She remained in the position until 2012 when she joined Coronation Street as the assistant producer.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Beacom, Brian (1 August 2020). "Obituary: Paula Tilbrook, Emmerdale star who was funny, feisty and larger than life". The Herald . Glasgow. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Kilkelly, Daniel (19 May 2015). "Emmerdale's Paula Tilbrook: 'I'm overawed by Betty exit plot'". Digital Spy . Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Betty Eagleton". itv.com . ITV. 9 October 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Parfitt 2022 , p. Gatefold
  5. 1 2 3 4 Hayward, Anthony (21 July 2020). "Paula Tilbrook obituary". The Guardian . Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 "Obituary: Paula Tilbrook". Irish Independent . 19 July 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  7. "Stan Richards". The Independent . London. 14 February 2005. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  8. Lindsay, Jessica (17 May 2019). "Who was Seth in Emmerdale and how did he know Kim Tate?". Metro . Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Kilkelly, Daniel (17 April 2015). "Emmerdale star Paula Tilbrook to leave Betty Eagleton role". Digital Spy . Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  10. 1 2 Kilkelly, Daniel (24 May 2015). "POTD: Emmerdale's Betty Eagleton leaves the village". Digital Spy . Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  11. 1 2 Lindsay, Duncan (18 September 2015). "As Kate Oates leaves Emmerdale, we rank her top ten storylines". Metro . Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  12. 1 2 "Paula Tilbrook: Emmerdale actress dies at 89". BBC News. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  13. Milan, Aidan (17 July 2020). "Who was Paula Tilbrook and who did she play in Emmerdale?". Metro . Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  14. Tyler, Laura-Jane (30 May – 5 June 2015). "Hits & misses!". Inside Soap (21): 98.

Bibliography