The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the British soap opera Emmerdale Farm in 1977, by order of first appearance.
Dolly Skilbeck (also Acaster) first appears on 22 February 1977, played by Katharine Barker. Barker portrayed the role for two years, until it was recast to Jean Rogers, who appeared as Dolly until 1991.
Dolly arrives in Beckindale from Darlington to serve as a barmaid in the Woolpack. She begins a relationship with Matt Skilbeck (Frederick Pyne), and they later get married. She becomes pregnant with his child, but after suffering a stillbirth, Dolly begins working at the village playgroup. The pair later have a son, Sam Skilbeck (Jamie Bell), who is born on 23 December 1982. After becoming pregnant for a third time, Dolly miscarries. It later emerges that Dolly had a son in the mid-1960s, and gave him up for adoption. Her child, Graham Lodsworth (Ross Kemp), later finds her. [1] When Matt discovers that he has inherited Crossgill Farm from the previous owner, Dolly informs him that she wants to move out of Emmerdale. Matt refuses, and they begin to grow apart, resulting in her affair with timber consultant Stephen Fuller (Gregory Floy). Stephen is killed by a falling tree, and Dolly arranges his funeral. [2] Dolly leaves Matt and begins divorce proceedings, and leaves the village in 1991. Dolly and Sam move to Norfolk to join Matt. It is later confirmed that Dolly and Matt have gotten remarried off-screen in 1992.
Donald Hinton | |||||||||||||
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Emmerdale character | |||||||||||||
Portrayed by | Hugh Manning | ||||||||||||
Duration | 1977–1989, 1993 | ||||||||||||
First appearance | 25 October 1977 | ||||||||||||
Last appearance | 28 October 1993 | ||||||||||||
Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||
Introduced by | David Cunliffe (1977) Keith Richardson (1993) | ||||||||||||
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Donald Hinton, was first seen in October 1977 when he took over as the vicar of Beckindale and moved into the vicarage. His son Clive turned up in early 1978. Hinton married Matt Skilbeck and Dolly Acaster in 1978 and soon became a good friend of the Sugdens. In 1978 he helped in the investigations into a dead body which was found underneath The Woolpack when the boilerman was doing maintenance. Hinton and Mr Moeketski found the skeleton was of a woman who was the ancestor of Sam Pearson.
Hinton returns as a special guest at Annie Sugden's wedding to Leonard Kempinski. This was his final appearance in the show and final visit to Beckindale. He has not been seen or heard from since.
Liz MacDonald | |||||||
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Emmerdale character | |||||||
Portrayed by | Elizabeth Mickery | ||||||
Duration | 1977, 1984–1986, 1988, 1990 | ||||||
First appearance | 24 November 1977 | ||||||
Last appearance | 3 May 1990 | ||||||
Classification | Former; recurring | ||||||
Introduced by | David Cunliffe (1977) Michael Glynn (1984) Keith Richardson (1986, 1988, 1990) | ||||||
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Liz MacDonald, played by Elizabeth Mickery is the wife of Jock MacDonald and the mother of their daughter, Judy. Liz appears periodically between 1977 and 1990. Liz builds up a friendship with Dolly Skillbeck and often babysits her son, Sam for her. In 1988, Liz divorces Jock and takes Judy to live with her and makes her final appearance in 1990 when she worries about Jock after Kim Tate's horse kicks him in the head.
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.
John Jacob "Jack" Sugden is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. The character was originally played by Andrew Burt from 1972 to 1973 with a brief return in 1976, when the actor left for Italy to write a book. On his return in 1980 he was played by Clive Hornby. Hornby remained in the role until 2008 when he was forced to take a break from Emmerdale due to illness. His last on-screen appearance was on 21 February 2008, and his absence was explained by the character visiting his mother, Annie Sugden in Spain. Although Hornby was intended to return, he died from his illness in July 2008 without returning to the programme. Jack was written out following Hornby's death, dying off-screen of a heart attack in February 2009.
Jo Stiles is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Roxanne Pallett. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 26 August 2005 and her last on 22 December 2008.
Terence Turner is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Emmerdale, played by actors Stephen Marchant and Nick Brimble.
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!".
Frank Tate is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Emmerdale, played by Norman Bowler. He made his first appearance on 21 November 1989 and remained a regular for almost eight years, before Bowler opted to quit in 1996, leading to his character's exit the following year. Introduced as the patriarch of the Tate family, who were brought in as part of the show’s rebranding in 1989, many of Frank's storylines revolved around his volatile relationship with his wife Kim Tate.
Annie Sugden is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Emmerdale. She was played by Sheila Mercier as a regular character between 1972 and 1994, with occasional guest appearances in the show after her original departure. Mercier cut back on location filming during the late 1980s and eventually left the serial in 1994 due to the gruelling schedule. Annie was one of Emmerdale's original characters, appearing in its first episode on 16 October 1972 and became the longest serving female character in the series' history. She was the soap's "first matriarch", the maternal force behind the Sugden family, who were collectively one of Emmerdale's main focal points.
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.
Patricia Ruth "Pat" Sugden is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by actresses Lynn Dalby in 1972 and 1974. Helen Weir took over the role when Pat was reintroduced as a regular character in 1980. Pat's main stories are her marriages to violent drunk, Tom Merrick and later Jack Sugden. One of Pat's most prominent storylines involved the reveal of her son, Jackie Merrick being Jack's biological son. Weir and Hornby began a relationship off-screen and later married. Weir became pregnant and writers decided to also make Pat pregnant and she gives birth to Robert Sugden. Producers offered Weir an additional two year contract to remain in Emmerdale but she declined their offer. Weir later revealed that her decision came from a dispute with producers over the inclusion of her and Hornby's son playing the role of Robert. Producers decided to kill Pat off in a car accident story and she made her final appearance during the episode broadcast on 26 August 1986.
Henry Wilks is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Emmerdale, played by Arthur Pentelow. He ran the Woolpack public house alongside Amos Brearly for nearly 20 years.
Dolly Skilbeck is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Emmerdale. Dolly made her first on-screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 22 February 1977. The character was initially played by Katharine Barker, before Jean Rogers took over the role in 1980. She remained in the role until her departure from Emmerdale in 1991. Dolly is characterised as kind, generous and a homemaker. She is a "townie" from Darlington who arrives in Beckindale to work at the local pub, The Woolpack. Writers quickly developed a romance with Matt Skilbeck. He was a widower and had previously has two children that had died.
Matt Skilbeck is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Emmerdale, played by Frederick Pyne. He is one of the series' original characters and made his debut in the first episode broadcast on 16 October 1972. Pyne was interviewed for the role in 1971 and cast the following year. He came into the show with farming knowledge and an expectation that he would only be in it for five years. Matt is a sheep farmer and married to Peggy Skilbeck at the beginning of the serial. Matt is characterised as mild-mannered, honest, and stubborn, although Pyne thought his character was too nice. Following Peggy's death and those of his children, Matt marries barmaid Dolly Acaster. A change in Matt's personality occurs when quarry owner Harry Mowlem makes advances towards Dolly and Matt attacks him, leading to his arrest for Mowlem's murder. Pyne decided to leave Emmerdale in 1989 to pursue work in the theatre. He was unhappy that the writers chose to split Matt and Dolly up, as they had been one of the few remaining happy families in soap at the time.
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.
The Sugdens are a fictional family in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. Introduced during the show's conception in 1972, they were the main family for storylines between the 1970s and 1980s and remained as such for many years. The families original unit consisted of widowed farmer Annie Sugden, alongside her children Peggy Skilbeck, Jack Sugden and Joe Sugden. Subsequently these characters went on to produce more generations of Sugdens.