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.
Viv Hope is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. Portrayed by Deena Payne, the character first appeared on 10 August 1993, and remained until 13 January 2011, becoming one of the longest-serving characters, after nearly 18 years in the show; her tenure is currently the seventeenth-longest in the history of the show.
Kelly Windsor is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Adele Silva. The character first appeared on 10 August 1993. Silva portrayed her from August 1993 until November 2000. In February 2005, it was announced that Silva would be reprising her role and she returned in June 2005. Silva left the soap once again in October 2007, and in November 2010, it was announced that Silva would be returning to Emmerdale in February 2011. Silva reprised the role for a period of three months and left again in May 2011.
Scott Windsor is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. From 1993 to 1996, Scott was played by Toby Cockerell. In 1996, Scott left the village to join the army and when he returned in 1998, Ben Freeman took over the role and played Scott until early 2007.
Terry Woods is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Emmerdale, played by Billy Hartman. He was one of the longest-serving characters in the show up until he was killed off alongside Viv Hope in early 2011, after 16 years.
Marlon Dingle is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Emmerdale, played by Mark Charnock. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 17 October 1996. Following the departure of Zak Dingle, Marlon currently serves and the second longest-running character featuring in the programme, surpassed only by Eric Pollard. For his portrayal of Marlon, Charnock won the British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement at the 2023 British Soap Awards.
Dawn Hope is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Julia Mallam. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 16 February 2003 and her last on 14 July 2006.
William "Billy" Hopwood is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by David Crellin. The character made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 3 July 1997. He was introduced as one of several new characters producers created for the show in 1997. He is the father of Andy Sugden, and his main storyline results in him murdering Vic Windsor. Crellin made a guest appearance as Billy during a 2003 storyline. Billy was reintroduced into the series in 2006 and writers created a redemption story arc for Billy. He then has an affair with Diane Sugden. Crellin made his final appearance as Billy during the episode broadcast on 19 October 2007.
Bob Hope is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Tony Audenshaw. Prior to playing Bob, the actor had previously made a guest appearance in the show as a security guard. Bob was introduced as a hosiery salesman and love interest for Viv Windsor. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 19 September 2000. Bob is portrayed as having a happy-go-lucky, cheeky persona, and is Emmerdale's most married character with seven marriages to five women. His storylines have included marriage, divorce, fatherhood, adultery and homelessness plus the deaths of his children Dawn Woods in 2006 and Heath Hope in 2024.
Donna Windsor is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She was originally played by Sophie Jeffery until 1997. Actress Verity Rushworth took over the role in 1998. She made her first appearance in the show on 31 August 1993. Donna departed on 30 January 2009. At the time of her departure, Donna was the third longest running character on Emmerdale. It was announced on 8 January 2014 that Rushworth had decided to reprise her role as Donna for five months. She returned on 19 March 2014 and it was revealed that Donna was terminally ill with lung cancer. Donna committed suicide on 14 August 2014, after throwing herself and Gary North from a multi-storey car park to her death, but made her final appearance the following day, on 15 August 2014. In December 2024 Donna appears in a flashback sequence to Ross after April is abducted and taken to the carpark where her mum died. This leads to Ross revealing to April that Donna took her own life.
