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| Let's hear it for Emmerdale - 40 years old and the bravest of the soaps | Let's hear it for Emmerdale - 40 years old and the bravest of the soaps |
| (8 days later) | |
| Next Wednesday at 7pm Emmerdale celebrates its 40 anniversary with a feat of extreme daring: they are broadcasting the show live. | Next Wednesday at 7pm Emmerdale celebrates its 40 anniversary with a feat of extreme daring: they are broadcasting the show live. |
| 'Whatever girlfriend,' I hear you say. 'Corrie and EastEnders have done live.' But there's a big difference between Emmerdale's production techniques and those of the other two big soaps and it makes next Wednesday performance much more daring. Maybe even a small milestone in TV history. It will be filmed entirely on location. | 'Whatever girlfriend,' I hear you say. 'Corrie and EastEnders have done live.' But there's a big difference between Emmerdale's production techniques and those of the other two big soaps and it makes next Wednesday performance much more daring. Maybe even a small milestone in TV history. It will be filmed entirely on location. |
| Coronation Street and EastEnders do shoot externals but from within the confines of a safe, controlled and self-contained studio set. Take a look at them closely and you'll recognise the same backgrounds used with monotonous regularity. | Coronation Street and EastEnders do shoot externals but from within the confines of a safe, controlled and self-contained studio set. Take a look at them closely and you'll recognise the same backgrounds used with monotonous regularity. |
| Rather than the one site, Emmerdale uses two, the studio with similar facilities to EastEnders and Corrie – all the departments within touching distance – and 'the village.' | Rather than the one site, Emmerdale uses two, the studio with similar facilities to EastEnders and Corrie – all the departments within touching distance – and 'the village.' |
| The village is unique amongst the big British soaps in that, up near Harewood House, it's miles from anywhere, much more open to the elements and far from the studio support networks. On EastEnders, if they give the wrong coat to an actor they just pop over to costume and get the right one; at the village they may be faced with a 20-mile round trip to Leeds. | The village is unique amongst the big British soaps in that, up near Harewood House, it's miles from anywhere, much more open to the elements and far from the studio support networks. On EastEnders, if they give the wrong coat to an actor they just pop over to costume and get the right one; at the village they may be faced with a 20-mile round trip to Leeds. |
| It's technically a whole different camera game; some of the studio sets will have to be recreated at the village and I'm guessing there'll be many more external shots than on the other live soaps. For example, think of the ease of live lighting on Coronation Street or EastEnders - but if it's bouncing it down with rain or, worse still, blowing a gale, Emmerdale can't as easily switch the scene to somewhere more sheltered place. | It's technically a whole different camera game; some of the studio sets will have to be recreated at the village and I'm guessing there'll be many more external shots than on the other live soaps. For example, think of the ease of live lighting on Coronation Street or EastEnders - but if it's bouncing it down with rain or, worse still, blowing a gale, Emmerdale can't as easily switch the scene to somewhere more sheltered place. |
| In a recent interview, series producer Stuart Blackburn commented: | In a recent interview, series producer Stuart Blackburn commented: |
| An hour, one October evening in a field on a hill in Yorkshire - what could possibly go wrong? It is thrilling and terrifying. | An hour, one October evening in a field on a hill in Yorkshire - what could possibly go wrong? It is thrilling and terrifying. |
| I've got many Leeds-related bugbears (or chips on my shoulders if you prefer) and the perception or perhaps validity of Emmerdale is one of them. Look at the Baftas for example. Their Soap & Continuing Drama award lives on a loop passing between Corrie, Casualty and EastEnders (nine years out of the last eleven) interspersed by The Bill and Holby City. For the last four years Emmerdale hasn't even made the final four. Now I'm not saying that this reflects the undoubted London/Manchester media bias, I would never say such a thing. I'm just saying it's unreasonable. | I've got many Leeds-related bugbears (or chips on my shoulders if you prefer) and the perception or perhaps validity of Emmerdale is one of them. Look at the Baftas for example. Their Soap & Continuing Drama award lives on a loop passing between Corrie, Casualty and EastEnders (nine years out of the last eleven) interspersed by The Bill and Holby City. For the last four years Emmerdale hasn't even made the final four. Now I'm not saying that this reflects the undoubted London/Manchester media bias, I would never say such a thing. I'm just saying it's unreasonable. |
| I really don't think you can make an argument for EastEnders and Corrie having better direction, acting, plotting or writing and you certainly can't for superior production values. In fact, I would argue that it's the village and externals (and historically, a bigger studio space) that allows Emmerdale alone to avoid the samey shots, the repetitive and limited camera work. They all lead to the claustrophobic, Prisoner: Cell Block H comparisons that dog other soaps. | I really don't think you can make an argument for EastEnders and Corrie having better direction, acting, plotting or writing and you certainly can't for superior production values. In fact, I would argue that it's the village and externals (and historically, a bigger studio space) that allows Emmerdale alone to avoid the samey shots, the repetitive and limited camera work. They all lead to the claustrophobic, Prisoner: Cell Block H comparisons that dog other soaps. |
| Perhaps it's the bigger audience figures that make the other two 'more important'? No it isn't; you need to strap in now as I get technical all over the place. On a usual weekday night, at 7pm, between 19 and 21 million people in the UK are watching TV, at 7.30pm it rises to between 21 and 23 million and at 8pm it rises again to between 23 and 25 million – for a Friday night knock two million off all figures. | Perhaps it's the bigger audience figures that make the other two 'more important'? No it isn't; you need to strap in now as I get technical all over the place. On a usual weekday night, at 7pm, between 19 and 21 million people in the UK are watching TV, at 7.30pm it rises to between 21 and 23 million and at 8pm it rises again to between 23 and 25 million – for a Friday night knock two million off all figures. |
| So as the possible audience for Emmerdale's usual 7pm slot is smaller, we are not comparing like with like. 'How on Earth do we get around this unfair weighting?' I hear you exclaim, pouring coffee down your front. Quite easily, I calmly reply; through a simple use of mathematics. For example, on Monday night Emmerdale was watched by 34.2% of the TV viewing audience (7.13m) whilst EastEnders was watched by 31.7% (7.59m). To be fair, these percentage figures fluctuate. If I was being disingenuous I'd use last Tuesday's 32.8% as compared to EastEnders 28.7%, but the London soap does sometimes get slightly bigger percentage figures than Emmerdale, albeit not by margins as big as those above. | So as the possible audience for Emmerdale's usual 7pm slot is smaller, we are not comparing like with like. 'How on Earth do we get around this unfair weighting?' I hear you exclaim, pouring coffee down your front. Quite easily, I calmly reply; through a simple use of mathematics. For example, on Monday night Emmerdale was watched by 34.2% of the TV viewing audience (7.13m) whilst EastEnders was watched by 31.7% (7.59m). To be fair, these percentage figures fluctuate. If I was being disingenuous I'd use last Tuesday's 32.8% as compared to EastEnders 28.7%, but the London soap does sometimes get slightly bigger percentage figures than Emmerdale, albeit not by margins as big as those above. |
| More interesting is the head-to-head between Emmerdale and EastEnders. It appeared that the London soap 'targeted' Emmerdale's slot when it originally aired but within six months had to shift to 7.30. In September 2004, an hour-long episode of Emmerdale cut into the EastEnders slot, Emmerdale was watched by 8.1 million and EastEnders by 6.2. Then there's Emmerdale's 4,000th episode which went 8.8 million to Leeds and 6.2 to London. This July Emmerdale had an extra episode go out at the same time as EastEnders, Guess which had the most viewers? That's right, Emmerdale. | More interesting is the head-to-head between Emmerdale and EastEnders. It appeared that the London soap 'targeted' Emmerdale's slot when it originally aired but within six months had to shift to 7.30. In September 2004, an hour-long episode of Emmerdale cut into the EastEnders slot, Emmerdale was watched by 8.1 million and EastEnders by 6.2. Then there's Emmerdale's 4,000th episode which went 8.8 million to Leeds and 6.2 to London. This July Emmerdale had an extra episode go out at the same time as EastEnders, Guess which had the most viewers? That's right, Emmerdale. |
| There isn't a 'big two' UK soaps, there's a big three and next Wednesday at 7pm the second most popular UK soap goes to places no other TV drama has gone, broadcasting live, for an hour, from an uncontrollable location. It's so brave that I'm wondering whether they'll just do a series of easy 'two-handers' (two characters in conversation) or really go for it with some large, group set-pieces. They must be praying for good weather but even if it's blowing a rain soaked storm they'll just have to get on. It's going to be pure theatre. | There isn't a 'big two' UK soaps, there's a big three and next Wednesday at 7pm the second most popular UK soap goes to places no other TV drama has gone, broadcasting live, for an hour, from an uncontrollable location. It's so brave that I'm wondering whether they'll just do a series of easy 'two-handers' (two characters in conversation) or really go for it with some large, group set-pieces. They must be praying for good weather but even if it's blowing a rain soaked storm they'll just have to get on. It's going to be pure theatre. |
| Mick McCann is a writer based in Leeds whose books include the local encyclopaedia How Leeds Changed the World. | Mick McCann is a writer based in Leeds whose books include the local encyclopaedia How Leeds Changed the World. |
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