Emmerdale in 1990

1990 was Emmerdale's 19th year. production was overseen by producer Stuart Doughty.

102 episodes were broadcast during the year. Storylines included David Hughes' attempts to split up Kate and Joe Sugden, Elsa Feldmann falling pregnant by boyfriend Nick Bates, Pete Whiteley's hit and run death, the beginnings of Chris Tate and Kathy Merrick's relationship and Amos Brearly's stroke.

Production

Cast group photo taken in mid-1990.

The first official fan club for a soap launched on 15th January as founder Jenny Godfrey launched The Emmerdale Club after a year and a half of preparations. The launch event was held at London Zoo and Ronald Magill, Arthur Pentelow, Stan Richards, Cy Chadwick, Glenda McKay and producer Stuart Doughty were all there to take part in the occasion. The launch was responsible for press hearing that Ronald Magill had handed in his notice, deciding to retire from the character of Amos Brearly and return to the theatre. On-screen business partner, Arthur Pentelow, would note his sadness to see Ronald leave but assured viewers he had no plans to give up the role of Henry Wilks. Amos' exit was filmed in November but not transmitted until January 1991.

Fionnuala Ellwood had decided to leave the programme to pursue other projects and writers were forced to come up with a way to write Lynn Whiteley out of the village. Deciding the most realistic option would be to have Lynn leave with Pete, Jim Millea was informed that he too would be written out of the programme. Both left in January, following the reveal of Pete's affair with Rachel Hughes, but would pop up again separately before the year was out in the dramatic hit and run storyline which killed off Pete.

Sally Knyvette suffered a miscarriage early on in the year and later had to relive the ordeal as Kate Sugden lost her baby onscreen. As a result of the drunk driving hit and run story, Sally also bowed out of the programme with numerous press reports announcing that the actress had quit following a disagreement with the producer or referring to her recent miscarriage as the reason for her departure. Sally had however been considering leaving the previous Christmas but had decided to stick around for an extra year, always intending to leave before becoming typecast.

In other departures for the year, Drew Dawson would appear in his last episode as Jock MacDonald after nine years and Teddy Turner would make his final appearance as Bill Whiteley before being killed off off-screen the following year.

On 29th June, Emmerdale celebrated its first full year of production at Sunny Bank Mills in Farsley with a party. 250 guests, consisting of cast members both past and present, attended the evening. Series creator Kevin Laffan was also in attendance. Not content with just one big party, an event took place at the Cafe Royal in London on 11th October to celebrate the show finally coming of age and turning 18. Cast members in attendance included Sheila Mercier, Arthur Pentelow, Clive Hornby, Jean Rogers, Diana Davies, Malandra Burrows, Chris Chittell, Madeleine Howard, Glenda McKay, Craig McKay, Peter Amory and Stephen Rashbrook. Crew members Keith Richardson, Stuart Doughty and Tim Fee were also in attendance.

Tony Pitts returned to the serial in June as Archie Brooks returned to the village following a small break. Diana Davies also reprised her role as Caroline Bates and would appear as a recurring character for a number of years. New additions to the cast included the arrival of the Feldmann family who were meant to have resided in the village already for 26 years and new curate Tony Charlton portrayed by Stephen Rashbrook. David Fleeshman would also return to the programme as new character Charlie Aindow.

Kathy Merrick performs 'Just This Side of Love' at the village concert.

Malandra Burrows also released a single at Stuart Doughty's request - 'Just This Side of Love' - which had been performed by Kathy Merrick at the Village Hall talent competition in Episode 1507. The single was released on 7" vinyl and cassette on 26th November and peaked at #11 in the Official UK Chart on 22nd December. The achievement gave Malandra the chance to accomplish the dream of performing on Top of the Pops with the track.

Episodes

#	Ep. No.	Date	Writer	Director	Viewing Figures	Chart Position
1	1416	Tuesday 2nd January	David Joss Buckley	Tim Dowd	11,430,000	n/k
2	1417	Thursday 4th January	Barry Woodward	Tim Dowd	10,760,000	n/k
3	1418	Tuesday 9th January	Andrew Holden	Tim Dowd	11,800,000	n/k
4	1419	Thursday 11th January	Eric Wendell	David Richards	9,870,000	n/k
5	1420	Tuesday 16th January	Eric Wendell	David Richards	11,250,000	30
6	1421	Thursday 18th January	Barrie Shore	David Richards	10,980,000	32
7	1422	Tuesday 23rd January	Barrie Shore	David Richards	10,620,000	n/k
8	1423	Thursday 25th January	Eric Wendell	Stephen Butcher	10,930,000	n/k
9	1424	Tuesday 30th January	Eric Wendell	Stephen Butcher	11,190,000	33
10	1425	Thursday 1st February	David Joss Buckley	Stephen Butcher	11,420,000	31
11	1426	Tuesday 6th February	David Joss Buckley	Stephen Butcher	10,640,000	32
12	1427	Thursday 8th February	James Robson	Sue Butterworth	9,820,000	42
13	1428	Tuesday 13th February	James Robson	Sue Butterworth	9,940,000	38
14	1429	Thursday 15th February	Jimmie Chinn	Sue Butterworth	10,430,000	36
15	1430	Tuesday 20th February	Jimmie Chinn	Sue Butterworth	10,540,000	38
16	1431	Thursday 22nd February	Peter Dillon	Ken Horn	10,180,000	40
17	1432	Tuesday 27th February	Peter Dillon	Ken Horn	10,580,000	40
18	1433	Thursday 1st March	David Lane	Ken Horn	9,980,000	45
19	1434	Tuesday 6th March	David Lane	Romey Allison	9,800,000	39
20	1435	Thursday 8th March	Barrie Shore	Ken Horn	10,210,000	35
21	1436	Tuesday 13th March	Barrie Shore	Romey Allison	10,400,000	32
22	1437	Thursday 15th March	Al Hunter	Romey Allison	10,110,000	35
23	1438	Tuesday 20th March	Al Hunter	Romey Allison	10,260,000	28
24	1439	Thursday 22nd March	Debbie Cook	Michael E Briant	9,720,000	36
25	1440	Tuesday 27th March	Debbie Cook	Michael E Briant	10,850,000	24
26	1441	Thursday 29th March	Barry Woodward	Michael E Briant	10,010,000	30
27	1442	Tuesday 3rd April	Barry Woodward	Michael E Briant	11,070,000	25
28	1443	Thursday 5th April	Jimmie Chinn	Ken Horn	9,620,000	36
29	1444	Tuesday 10th April	Jimmie Chinn	Ken Horn	10,520,000	n/k
30	1445	Thursday 12th April	John Oakden	Ken Horn	9,750,000	33
31	1446	Tuesday 17th April	John Oakden	Ken Horn	10,940,000	23
32	1447	Thursday 19th April	David Buckley	Romey Allison	10,300,000	25
33	1448	Tuesday 24th April	David Buckley	Romey Allison	10,410,000	n/k
34	1449	Wednesday 25th April	David Lane	Romey Allison	9,400,000	n/k
35	1450	Tuesday 1st May	David Lane	Romey Allison	9,450,000	18
36	1451	Thursday 3rd May	David Lane	Michael E Briant	8,030,000	36
37	1452	Tuesday 8th May	David Lane	Michael E Briant	10,730,000	24
38	1453	Thursday 10th May	Barry Woodward	Michael E Briant	9,570,000	n/k
39	1454	Tuesday 15th May	Barry Woodward	Michael E Briant	10,950,000	18
40	1455	Thursday 17th May	James Robson	Terry Iland	7,700,000	n/k
41	1456	Tuesday 22nd May	James Robson	Terry Iland	9,300,000	22
42	1457	Thursday 24th May	Peter Dillon	Terry Iland	9,140,000	n/k
43	1458	Tuesday 29th May	Peter Dillon	Terry Iland	10,720,000	16
44	1459	Thursday 31st May	David Joss Buckley	Terence Daw	8,180,000	42
45	1460	Tuesday 5th June	David Joss Buckley	Terence Daw	10,540,000	22
46	1461	Thursday 7th June	Barrie Shore	Terence Daw	9,350,000	30
47	1462	Tuesday 12th June	Barrie Shore	Terence Daw	10,370,000	17
48	1463	Thursday 14th June	Debbie Cook	Ken Horn	9,190,000	25
49	1464	Tuesday 19th June	Debbie Cook	Ken Horn	8,770,000	34
50	1465	Thursday 21st June	Rob Gittins	Ken Horn	9,180,000	28
51	1466	Tuesday 26th June	Rob Gittins	Ken Horn	8,170,000	37
52	1467	Thursday 28th June	Jimmie Chinn	Catherine Morshead	9,120,000	26
53	1468	Thursday 5th July	Barry Woodward	Catherine Morshead	9,100,000	26
54	1469	Tuesday 10th July	Barry Woodward	Catherine Morshead	9,310,000	20
55	1470	Thursday 12th July	David Lane	Terry Iland	7,990,000	27
56	1471	Tuesday 17th July	David Lane	Terry Iland	8,910,000	21
57	1472	Thursday 19th July	Rob Gittins	Terry Iland	8,390,000	26
58	1473	Tuesday 24th July	Rob Gittins	Terry Iland	8,390,000	27
59	1474	Thursday 26th July	David Joss Buckley	Terence Daw	9,030,000	18
60	1475	Tuesday 31st July	David Joss Buckley	Terence Daw	8,710,000	24
61	1476	Thursday 2nd August	Peter Dillon	Terence Daw	7,830,000	29
62	1477	Tuesday 7th August	Peter Dillon	Terence Daw	9,140,000	23
63	1478	Thursday 9th August	David Lane	Terence Daw	8,860,000	27
64	1479	Tuesday 14th August	David Lane	Ken Horn	9,350,000	n/k
65	1480	Thursday 16th August	Rob Gittins	Ken Horn	9,140,000	n/k
66	1481	Tuesday 21st August	Rob Gittins	Ken Horn	9,450,000	21
67	1482	Thursday 23rd August	Eric Wendell	Terry Iland	9,070,000	25
68	1483	Tuesday 28th August	Eric Wendell	Terry Iland	8,880,000	31
69	1484	Thursday 30th August	Barry Woodward	Terry Iland	8,430,000	35
70	1485	Tuesday 4th September	Barry Woodward	Terry Iland	8,460,000	37
71	1486	Thursday 6th September	Barbara Machin	Patrick Titley	9,090,000	29
72	1487	Tuesday 11th September	Barbara Machin	Patrick Titley	8,700,000	36
73	1488	Thursday 13th September	David Joss Buckley	Patrick Titley	8,030,000	42
74	1489	Tuesday 18th September	David Joss Buckley	Patrick Titley	9,450,000	36
75	1490	Thursday 20th September	Barrie Shore	Derek Bennett	10,090,000	28
76	1491	Tuesday 25th September	Barrie Shore	Derek Bennett	9,310,000	36
77	1492	Thursday 27th September	Barrie Shore	Derek Bennett	9,110,000	37
78	1493	Tuesday 2nd October	Barrie Shore	Derek Bennett	9,540,000	37
79	1494	Thursday 4th October	Rob Gittins	Catherine Morshead	9,580,000	36
80	1495	Tuesday 9th October	Rob Gittins	Catherine Morshead	9,690,000	35
81	1496	Thursday 11th October	David Lane	Catherine Morshead	9,610,000	38
82	1497	Tuesday 16th October	David Lane	Catherine Morshead	10,050,000	33
83	1498	Thursday 18th October	Jimmie Chinn	Cavan Greenwood	9,470,000	41
84	1499	Tuesday 23rd October	Jimmie Chinn	Cavan Greenwood	10,250,000	32
85	1500	Thursday 25th October	David Joss Buckley	Cavan Greenwood	9,720,000	34
86	1501	Tuesday 30th October	David Joss Buckley	Cavan Greenwood	10,580,000	33
87	1502	Thursday 1st November	Jimmie Chinn	Derek Bennett	9,900,000	37
88	1503	Tuesday 6th November	Jimmie Chinn	Derek Bennett	10,390,000	29
89	1504	Thursday 8th November	Eric Wendell	Derek Bennett	9,220,000	40
90	1505	Tuesday 13th November	Eric Wendell	Derek Bennett	10,800,000	29
91	1506	Thursday 15th November	Eric Wendell	Romey Allison	9,840,000	36
92	1507	Tuesday 20th November	Eric Wendell	Romey Allison	7,940,000	n/k
93	1508	Thursday 22nd November	Sally Wainwright	Romey Allison	9,400,000	46
94	1509	Tuesday 27th November	Sally Wainwright	Romey Allison	8,510,000	52
95	1510	Thursday 29th November	Peter Dillon	Steve Goldie	9,730,000	39
96	1511	Tuesday 4th December	Rob Gittins	Steve Goldie	10,340,000	36
97	1512	Thursday 6th December	Rob Gittins	Steve Goldie	9,370,000	47
98	1513	Tuesday 11th December	Shirley Cooklin	Mervyn Cumming	10,460,000	32
99	1514	Thursday 13th December	Shirley Cooklin	Mervyn Cumming	8,910,000	44
100	1515	Tuesday 18th December	Barrie Shore	Mervyn Cumming	10,750,000	28
101	1516	Thursday 20th December	Barrie Shore	Mervyn Cumming	8,670,000	46
102	1517	Thursday 27th December	David Lane	John Darnell	10,400,000	n/k

Main Cast

Ranking	Character	Played by	Duration	Number of Episodes	Running total	Previous year's ranking
1	Henry Wilks	Arthur Pentelow	Full year	97	1439	6
2	Amos Brearly	Ronald Magill	Full year	96	1456	1
3	Jack Sugden	Clive Hornby	Full year	91	931	25
4	Joe Sugden	Frazer Hines	Full year	87	1224	3
5	Alan Turner	Richard Thorp	Full year	86	753	5
5	Kathy Merrick	Malandra Burrows	Full year	86	459	10
7	Nick Bates	Cy Chadwick	Full year	85	341	16
7	Seth Armstrong	Stan Richards	Full year	85	888	8
9	Annie Sugden	Sheila Mercier	Full year	84	1411	1
10	Rachel Hughes	Glenda McKay	Full year	82	193	11
11	Dolly Skilbeck	Jean Rogers	Full year	80	1060	12
11	Frank Tate	Norman Bowler	Full year	80	90	30
13	Christopher Tate	Peter Amory	Full year	79	86	31
14	Kim Tate	Claire King	Full year	78	82	33
15	Sarah Connolly	Madeleine Howard	Full year	76	101	27
16	Kate Sugden	Sally Knyvette	Until October	73	210	3
17	Mark Hughes	Craig McKay	Full year	69	160	14
18	Elsa Feldmann	Naomi Lewis	February to August, and from October	63	63	N/A
19	Zoe Tate	Leah Bracknell	Full year	61	65	33
20	Samuel Skilbeck	Benjamin Whitehead	January to February, June to November	38	TBA	29
21	Archie Brooks	Tony Pitts	June to August, and from October	36	367	14
22	Michael Feldmann	Matthew Vaughan	From February	35	35	N/A
23	Elizabeth Feldmann	Kate Dove	March, from May	34	34	N/A
24	Jock MacDonald	Drew Dawson	February, April to September	31	261	26
25	Eric Pollard	Christopher Chittell	Unitl May, and from July	30	195	19
26	Bill Middleton	Johnny Caesar	January to February, April to May, August to November	26	207	23
26	Robert Sugden	Christopher Smith	January to April, July and from September	26	161	31
28	Tony Charlton	Stephen Rashbrook	From August	24	24	N/A
29	David Hughes	Martyn Whitby	January to April and November	23	52	24
30	Bill Whiteley	Teddy Turner	January to February, April to September	22	67	21
31	Charlie Aindow	David Fleeshman	August to November	19	19	N/A
32	Caroline Bates	Diana Davies	August to September	11	538	10
33	Pete Whiteley	Jim Millea	January and August	10	77	13
34	Lynn Whiteley	Fionnuala Ellwood	Until February, and October	8	72	17
35	Peter Whiteley	Sam Walker	October only	3	3	N/A

Storylines

January

Joe Sugden spots David Hughes and Kate Sugden kissing.

• Joe Sugden continued to be wound up by David Hughes and Kate Sugden spending so much time together. David enjoyed winding Joe up and took every opportunity he could to cause friction between the pair. At a New Year's Eve party, David maliciously let all Joe's sheep out, forcing Joe to be late for the party. When he arrived at the stroke of midnight, he was angered to find Kate and David kissing. The couple argued the following day and when Kate learned that David had let the sheep out, causing Joe to be late, she agreed to cut contact with him. Joe and Kate decided to prove their strength by becoming partners in Emmerdale Farm as Matt Skilbeck's share were signed over to Kate. Kate later retaliated by announcing to Joe that she was pregnant and the pair went away for a second honeymoon.
• Sarah Connolly continued to refuse to move in with Jack Sugden at the Emmerdale cottage. She soon changed her mind however when Jack drew up a contract outlining terms and conditions to ensure they would not end up under each other's thumb and could continue to live their own lives. One of Sarah's conditions meant nailing up the adjoining door to the farmhouse, preventing Annie Sugden from walking through whenever she chose.
• Kim Tate asked Dolly Skilbeck to start as housekeeper at Home Farm and also wanted her to live-in with Sam. Dolly refused, insisting she was quite happy at The Mill. Annie frequently found herself having Sam dropped on her while Dolly was at work and began to wonder whether Dolly's new job was causing havoc for Sam.
• Preparations continued for the village new year production of Amos Brearly's Dracula. When the show made the stage, Amos was furious when, after a few disasters on stage, the Hotten Courier dubbed the play as a hilarious "pantomime" despite him having penned the production as a tragedy.
• Zoe Tate began interviewing local farmers on chlamydia psittaci for research on a project she was studying at university whilst studying to be a vet. She was less than pleased by the enthusiasm of the local farmers however but was grateful when Kathy Merrick agreed to speak to her about her experience. When Seth Armstrong fell ill, Zoe carried tests out on the water at the Fish & Game Farm and suspects Cryptosporidium.
• Lynn Whiteley learned that Pete Whiteley had lied about who he was with on the night Jackie Merrick died and realised that Pete must have been having an affair. She soon worked out it was with Rachel Hughes.
• Nick Bates attended an interview for a gardening position at Home Farm and was thrilled when Frank Tate offered him the job, despite bluffing his way through the entire interview. After an accident with weed killer, Nick discovers he has killed all of Frank's koi carp.
• Chris Tate convinced Kathy Merrick to drink with him and was delighted when she agreed to go on a proper date with him but she later stands him up.
• Frank Tate refused to renew Kathy Merrick's lease on her farming venture.

February

to be added

Who lives where

Main Street

• The Woolpack: Amos Brearly. Henry Wilks.

• The Mill: Dolly and Samuel Skilbeck (until May).

• Victoria Cottage: Alan Turner.

Demdyke Row

• 3 Demdyke Row: Kathy Merrick (until May). Nick Bates (until August and from October). Archie Brooks (June to August). Elsa Feldmann (from October). Elizabeth and Michael Feldmann (from December).

• 6 Demdyke Row: Seth and Meg Armstrong.

Connelton Lane

• Home Farm: Frank, Kim and Zoe Tate. Chris Tate and Kathy Merrick (from May). Dolly and Sam Skilbeck (from May).

Others

• Emmerdale Farm:
  • Farmhouse: Annie and Joe Sugden. Kate Sugden (until October). Mark and Rachel Hughes.
  • Cottage: Jack and Robert Sugden. Sarah Connolly (from January)

• Whiteley's Farm: Bill Whiteley. Pete and Lynn Whiteley (until February). Archie Brooks (from August).

• Blackthorn Farm: Elizabeth and Michael Feldmann (until December). Elsa Feldmann (until October). Nick Bates (August to October).

• Unknown flat in Skipdale: Chris Tate (until May).

Who works where

• The Woolpack: Amos Brearly. Henry Wilks. Sarah Connolly (from July).

• Fish & Game Farm: Alan Turner. Seth Armstrong. David Hughes (until April). Elsa Feldmann (from February) Jock MacDonald (June to August).

• Emmerdale Farm: Joe and Jack Sugden. Kate Sugden (until October). Kathy Merrick (until October). Sarah Connolly (from August).

• Blackthorn Farm: Elizabeth and Michael Feldmann.

• Home Farm: Dolly Skilbeck (from January). Nick Bates (from January). Jock MacDonald (May and September only). Kathy Merrick (from October).

• Frank Tate & Son Haulage Contractor: Frank and Chris Tate. George Starkey (until February). Rachel Hughes (from August).

• Bennetts Veterinary Practice: Zoe Tate (from August).

• Mobile Library: Sarah Connolly (until June).

Awards and Nominations

to be added