Emmerdale is a British soap opera 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. The programme is broadcast in every ITV region. The series originally aired during the afternoon until 1978, when it was moved to an early-evening prime time slot in most regions; London and Anglia followed during the mid-1980s. Until December 1988, Emmerdale took seasonal breaks; since then, it has been broadcast year-round. The programme began broadcasting in high definition on 10 October 2011.
| Genre | Soap opera |
| Created by | Kevin Laffan |
| Starring | Present cast, Former cast |
| Theme music composer | Tony Hatch |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 9,084 |
| Executive producer(s) | Various, Jane Hudson |
| Producer(s) | Various, Kate Brooks & Sophie Roper |
| Location(s) | Leeds Studios, Leeds, West Yorkshire (1972–present), Arncliffe, North Yorkshire (1972–1976), Esholt, West Yorkshire (1976–1997), Harewood House, West Yorkshire (1997–present) |
| Camera setup | Videotape, multiple-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes (23–25 minutes excluding advertisements), 60 minutes (special episodes) |
| Production company(s) | Yorkshire Television (1972–2006), ITV Productions (2006–2009), ITV Studios (2009–present) |
| Original network | ITV |
| Picture format | 576i colour (4:3 SDTV, 1972–2001), 576i (16:9 SDTV, 2002–2011), 1080i (16:9 HDTV, 2011–present) |
| Audio format | Monaural (1972–1990), Stereo (1990–2011), Dolby Digital 5.1 (2011–present) |
About Emmerdale
This show follows the lives of the residents of the village of Yorkshire Dales. The series won its first two British Soap Awards in 1999 for Best Dramatic Performance and Best Exit.
Achievement of Emmerdale
The series was originally called Emmerdale Farm, from 1972 until 1989. The show aired a live episode in 2012 to marks its 40th anniversary on the air.
Top Facts You Did Not Know About Emmerdale
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