Latest / Emmerdale Unpacked / Chump Change - Emmerdale is 54!
Transcript
- Holly: So what an amazing summer it has been on Emmerdale. I have to say it's been sizzling with drama, with tragedy. We saw the death of Dawn, we saw the death of Jimmy, two really well established characters. But particularly with Jimmy, felt that that was, although it wasn't a shocker, the way that he died was a bit of a shock. And they have that beautiful moment with Jimmy and Nicola. And for me, that was, coming full circle from what we've seen in Classic Emmerdale on ITV3 recently. But there's been a lot to pack in. So obviously over the past couple of weeks, we've seen Vinnie getting stuck in the process of being led off to prison. We've seen quite a lot of tension between the Tates as well. And we've also seen the Dingles really rallying around to support Vinnie as he... progresses into court and then obviously into prison. And I don't know about you, but there is so much to talk about. So shall we get started? Lauren: Yeah, but where do you even start? I mean, personally, I wanna start with the huge reveal in recent weeks about Kim Tate's secret daughter. my god. Holly: What a sucker! Lauren: What amazing archive work. It was just so exciting. I watched the whole episode in shock. and I think I messaged you about fifty times to say, MG, you need to watch. Holly: Yes, you did. I do recall that because my phone was pinging consistently on that morning and I was trying to get ready for work and I've Lauren: Okay. Holly: never known you to be so excited about an episode apart from rewatching old classic episodes because although we've seen them a hundred times or more, it's always good to have that anticipation, that excitement of seeing an episode that everybody else has seen I've never known you to be so eager for me to watch an episode. Lauren: Which I think is quite a nice way for us to possibly introduce ourselves. so I'm Lauren, massive Emadel fan since I was about three years old, probably. and yeah, I've wanted to be Kim Tate since I was about five. And I still do, and I'm thirty six. Holly: So I'm Penny, I've been watching since I was probably about five. I didn't get to see a lot of the darker scenes when I was a kid, but I got to rewatch them when they were re-shown on ITV3 as part of Classic Emmerdale. So I can connect the dots and through that I discovered the joy of what was. what I considered be the golden era of Emmerdale, which is 1995 through to around 1998. Lauren: So we really want this podcast to cover the week in retrospect. so not only what's going on on ITV in current, but also what's happening in classic. So we're this week we're gonna be talking about Sadie and Ruby's friendship. Is it a friendship? Is it gonna be a friendemeship? Holly: Yeah, I'm gonna do it for primary shit. Lauren: I'm hoping that it is gonna be friends to enemies, personally. How on earth has Sadie not been kicked out of the village? It's bonkers. we're gonna Holly: It is impressive. Lauren: talk about that fantastic poker game in tonight's episode. so Holly: Yes, a really fitting episode for Emmerdale's 54th birthday, which we're actually celebrating today. So we are actually recording this and it's rather fateful that it's actually on the 16th of October, 2026, which is 54 years since Emmerdale started at 1.30 in the afternoon on ITV in 1972. So... We'll also be looking at that episode as well because I think it's really important to look at the roots of the programme and it's really nice place to start, don't you think, Lauren? Lauren: Absolutely. but we'll also be touching on This Week in Classic, which saw Natasha and Mark renew their vows. with the mysterious Faye showing up. Holly: Yeah. Lauren: So where and but I think we really should kick off with Vinny's trial at the beginning of the week. Holly: Absolutely, absolutely. It was great to see Joe back in his suit. I've been getting a little bit frustrated at the fact that he's been sloping around Home Farm dressed in his joggers and his t-shirt and his dressing gown and not really putting in the effort. I mean, his dad would never have stood for that. Well, Lauren: Yeah. Holly: obviously, that's an unfortunate turn of phrase. He wouldn't have put up with that. Lauren: We have highest ninety three. Yeah. Holly: he definitely have been telling him to pull himself together. Although in saying that, it has been interesting to see Ned Porteous in a more vulnerable portrayal of Joe, because we don't really see that very often. So to see him on Monday looking so sharp and so smart. and sort of coming out of that mourning phase. think obviously he's still very much mourning Dawn who we saw lose her life as a result of having a postpartum hemorrhage. And I do actually recall telling Lauren that I've watched so much, so many episodes of Call the Midwife that I knew that was going to happen before it even happened. you know, going back to Monday, I think it was interesting to see how he was still wearing black, but he had that blue tie on, and he was looking in that briefcase at the very beginning of the episode. And Lauren: Yes. Holly: yes, which was quite intriguing because originally I thought it was something that had been brought from perhaps... his boarding school days or something like that. He was kind of revisiting the past. And then the reveal, the big twist at the end was just so meticulously done. I was so, so happy to see that Joe had found his taint roots again and was being devious again. Lauren: I absolutely squealed upon that, upon that scene. I loved it so much. I thought it was very camp. particularly the the sort of juxtapos juxtaposition between seeing that reveal and Vinny's very earnest, very overwrought voiceover letter. I thought it yeah, it was perfect hate for me. absolutely the kind of thing that Chris would have done. Even actually, Holly: Yes, definitely. Lauren: the kind of thing that even Zoe would have done personally, she could have been as Holly: Yeah. Lauren: ruthless as any of them. I mean Kim would have just Yeah. Holly: take the barrister off. Let's be honest. I mean, I don't know about you and I'm sorry to interrupt, but I think the thing that got me about that scene in the court is that it had echoes of a very similar trial back in 1998. Lauren: Yeah. Holly: So I think for clarity purposes, we should reference this. So back in 1998, Kim Tate or Kim Marchant as she was then and Steve Marchant were involved in a horse heist at Home Farm. And as a result of that they were both caught and they were put to court over the fact that Steve had botched the return journey from Home Farm with a stolen horse as it were. And he'd accidentally run over Cathy in the process and he'd given himself away by running over to Cathy's lifeless body at the side of the road or so he thought and actually saying her name out loud. So that sealed his fate really. But it was quite strange to see the courtroom scenes because we haven't really seen courtroom scenes for a while Lauren: And it was quite a swift trial, for Holly: Yes. Lauren: old Vinny but but I suppose because he admitted fault. Holly: Yes, and the judge said she wanted to make an example of him that it was never appropriate to your phone in the car in the way that he did. Lauren: I will totally agree. Never video call. Just carry on listening to the Spice Girls and singing along. Just ignore that call. You don't need to think that call. Holly: Exactly. Yes. Lauren: it was a harsh sentence, certainly, ten years. It was exactly the same sentence that our favourite Steve Marchant received in nineteen ninety nine. Holly: Yeah, yeah, it was. Lauren: but, you know, that judge she needed to secure that bag. and Holly: Yes. Lauren: good for her and good for Joe. I Holly: There are going to be lots of listeners who absolutely hate Joe Tate who listen to this podcast. You do realise that. Lauren: Yes. I am fully aware. I I've really warmed warmed to Joe in recent months. I think the more he embraces his schemingness, his sort of yeah, his Holly: It's Christmas really, let's face it. Lauren: It's his Christmas. Yeah, absolutely. It's his arrogance, it's a little bit camp, it's a little bit fun. I'm all on board. Holly: He's very charismatic, we have to say that. Lauren: It does mean that I need to totally forget all of the horrendous things he has done. I am fully aware Holly: Yes. Lauren: that he stole a man's kidney and I'm fully aware that he was definitely responsible for the death of three women, which I'm not a fan of. just to be clear Holly: Mmm. Lauren: clear. But when he's being a bit silly and goofy and bribing judges, yeah, I'm all on board. Holly: Yes, and I think it fits really well into Home Farm, that kind of cunning and that deviousness and it's kind of a family trait really, let's be honest. I mean, we had Chris, who was always trying to scheme against Kim and his own father, Frank. We had Zoe, who could practically buy her way out of anything and a lot of people did in 2005. And obviously, there was a lot of backstabbing in the 90s era and I kind of see that the Tates have moved on now and they're perhaps not as backstabbing as they were back then but what's interesting is you see the dynamic of Kim and Jo becoming a bit more like mother and son because Jamie let her down so much. So to see that little scene of the judge looking in the briefcase on Monday was a real treat. Interestingly, Steve Marchant said the same thing to Kim Marchant back in 1998. I think I hit a sheep. It was just so odd for being a longtime fan to hear those words again, because the whole setup of that was very, very similar in its construction and What was also interesting is who knew that Houghton FM only played the Spice Girls? Lauren: I know. And that Jimmy was such a fan as well. Holly: Yes, absolutely, absolutely. So at the end of that episode, we also saw the reveal of something really quite touching and really quite sweet. I'm going to say to listeners, Lauren is not a fan of what we call grim. That's Graham and Kim, but I like to think that you softened as I did when I saw the interaction at the end of the episode. the little secret revealed. Lauren: yes, he's he's not my least favourite of Kim's husbands, but he's certainly not my favourite of her husbands. so but I I am, you know, coming round to the idea. and I loved seeing the Welsh cottage being used Holly: you Lauren: again. it was it was a very touching little scene. it was very sweet. Again underpinned by Vinny's heartfelt letter. it was a very good ending for that episode. Holly: Yes, because it kind of brought it full circle and it said, this is now closed in a way. Lauren: Yeah, it's closed for now and it it was a nice sort of the baby is fine. But obviously the baby will eventually be brought back into the tate Holly: Yes. Lauren: foster fold at some point. Holly: Yes. And interestingly on that, the baby still doesn't have a name. So maybe we should speculate on a couple of names because Joe had a long list at the hospital of what he thought was appropriate. Lauren: So you have PCS. Holly: Theseus, yes, probably more suited to a horse than a baby, but we'll go with that. Lauren: Ooh, maybe Theseus would be a good name for the horse. Holly: This is a good name for a horse. I think Hercules came up as well at some point. And then obviously Dawn was absolutely exhausted and was like, I like Christopher Robin. I remember thinking, no, don't even go down that road because we all know. if we're a long time fans that Joe's father was called Christopher and that would just be very confusing. It's also very confusing because in 2004 when Noah was born, Zoe wanted to take custody of Noah and because Chris had died so recently before in the September of 2003, the plan was to to adopt him and call him Christopher Francis Tate Jr. So to have another Chris Tate at Home Farm would just be very odd and slightly uncomfortable for Kim, I feel, given her relationship with Chris in the 90s. Lauren: Yeah, I agree. I'm in yeah. I'm I'm looking forward to how they kind of bring the baby back so and speaking of characters that have gone off on leave this week, I want to give a little mention to my personal favourite male character Mackenzie, who has has Holly: yeah. Lauren: come up with trunts with this random German agriculture. trip and course, Holly: Yes. Lauren: but Roberts succeeded in getting funding for funding that we'd never Holly: Yes. Lauren: heard him applying for, but hey, Holly: Yeah. Lauren: it's fine. but I just loved Lawrence Robb's little shimmy when he mentioned Germany. Holly: Yes, he was so excited! Lauren: In a little nod to his Strictly debut, which is great. Holly: Yeah, absolutely. And we wish Lawrence all the very best of luck on Strictly because I think he's amazing, actually. And I think that scene was really well put together because he had that conversation with Charity and it was very much like, yeah, so can also go and see Noah as well. And it was like, yeah, that makes sense. So He's going to check on Noah, he's going to bring that information back to charity so that she can be assured that Noah's thriving over in Germany. And speaking of which, we saw the conversation between Nicola and Bob, which was actually a very, very sweet scene where they talked about people that they'd lost in their lives. I felt that that was appropriate. It felt more like classic Emmerdale. And what was really nice about that is that they mentioned They mentioned Cathy who went away with Brenda a few years ago and she's now gone to live in Canada, it seems. Lauren: And then obviously, whilst there have been exit mentions, there's a return looming. Potentially from Samson Bingle. Holly: Yes, so we haven't really had any confirmation that Sam Hall who plays Samson is actually coming back into the show. But there have been a lot of references to him. And it was interesting to see how Moira and Lydia went up against each other in this week's episodes. Because Lauren: Yeah, because I feel like from conversations with you, this feels almost like a confrontation, but I feel like you and I might be on opposite sides of this. 'Cause I'm very firmly on Moira's side. Holly: okay. Well, I have to say I'm team Lydia. Lauren: Just to drop that ball. Yes. Holly: I'm definitely team Lydia. No, no, no, no. I'm team Lydia. the reason I'm team Lydia is because I think Lydia has kind of established herself as the new Lisa Dingle. She's very much the matriarch of the family. And she didn't have to allow Kane and Moira into the Dingle homestead because Sam is now the appointed head of the family in the absence of Kane. So I feel like it's appropriate that she should make the decisions as to who lives there. Lauren: So my argument would be that what Samson did was so hideous, particularly to Matty. Holly: Mmm. Lauren: no not just particularly to Matty, to Matty, full stop, that there needs to be a lot more consideration towards what Moira and Matty and Kane And Isaac and Kyle are going through, but even in me listing that number of characters brings me to my huge bugbear currently. There Holly: Peace. Lauren: are far too many people living at Wishing Well than is humanly possible. There is absolutely Holly: So. Lauren: Unless Wishing Well over that time has developed into be the size of home farm, there is no way that we are able to fit Sam, Lydia, Belle, Kane, Moira, Isaac, Kyle, Matty, Samson. I feel like somebody else was living there. Was Binny living Binny was living there? Holly: No, Lauren: Yeah. Holly: yes, yes, yes, for a bit, yes. Lauren: And now he's living at his Majesty's pleasure. So that's nine people. It's a very ramshackle little property. Holly: Yes, but I have actually been on the Village Tour and I've seen how big the structure is and I can believe that they may have extended it out the back because the barn that used to house the likes of Mandy and Paddy when they were living together at Wishing Well, that is now like a converted house or Lauren: at what point was that signed off by the Emmerdale Parish Council? Because not to sound like Frank Tate in the nineties, that property should not they're not really the property owners. They are not responsible for developing that property. Holly: That is a whole other story. We saw a lot of tension between the Tates and the Dingles in 1995, in October Lauren: I say Holly: of 1995 to be more exact. And I think... Lauren: I think if we get big enough to get subscribers, paid subscribers, we could do a whole delve into Holly: Yes. Lauren: legal ramifications of property ownership in Emmerdale. That's the kind of hot topic Holly: Yes. Lauren: I'd love to delve into. Holly: absolutely. we don't know if Sam is coming, Samson is coming back or not. Lauren: No. No, but it has it's just made me aware that there are so many empty properties in the village that Holly: Hmm. Lauren: I don't understand why. I mean Belle is the sole owner now of Take a Vow. She could have a little cottage, even just to rent. we know that these Holly: could come about the front of Pear Tree Cottage. It's been a house before. Lauren: It has and it's no longer Pampamanda. we know that the upstairs flat at the mill is empty because Aaron and Robert have moved up to Endell Farm. Holly: Yes, but the boiler is broken. Yes, but the boiler is broken. So on Tuesday's episode, we discovered that the reason that nobody is currently living in the apartment at the top of the mill is because the boiler is broken. There's problems with the plumbing and it's not functioning. as a sort of suitable place to stay, which is convenient really because it means that Sadie had to move in with Caleb and Ruby. Lauren: Yes, which is one of the main topics I want to talk about this week. the just the sheer ridiculousness of of Sadie. Full stop. I love her. Love her to bits. I am one hundred percent I think Sadie King's biggest defender, but she is ridiculous. the fact that she has just hung around in the village after scamming trying to scam a widow. badmouthing a quite beloved village resident and husband and then she's just like, Meh, I'll still hang around. It's fine. And now I'll weasel my way in to a long term married couple. and the fact that Holly: Yes. Lauren: Ruby Ruby's letting her, which I don't know about you, but it feels a bit out of character for Ruby. Holly: I think it's a victim thing. think it's one of Ruby's vulnerabilities that she sees another person who has been a victim of something and she wants to help because at heart, I think Ruby is a decent person. She's been through a lot and I think she has the kind of survivor sort of feeling to her that she sees someone struggling and she wants to help them because she couldn't help herself. So I think that's where that comes from. Lauren: Have we seen that from her before? Because she was quite she's been quite harsh with other female characters in the past who've had hard backgrounds. I'm thinking about Tracy. Like Ruby was Holly: Yeah. Lauren: really harsh to Tracy. Holly: Yes, but was that because of the whole Tracy and Caleb thing that Lauren: Yeah. Holly: went on? Potentially. Lauren: Yeah. Holly: But going back to what you said about Sadie King being an iconic kind of character, I think her return recently has been one of the most amazing things I've seen in years that the frame by frame reconstruction of her entrance in 2004 was absolutely on point. It was superb. The fact that she got out of that helicopter, she had the same type of shoes on, she was sort of dressed very similarly, and then she walked up to charity and just flung her coat at her in the same way that she did back in 2004. It was like a little portal back into the past. Lauren: I was hoping for a mention in today's. or was it yesterday's? There was a mention about you know, Jimmy and I were very happy but Tom got in the way. Holly: Yes, I was also waiting for a mention for Matthew because let's face it Sadie put in a lot of work to get herself married to an aristocrat, well Lauren: Yes, it wasn't. Holly: or something close to an aristocrat. Lauren: It wasn't quite so much that Tom got in the way with Jimmy and Sadie. It was more the fact that Sadie kept going to bed with Matthew, that got in the way. Holly: yes, going to bed with Matthew and then eventually it was Alastair Sinclair, one of Rosemary Sinclair's sons, who she was planning to marry him. It's a fantastic episode if you haven't seen it. Matthew interrupts the ceremony. It's absolutely fantastic. It's just brilliant because you've got the class war of the nouveau riche and you've got the old money. And there are lots of little gags in there from the likes of Grayson Sinclair and Alastair Sinclair. And I think it's one of that era's finest episodes, to be honest. Lauren: I loved it because it was the graduate. It was fantastic. They he interrupts the wedding, takes her away, and then they hop on a hotten bus and bound for God knows where. And then they're both sitting at the back thinking, What the hell happens now? Holly: Yes. Lauren: I absolutely loved it. I loved I mean, I loved the Sinclairs. I love any posh people in Emmerdale. I'm desperate for Emadale to bring Posh people back. I need a Neil Kincaid. return swiftly. Holly: Kim's first affair to anybody who doesn't know her first stud shall we say? Lauren: Yes, quite bold to call him a stud. Holly: So, yeah, so getting back to Sadie this week, because yes, she's been absolutely amazing the interactions on her return in the pub, the mention of Dawn Woods, that Bob hadn't really forgiven Sadie for the absolutely incredible stunt that happened in 2006, which was the Kings River show home collapse. and his daughter was trapped inside and unfortunately she was killed in the process. So yes, that reference I felt was spot on, the fact that he still held a grudge after all those years. So yes, but this week it's been very interesting because on Monday we saw Joe and Sadie kind of just meeting when she was sort of hanging around the bus stop. and they had that interaction and I thought this is a very strange dynamic because she's much older than him but I could actually see a kind of graduate affair type thing happening it's it's very odd what did you think? Lauren: No, I quite liked it. I quite liked the dynamic and I like as I've already mentioned, I'm really warming to Joe. there was a particular moment where she came sort of rushing back to home farm and she was like, I've learnt all this about Ruby and about Anthony, her father and Jo was like, Yes, I know. kind of waved her away. it was quite fun to sort of see her be the the sort of desperate underling as opposed Holly: Yep. Lauren: to always the sort of manipulator. Holly: Yes, very Chris that scene. If you watch Peter Amory as Chris Tate in the 90s and then you see Ned Porteous in that scene, if you close your eyes, it's quite close together. way that he addressed her was very much in the vein of Chris kind of dismissing. anybody who he didn't like particularly. But what I think has been really interesting in that kind of dynamic is that, as you say, desperate underling, but there's also this very weird chemistry between them. And I can't work it out, Lauren. There's something there, but what that is, I'm not entirely sure that Sadie is going to remain faith to keeping her word and then getting her money and then potentially dropping Joe in it because I feel like she has the power to do that if she finds something on him as well. Lauren: I think, yeah, she will go wherever the money takes her. So I think Holly: Mmm, definitely. Lauren: we've seen her this evening try and fail, thank goodness, to seduce Caleb. we've seen her Holly: Yes, that was a good start huh? Lauren: pretend. I I feel like it's a pretend that she's been in care because I don't There's never been a mention before that she's been in care. so I felt very much that that was a I'm looking for an opportunity to bond with you moment with my Holly: Yes, I agree. Lauren: love. I am looking forward to seeing where this goes. And I think because we know that it's a it's a short shelf life, We think she finishes filming around Christmas time. We've been told that. But they may well be bringing her back again. but I think I think it's been a well done return for a character that Holly: Yes. Lauren: left what, twenty years ago? Holly: Yes, 20 years ago, so 2006, in that Lauren: And as Holly: iconic episode with with Kane, Kane and Tom, where he takes Tom King hostage, and then shoots Lauren: Which but it's Holly: Sadie. Lauren: so I think there was probably a lot of people watching who didn't know the law behind her and the links she's had to the village. But I think they've done a really good job of weaving her back in, but not feeling like it's a history lesson. I'm not feeling like you've got to have lots of characters say, well this was my relationship with Sadie. Holly: There was one moment in last week's episodes where they were standing, Ryan Hawley was standing with Patsy Kensett next to the lockers as Robert and Sadie respectively. And he looked at her and there was a moment where I was like, my God, that is... unbelievable casting that he's gone from being Carl Davies to Ryan Hawley because somehow he picked out the same expressions that Carl Davies used to have and I found it really strange but also in the scene where she met him again she said you've changed and it was like yeah we saw what you did there writers Lauren: Yeah, it was really nice. it was a nice little nod to long term viewers but it was also if you didn't watch it back then, you might just think, she knew Robert when he was a lot younger and let's be hon be honest, it was problematic. the affair between Sadie and Robert back in the day. But it was a different time and Holly: Yes. Lauren: I'm not gonna delve too deeply into that today. Holly: No, no, that's a book that also contains Cain Dingle but we don't want to open that. But talking Lauren: Yeah. Holly: of where the money goes, shall we see where the money went tonight? Wow! Lauren: Well exactly I was about my god, that was a seamless segue. I was about to just be like, talking of Robert, let's talk about tonight. but lovely yes, let's talk about where the money's gone. Holly: So it was really nice to see that episode yesterday where they were playing a poker game in the wall pack. It felt more like classic Emmerdale to me, I've got to be honest. We saw that we had Claudette, who's a bit of a card shark. We've got Charles. And then we saw them playing with Jay. And Jay hasn't really featured much recently. So it was nice to see him involved in something because I feel like... gambling is kind of in his DNA. There's always something a bit uneasy about Jay and the way that... Lauren: Well he's an addict, isn't he? So anything that kind of gives you a bit of a high, he's I quite like that continuation of that trait in him. That Holly: Yes. Lauren: although he's no longer using cocaine, he's still looking for thrills. He's still looking for that elsewhere. And also Holly: Yeah. Lauren: Can I just say I want more d more of Jay. I love Jay as a character. I Holly: We did. Lauren: I miss the shamers. I think yeah, bring some more shamers back. Holly: their arrival is actually not too far away on classic Emmerdale now. And it is an absolutely brilliant arrival. They pull up in his sports car, they're making lots of noise and yeah, disturbing the piece. And it's kind of like, yeah, we are here. We are the. cool guys, you know, it's got that feel to it. But yeah, great to see Jay included and also for Claudette because I've Lauren: Yeah. Holly: got a feeling that Claudette has a bit of a dark side to her. Lauren: Yes, I I struggle with Claudette. I think they haven't known exactly where to land her. And I think I think bringing Kev in has been the making of her as a she's funny, she's got a bit of an edge. Holly: Yes. Lauren: I think for a long time they were just trying to replicate Edna Birch, but I don't think you can replicate Edna. Holly: No, no, I don't think so. Lauren: I'm excited to see Claudette have her own sort of arc potentially or just her own traits going forward is really exciting. Holly: Yes, and it was good to see her sort of taking control in a situation as well because we don't normally see that. So I feel like having Charles there and he's sort of staring at his mother going, my godmother, you know, what are you doing? You know, having that kind of input from him as well because I really love Charles as a character. I really like the fact that we still got a vicar presence in the village. And he's also quite funny in some of the scenes that he features in and he's always at the funeral. He's always like, my God, I know it's going to kick off, but can we not? And I feel like the scene that we saw yesterday where Joe turned up and he was all really suave and sort of like, yeah, I can play poker. I learned at school, you know, really kind of like. I'm a Porsche boy, I know what I'm doing with cars. And then to see that contrast tonight where he and Robert had that little moment over the table where Robert was like, I learned in prison. And Joe went, I learned in Monte Carlo. And it's just like the clash of the classes. But seeing that scene yesterday, you kind of got the sense of where it was going in terms of like, They were going to use the Hyde as the place to have the poker game. Robert was so cocky. So cocky. And I know that Joe is very arrogant. I think Robert does Smugden extremely well. Lauren: Yeah, that's nice. Smug done. Yes. I'm pleased to see that side of Robert back. Holly: Yes, the fun side, the mischievous side. Lauren: Yeah, the little scheming side. The because I was very dubious. I was very dubious when it was decided like, Robert's gonna become a farmer. He's gonna bec have Emadale farm back. Because that was never Robert's story before. He was always because that was the big crux of the conflict between him and Jack. As Robert was growing up, he was like, I don't I don't want this. And that's sort of why Andy became the golden boy, even though he was adopted. Holly: Yes. Lauren: so it confused me why they were so adamant, like, no, Robert's gonna have Emadale Farm. Holly: Yes, but you say that Lauren, I have to be honest with you. We have to cast our minds back way before both of us were born to 1972 and the very first episode of Emmerdale. And the reason that I'm mentioning this is because in the very first episode of Emmerdale Farm On the 16th of October, 1972, at 1.30 in the afternoon, a little drama started by Kevin Le Fan, and its opening scene was Jack Sugden, the first Jack Sugden, returning for his father's funeral, Jacob Sugden's funeral. And he meets his brother, who he hasn't seen for years. and he decides that he needs to make the most of what's around him. And he becomes a farmer alongside Joe Sugden. And then eventually he grows to love the idea of farming. And you see that transition Lauren: Yeah. Holly: into the original actor, Andrew Burt, becoming Clive Hornby as Jack Sugden. So I think what they've tried to do, which is really clever, is to actually explore that with Robert because he was so against it in the 2000s and he was like, no, I don't want any of it. But actually that kind of replicates his dad's perspective and the fact He's chosen to embrace this farming life. And I think also we really do need to talk about the fact that it's Robert and Aaron who are joining together, who got engaged back in January, but nothing's been said since on that. We've actually seen them come together and they want to build this farm together. But I think that the one thing that Aaron is very good at is pulling Robert back. from the brink and saying, you're going too far, mate. You're taking it too far. We are gonna risk everything. And that's what we saw tonight, because he was like, yeah, you need to stop now. And Robert was like, no, no, no, no, I've got this. I've got this. I'm so confident. I'm so excited for this. He was so thrilled by the prospect of taking Joe on. And that in itself sort of leads into Jack Sugden's kind of relationship with Frank Tate. So it's almost like seeing them come together over the table again. And there's a scene in 1995 when Joe is born and Joe gets shares in Emmerdale Farm. So it's all coming full circle. And I think that is an amazing thing to do on the anniversary episode, whether it was intentional or not. but it Lauren: Alright. Holly: had that kind of flash of the clans. Lauren: I think you have just opened that up far wider than I considered it. I love that. That was a very nice little piece of analysis. Thank you. Holly: You're very welcome. Lauren: because yeah, absolutely. yeah, if we're gonna have Robert and Joe in the next Jack and Frank, that's brilliant because one of the best moments Holly: Yes Lauren: in the nineties for me, Jack and Frank kind of have this, they reach this Very sort of aggressive agreement, mutual agreement, where it's like when either one of us dies, we're gonna have a toast to whoever it is. And then Frank dies in nineteen ninety seven. Holly: in that iconic episode, yes. Lauren: Absolutely, which deserves its whole own episode. and Jack is true to his word. He goes to the gates of home farm and he Has a glass. And Zoe Holly: Yes, it is champagne and Zoe appears. Lauren: Zoe appears and she's heartbroken. Obviously, she's breathing. She thinks it's a horrible sort of gesture. But actually it's it's kind of respectful in a way. Cause it's like, well, this is what it was this Holly: Thank Lauren: mutual. Rudge that we had. Holly: Yeah, and Jack actually says that, that, you know, he's not doing it to be disrespectful. He's doing it Lauren: Yeah. Holly: to kind of mark Frank's passing. Because Zoe says, do you really think that is appropriate to do on this day? And Jack says, this is it, that this is the end. I'm calling it as a truce at that point. there's a nice bit of closure there as well. But what was also interesting is that I've seen in interviews with Laura Shaw and Sophie Roper that they want to try and build up almost like clans in the same way that other shows have kind of established. I think the reference that I heard in an interview was Yellowstone. So to have like ranches. Which fits quite well because if you've got the Sugdom Ranch, you've got Dingle Ranch and you've got the Tate Ranch, I mean, the Tate Ranch, let's be honest, the Tates were very much inspired by Dallas, so that's coming full circle as well. But to see all of those families in one episode around one table, I thought that was just genius. I really, really enjoyed tonight's episode. I thought it was really well handled. in terms of the fact that the focus was on something that could have been presented and could have come across as quite passe that there was a real sense of nostalgia about it. And it did feel very similar. to watching Annie Sugden, Peggy and Matt and Joe around the table at Emmerdale Farm. Lauren: Did did the first episode of Emadel finish with a chant of sucked in, sucked in, sucked in? Holly: No, it did not. Lauren: That's a shame. Holly: No, but it did have a blonde woman riding on a white horse wearing a very fancy hat across Lauren: Well, yeah, well. Holly: the Dales. Lauren: Yes, which I did love. So yeah, so that was Marion Wilkes, I can't believe it's four years ago, the fiftieth anniversary opened with that with Kim, for her wedding to Will. Holly: riding ice, riding ice. Lauren: Riding Ice about to marry Will. Holly: I have to say that the first episode of Emmerdale Farm is incredibly watchable. It's not what we would consider drama by today's standards, but there is something really comforting about it. You want to get a pot of Yorkshire tea, other brands are available, but we're in Yorkshire. know, Emmerdale is in Yorkshire. I think for me, watching it and seeing how they created the characters and the fact that they've all got very definitive personalities. So Annie is very, very stern. She's very, very fierce. She's a woman who's been widowed, but you don't get the sense that she's a kind of meek widow. She takes control of the situation because When Henry Wilkes comes up to the farm and says, I'm going to take some of your land so that I can put a pathway through it so that I've got a new entrance up to Inglebrook, which is where he and Marion live. She says, well, I'm not, you're not going to do this. She says, you can whistle. is her kind of take on it. She refuses to comply with the solicitor that Henry is take her on in a way and challenge her for the right to use this land because apparently there is some reference back in the deeds that Inglebrook has rights to use that land. And Annie says you can go the other way. So it's established very early that there was certainly some kind of rivalry or hostility between the kind of rich and the working class because Inglebrook kind of represents the middle ground between what was then called Miffield Hall and and the Emmerdale farm. So it's actually really interesting. You see Joe, who is a bit quiet, he doesn't really get involved a lot in the first episode. But Jack Sugden is a kind of dreamer and the bit at the end where we see him sort of taking some envelopes and putting them, just about to put them in the post box and then he changes his mind and you're immediately drawn into thinking, ooh, why is he not posting those letters? What is going on here? And Annie ends up having a really strict conversation with him about the fact that if he wants to live on the farm, he has to pay his way. He has to work on the farm. And it's been a culture shock for him. So, yes, it's a really wonderful start to a show that has become so much more than just a farm. But the fact that it's going back to its roots just feels... really lovely and I think watching it from a 2026 perspective I can definitely see why they wanted to extend the amount of episodes that Kevin Le Fan originally wrote. It's so watchable. Lauren: Well, clearly because we're still watching it now. I think yeah, I've not watched the first episodes, but I have watched Laura Holly: and you call yourself a fan, Lauren. Lauren: I know I know fake fan, absolutely. But I have watched the Laura Verney episodes. There is a point at which it's still Miffield Hall, which eventually becomes Home Farm. but Laura Verney and her much older husband, George Verney, move in and she is an impeccably impeccably dressed blonde, she's very glamorous, and she's a little bit mischievous. So she probably reminds me of someone else that I wanted to Holly: I mean, I'm struggling to think. Lauren: be from the age of five. yes, so she's yeah, she is absolutely the prototype for Kim. She's fantastic. And funnily enough, she ends up having an affair with Jack Sugden. she has such a short time on screen, but she has a fantastic plot with Jack Sugton, a homeless man who lives is squatting at Mill Cottage, and is called Trash the Tramp, it is just fantastic to see that Holly: The blueprint of Kim Lauren: what Holly: Tate, really. Lauren: the blueprint for Kim Tate, but also fifty four years on, Annadell is still going and it's evolved. and there's still that hunger for it. And I think that hunger extends for people watching classic as well. I think we've seen Holly: definite. Lauren: since COVID and that there's been that real increase in people watching classic and responding to classic and definitely on social media people are sort of like, this has happened. and so I think it would be Yeah, remiss if we didn't sort of talk about classic on this. Holly: Absolutely, and I have to say you're leading this week because I have a lot to catch up on. I missed a Lauren: Come on. Holly: few episodes. So Lauren: Same. Holly: yes, it's sometimes very hard to balance watching classic and watching current. And at the moment, it's quite sad to watch classic because we're seeing the kind of scenes of Nicola and Jimmy as they will become in latter years. And it's really awkward. to see that because we've seen that their journeys, his journey in full Lauren: Well Holly: circle. Lauren: the beautiful thing about this week, and I'm sorry to spoil it for you, is Jimmy and Nicola are back together. It's great. in classic Emadel, we're in two thousand and nine. And the Nouveau Reesh, Mark and Natasha Wilde are living there. Holly: the brunette crimp paint. Lauren: The yes, Natasha Wilde is the Brunette Kim Tate, not Mark Wilde. so Mark Wilde is played by Greece two star, Maxwell Caulfield, and also the Colbys, obviously. So and Natasha was played by Amanda Donohoe. So I remember when they were coming in, there was so much excitement about like 'cause Both of them had been in Hollywood and Amanda had been in LA Law, she'd been in Lyre Lyre with Jim Carey. there was this yeah, real sense of like glamour coming back to Home Farm, which was really exciting. and I think even on the rewatch, that still feels fitting. They feel like a very glamorous couple. They've got three children, So they've got Nathan, who is the eldest son, the son and heir. they've got Maisie, who's the rebellious daughter, and then they've got Will, who is the Holly: Adorable. Lauren: Adorable is a word that we could use. I would say precocious, but that's fine. Holly: Bye! Lauren: son, who sort of bonds with Belle and doesn't really care about class. Holly: Yes. Lauren: and so they've been really quite fun to rewatch, actually, in Home Farm. And I think they did quite a good job of getting these new characters ingratiating them into the village. So Maisie immediately starts working in the pub. Nathan is scheming to sort of develop things, but he's working with Eric. and Will, as I say, is he doesn't care about class, so he's been Bonding with Belle and he's been bonding with the jingles and everything. Holly: Yes, and I have to say, in terms of Nathan Wilde, I just want to point out the similarities between him and Joe Tate when he came back in 2017. We knew him in 2017 as Tom Waterhouse, but when he was revealed to be Joe Tate in 2018, I think it's really interesting to see how Lyndon Ogbourne plays Nathan almost identically to Ned Porteous as Joe Tate. And I feel like there's a lot of similarities in the kind of arrogance, the kind of deviousness, the kind of cunning and the ruthlessness really. And I actually, I didn't like Nathan back in the day, but I have a newfound appreciation for Nathan as a character. I think he was quite nasty at times. He gets quite threatening towards people. But the casting of the family is unbelievable. The similarities, the kind of facial features. I have yet to find a kind of better family to sort of contrast them to or compare them to. Lauren: Hmm. absolutely. And I think so this week we've seen Mark and Natasha, they've had their bow renewal at Home Farm, and in the church. and it's been they're a really interesting couple, actually. in that they're very posh, they're very well spoken, but they are new money. Natasha especially is very keen to seem quite down to earth and quite sort of humble. and she has this fantastic line this week. so their whole bow renewal is done at the h at the church in the village. And then they got home farm for the reception and they've wanted to recreate the wedding that they had sort of sort of twenty odd years ago, where they didn't have any money. So they wanted to have a reception where they had sausage rolls and they had cheese and pineapple hedgehogs. Holly: hedgehog. Don't knock it till you've tried it. Lauren: No. Fantastic. And yeah, they wanted it to be very low key, which hilariously a lot of the village, especially Val and Eric, are like What the hell is this? We've come to Home Farm we're expecting a posh do and we're getting a cheese and pineapple hedgehog. and the music is all from the eighties and nineties and it's all embracing the theme. And Ashley and Laurel talked to Natasha and Ashley says to her, I wouldn't have thought you were the kind of people who were going to embrace a theme. You know, basically we thought you were gonna have it posher. And she said, well, we wanted it really to replicate our first wedding. And they both think, that's really sweet. And then she says, Yes, 'cause we weren't always well off. We used to be just like you. And then she walks off from Ashley and Laurel and they're both stood just sort of a bit dumbstruck. And I think it really encapsulates her as a character. It's She she acknowledges her roots at the same time as being a snob, which I think is great. One of the other big things that's happening classic recent in the past week, and kind of that ties really nicely into what's happening in current is that we've just found out that Nicola is pregnant with Jimmy's baby, Holly: Angelica. Lauren: who will be obviously Angelica Angel. and There's there's some really nice scenes in the past couple of weeks of her struggling with Jimmy and her have broken up for a number of reasons. She finds out that she's pregnant. She's contemplating having a termination. and there's just some really nice scenes between her and Laurel and Rodney. Again, Rodney is a personal favourite. Which are great to see. But then this week we see Jimmy and Nicola come back together. it juxtapositions itself with Jimmy's brother Carl, who is married to Lexi. Lexi is desperate to have a baby with Carl. Carl can't imagine anything worse than having a baby. and so the two couples are kind of at odds with each other in a way. you've got Nicola and Jimmy who are gonna have a baby that maybe Nicola didn't actually want, but Jimmy really wanted. And then you've got Lexi who is desperate for a child. but Carl didn't really want, doesn't really want. it's bittersweet to see after obviously losing Jimmy. Holly: Yes, and I have to say I think his funeral episode was absolutely beautiful. Lauren: we haven't talked about that, yeah. Holly: No, so I think the one thing that got me about Jimmy's funeral is that it was really good to see so many little Easter eggs in there, little references to the past. So when they went into the church and Nicola said he never wanted to be carried in, because he'd done it with all of his brothers. And I just thought, at that point I was about ready to cry. And then Nicola Lauren: yes, I thought that was such a lovely touch. because yeah, of course, a man who was lost He lost Max, Holly: Nah. Lauren: he lost Tom, he lost Matthew, he lost Carl. All in tragic circumstances. all very suddenly. Holly: Yes. Lauren: it's yeah, it would take its toll on somebody. Holly: Yes. And the eulogy when Nicola said he was an everyman, but every man should be like him. And that Lauren: Mm. Holly: was the point where my personal eye floodgates opened. And then coming out of the church and seeing Kev join in holding Jimmy's coffin and realizing that the hearse wasn't there. And Vinnie came up with the idea about going to get the home James Hallage lorry or the van. It was so beautifully put together. And then to have Carl singing, trailer for Stale or Rent. Yeah, the, King of the Road song, because I do seem to recall in 2020 when we had those episodes that were kind of like standalone episodes where they were like a two-hander. that Jimmy wanted to call his book King of the Road by James King and Nicola made a point of mocking him for it. So the fact that they were singing that song into the graveyard and then sort of standing around the grave, which I don't know if anybody else noticed, but he's next to his brothers and his Lauren: Yeah. Holly: dad. which is a really lovely little touch and not too far from where he was sitting with Charity recently. So how's that for irony? So that scene where they were kind of stood around the grave side and Nicola confronted Sadie and went thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack. with the flowers was absolutely brilliant and exactly what I expect of Emmerdale when it's it's campest because the fact that she fell back against the the earth and was just sort of staring up at Nicola and saying no I'm so sorry I didn't mean to do it and Nicola was just like no had all you know she wasn't listening at all but everybody in the background of that scene had a different reaction to it. So Mandy was laughing her head off. She was really enjoying it. Robert was staring just wide-eyed. And then you had other people there just not knowing what to make of the scene, including some of the background artists who descended en masse to Jimmy's funeral. Lauren: Yes, and I loved seeing that there was a big sort of crowd there. because I think it really reflected nice reflection of Jimmy as a character. and again, I thought his funeral was a perfect send off. Holly: And I think also what has been really nice is that Robert has actually seen that it's not okay to keep the money that was kind of stolen from Jimmy. And he had that moment of conscience where he said to Gabby, I will buy you out of the hide. And then of course we saw Gabby turn the tables on him quite literally, but the tables disappeared in the scene. Lauren: Yes, this is a perfect way to sort of wrap up this week because that was a highlight of this week for me. Gabby finally finding her teeth again. I have to say, I think Gabby's storyline has been fantastic, and I think Rosie Bentham has been brilliant, and I do worry that. She won't necessarily get recognized. she's recognized by us. on how fantastic she has been throughout this orthorexia storyline. And I think it's been really well handled because it's really it's devastating. Holly: It's debilitating. one of the, yeah, I think one of the things that I would say about this is that it's not a condition that a lot of people know about because it's not really recognized as a condition in the same way that anorexia or bulimia are. And the one thing I've looked at through doing some research on this is it's not just about the effect that it has on your eating patterns. It's also on your thought patterns as well. And Manpreet was exactly right when she said your thought processes have been hijacked. And we saw the absolute desperation of Gabby when she was sitting next to Manpreet thinking, I can't take those tablets. I can't take those tablets. You you could almost see it in her head. And, you know, to see Gabby go from that last week, it's a process. So it's not going to be immediate but it was good for her to find her edge and put the training that she's had from Kim Tate to use by, you know, having Robert turn up at the hide and go, not my problem babes, you know. I'm not sure Lauren: Yeah. Holly: that Gabby would have said the word babes, it felt just a tiny bit like it was condescending but I don't know. Lauren: It was quite fitting. I felt like it very much embraced the Gabby of old, the kind of Gabby that, you know, sort of went after Jamie. so Holly: through. One night Stan led to a baby. Thomas Tate Thomas. Lauren: One nightstand led to a baby, led to an empire. and also led Holly: Yes. Lauren: to yeah, a a really great relationship with Kim. so yeah, I was really excited to see that side of Gabby again. Holly: Yes, and Robert's absolute horror that he was now left in a position where he didn't have food in the fridge and he didn't have furniture. Lauren: Well, and then after tonight, he's not even got that hundred K. Holly: No! So Lauren: Time. Holly: what do we think happened to the money? Who took the money? Lauren: So I'm thinking about who was in the pub at the time, Kev? Holly: Yes. I think Kev is quite likely because didn't Claudette make a reference to the church roof needing, repointing or Lauren: Right. Holly: renovating? And I'm wondering whether he's taken that money to do his bit for Christian charity and potentially use some of it to do things with Lewis, but also to help Claudette out because he absolutely adores Claudette. Lauren: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. I've Holly: And also, let's be honest, it's likely that he knew that Robert had potentially talked him out of doing that poker game. And I'm wondering if there's a little bit of hostility there for that. Lauren: Mm. Absolutely. Holly: so I haven't looked at the spoilers for next week. I do read some of the magazines. So my understanding is that Thea steps up her revenge plan against Kim, potentially Lauren: Mm. Holly: cause social services and lands Kim in very hot water because suddenly There was a baby born in Houghton General Hospital. But what happened to him? And Thea gets the wrong idea. She thinks that Kim has sold the baby. Lauren: Ooh. Holly: So she's stepping up her revenge campaign because we know that on Halloween all hell is going to break loose, quite literally on Halloween. So it will be really interesting to see what the outcome is because then after next week, it's only a week to go. Lauren: Yes. Very exciting. yes, I think that's the only spoiler that I've seen, actually, that social services come and question Kim. I'm excited to see where the money has gone, what the fallout is going to be for Ruby, Sadie and Caleb. Holly: you Lauren: what's gonna happen with the hide? Robert's obviously lost a hundred thousand pounds, but what are they planning to do to develop? Yes. Holly: of Joe Tate's money. Let's be clear on that. Joe Lauren: Yeah. Holly: was not happy about it. Lauren: Yes. and yeah. So there's lots to look forward to next week. Holly: Absolutely. I have really enjoyed this week's episode and I've enjoyed sharing my thoughts with you. Lauren: Yeah, it's been great. and so yeah, this has been our first episode. So we will be back next week. Holly: Absolutely and hearing lots more about the drama in the Dales and we'll be unpacking everything that's happened in the wall pack to Home Farm to Main Street to the cafe We are basically the gossips of Emmerdale. Let's face it. So we'll see you then. Thank you so much for listening Lauren: Thanks. Bye. Holly: Bye.