Soap on a hope

IT seems only yesterday that dear old Annie Sugden was dispensing words of wisdom by the cosy hearth at Emmerdale Farm. Amos Brearley was taking an eternity to pull those pints at the Woolpack and Seth Armstrong was muttering unintelligibly into his beer.

It wasn't yesterday, of course. It was nearly 30 years ago. And, even though Seth Armstrong is still muttering unintelligibly into his beer, just about everything else in Yorkshire's favourite soap opera has changed dramatically.

Annie Sugden, no doubt, would be horrified at the extra-martial antics of son Jack and daughter-in-law Sarah, while Amos Brearley's successors at the Woolpack are more interested in pulling members of the opposite (and, on occasions, the same) sex. Nowadays, when there are discussions about rape in Emmerdale, they are not about the oil seed variety.

Once upon a time, Emmerdale Farm was the gentlest of programmes, dwelling on the beauty of the Yorkshire Dales and the pastoral charms of living in the deepest countryside. Now it is known as the sex 'n' sheep-dip soap. Strange, I haven't seen much sheep-dip around recently.

There are those who yearn for the days of Annie Sugden, Henry Wilkes and Mrs Bates (did she ever have a first name?), but there is no point looking back through Annie-tinted spectacles. Rural England is a tough place today - with crime, unemployment and drugs all undermining the old-fashioned, cosy way of life.

Emmerdale had to reflect this change, otherwise it would have become as outdated as Crossroads, Triangle and The Onedin Line. And that is exactly what it has done, highlighting and heightening certain rural trends (political, corruption, sexual infidelity and lorries careering through picturesque villages) and finding a brand-new audience into the bargain. Overall, Emmerdale's transformation has been both a commercial and an artistic success.

Certainly ITV Network Centre executives were impressed with the ratings achieved by a series of five-night Emmerdale specials transmitted over the past two years. So impressed, in fact, that they have asked Yorkshire Television, the makers of Emmerdale, to produce five Emmerdales a week for two years from this autumn.

This is one heck of a tall order. It means that Emmerdale will be the only mass-audience soap to be transmitted from Monday to Friday. Can this really be happening to a show which began life as an experimental twice-weekly lunchtime programme with nine cast members which was initially given 13 weeks to prove itself? Yes, it can.

The infrastructure is there, which is a useful start. There is a tailor-made village in North Yorkshire within striking distance of its indoor sets, which are housed in the largest single-storey production studio in the world.

But Emmerdale will need more than a solid infrastructure to pull off the five-times-a-night trick (and no girls, we are not talking about randy vet Adam Forrester's sexual performances here). The acting will have to be consistently good, the characterisation razor sharp and the storylines both dramatic and plausible. The memory of the late, mainly unlamented Crossroads, when the acting - under pressure - became as embarrassingly threadbare as the clothes, is fresh in many a soap addict's mind.

There is no reason why Emmerdale shouldn't rise to this artistic challenge. There are enough good actors and actresses in the cast to carry the weaker ones; the storylines have been as exciting as any in Coronation Street and EastEnders recently; and the Yorkshire countryside consistently provides the most beautiful backdrop of all the soaps.

There are those who believe that the imminent departure of Lisa Riley, who plays ten-ton Mandy Dingle, will hit Emmerdale hard. No way, as Mandy might scream. Sadly Mandy has become a caricature of her former self and her tendency to assault anyone who doesn't agree with her has lost any dramatic effect. In fact, she is now just a joke.

Long-suffering husband Paddy will be well shut of her, to use Mandy's vernacular once again.

The decision of Nicky Evans, who plays scruffy Roy Glover, to leave as well may prove to be more problematic.

Poor Roy is an icon to losers in the land, a living reminder that life can be worse. How he has survived with this spoiled bitch of a wife Kelly is a mystery to all of us. So, too, is his hair.

I understand that both departures will involve major storylines, though neither Mandy nor Roy are being written out, so we mustn't expect a cull along the lines of the air crash of 1994 or the coach crash earlier this year. These storylines could well prove to be the perfect platform for the launch of five transmissions a week.

So who is going to lead Emmerdale to greater glory? Well Bernice (Samantha Giles), Pollard (Chris Chittell), Chris (Peter Amory), Zoe (Leah Bracknall) and Paddy the vet (Dominic Brunt) are all excellent actors who revel in the depth of their characters and the storylines they are given. The return of Lady Tara (Anna Brecon) has added a sexual frisson to proceedings, while I never tire of Kathy (Malandra Burrows) or Alan (Richard Thorpe).

In the past I have advocated the destruction of the entire Dingle clan, led by the abysmal and seriously unfunny Zak and I still think that Zak, Lisa and Marlon should all follow Butch into the great Dingle pigsty in the sky.

But I might just make an exception for the gorgeous, pouting Charity and the deeply unnerving Cain. They both, in their very different ways, have rather a lot to offer.

There is no doubt the decision to transmit Emmerdale every weekday night is a tremendous vote of confidence in the writers, cast and crew which make Emmerdale so special. Equally, there is no doubt that it is a massive challenge.

But I think Emmerdale is right up there now with Coronation Street and EastEnders and was shamefully treated in the recent national soap awards when the main prizes went to the big two, more on reputation than on merit.

Now Emmerdale has the chance to make it "the big three".

It mustn't blow this chance. So, good luck Emmerdale.

The hopes of Yorkshire, and the soap-loving nation, rest upon your shoulders.

I'm sure you won't let us down.

GREAT MOMENTS OF EMMERDALE...

u The aircrash of Christmas 1993 where a plane landed on the village. The Beckindale countryside was set alight and Elizabeth Pollard (Kate Dove), Archie Brooks (Tony Pitts) and Leonard Kempinski (Bernard Archard) were among those who died.

u The post office robbery of December 1998 was another ratings winner in the Christmas soap battle. Postmaster Vic Windsor (Alun Lewis) died after a struggle with the store raider. The storyline caused controversy as post masters were worried it would spark off a series of copycat crimes.

u The recent crash between the runaway Tate lorry and the minibus earlier this year. Viewers were left on the edge of their seats as diner boss Kathy Glover (Malandra Burrows) fought for her life.

u Dave Glover (Ian Kelsey) died in a fire at Home Farm after saving his lover, Kim Tate's (Claire King) baby James. Then Kim planned her supposed death in the hope that Frank (Norman Bowler) would be charged with murder. Frank was locked up in jail on remand but later released. When Kim reappeared in 1997 as if back from the dead, Frank suffered a heart attack and Kim stood by watching, feeling that she had gained her ultimate revenge for Dave's death.

u Zoe Tate (Leah Bracknell) announced she was a lesbian and found a partner in interior designer Emma Nightingale.

PICTURE: Emmerdale: larger-than-life Mandy Dingle who is leaving the series