Carl sätter sig i skåpbilen med Chas. Han försöker få henne att välja honom och hon är ledsen för att hon förstört en fin killes liv. Hon går ut ur bilen men Carl fortsätter att övertala henne om att hon fortfarande har känslor för honom.
Megan är besviken på Robbie så när han dyker upp på festen så talar hon om hur illa hon tycker om honom. Robbie försöker be om ursäkt och han kallar henne mamma.
Debbie föder sin son och hon är besviken över att Cameron är där. Hon är dock glad över sonen och hon märker att hon har känslor för det lilla livet, mer än bara som någon som ska rädda Sarah. Andy står där och är stolt och gråter.
Gennie föder sin dotter på värdshuset och Nikhil försöker hjälpa henne genom att kolla en app på mobilen. Nikhil svimmar när barnet kommer men sedan är han också mycket lycklig.
Chas kysser Carl för att han ska tro att hon vill vara med honom. Det leder dem in i bilen igen och Carl ber henne kasta ut ringen. De börjar hångla med varann men efter ett litet tag kan Chas inte fortsätta så hon drar sig undan. Carl blir förbannad när han inser att hon bara spelat så han säger att han visste det hela tiden. Han blir helt vansinnig och trycker upp Chas mot väggen på ett skjul som står bakom bussen. Carl erkänner att han mördade sin far för hennes skull. Han blir bara mer och mer våldsam så Chas försöker ta sig loss. Tillslut får hon tag i en tegelsten som hon smäller till på hans huvud sedan springer hon därifrån.
Diane får ett samtal som gör henne glad. Ashley kommer fram till henne där hon sitter vid ett bord på puben och frågar henne hur det är. Diane berättar att Debbie fått en son som ska heta Jack. När hon säger det får hon tårar i ögonen av glädje. (Jag med..)
Alex träffar en tjej som påminner om Moira i klädsel och hår. När Moira ber honom presentera henne så vet han inte vad hon heter så hon blir irriterad och går därifrån.
Dan dränker sina sorger på festen. Han går upp på scenen och börjar sjunga på "I will survive" men blir snabbt nedtagen därifrån.
Carl försöker resa sig upp men har vissa svårigheter. Han lyckas ta fram mobilen för att skicka bilden till Debbie men lyckas han få iväg bilden?
Megan kommer fram till brudparet som precis ska ta en bit från bröllopstårtan. Hon börjar anklaga Declan och Katie för att förstöra för en mamma och son. Katie blir irriterad och börjar käfta emot. Megan kommer närmare och närmare så Katie frågar henne om hon tänker slå till nu. Megan svarar nej och tar tag i Katies huvud och trycker ner hennes ansikte i tårtan. Hon blir rätt nöjd med det hon gjort och Katie ser först sur ut men sedan kommer ett leende och Declan tar bort lite grädde ur hennes ansikte. Sedan gör de "high five"
Cameron ser att Chas springer iväg i all hast. När han sedan hittar Carl som ligger blodig på marken så tar han tillfället i akt att försöka få Carl till att sluta trakassera dem. Det funkar inte för Carl får en energikick och lyckas nätt och jämnt resa sig upp och han fortsätter att reta Cameron. Carl säger att han är orörd och alla andra förstörs i hans omgivning, att han är oförstörbar. Cameron blir rasande och drämmer tegelstenen i huvudet på Carl.
Debbie ligger och sover i sjuksalen. Hon märker inte att hon får meddelanden och att batteriet piper till för batterinivån är låg.
Cameron skyndar sig hem för att tvätta av sig allt blod och för att slänga kläderna i tvättmaskinen innan han åker till Debbbie på sjukhuset.
Nikhil är stolt över både Gennie och sin nyfödda dotter. Han säger till sin pappa att Gennie kommer att bli en underbar mor. Rishi svarar att Nikhil kommer att bli en underbar far. Jag vet, svarar Nikhil, men appen går bara fram till födseln.
Adam flirtar med Victora som ska gå hem från festen. Han följer med henne så inget händer henne på vägen. När hon påpekar att Andy kanske inte skulle bli så glad över att se Adam med henne så drar han iväg henne bakom ett av husen för att kyssas
Cameron kommer till sjukhuset och möter en arg Dingles-klan. Han orkar inte förklara för dem utan skyndar sig in till Debbie. Hon arg på honom eftersom han svikit henne och Cameron börjar be om ursäkt och lovar att han ska gottgöra henne. Han skyller på att han ville ge henne och Andy lite ensamtid med babyn men Debbie tror honom inte. Cameron gråter och fortsätter att be om ursäkt.
Adam och Victoria går ut på gatan och ser någon ligga där lite längre fram vid skjulet. De går fram och ser Carl ligga livlös. Victoria springer iväg för att hämta hjälp och hon möter Edna som går fram till Carl. Hon inser att Carl är död. De kallar på ambulans och polis som kommer ganska snabbt. Edna säger att hon borde gå till Jimmy för att berätta vad som hänt.
Chas sitter bara och gråter. Diane ringer till Dan och berättar att Chas är kvar på puben så Dan skyndar sig dit för att prata med henne. Chas försöker be om ursäkt med att om de åkt på en gång så hade detta inte hänt. Hon börjar förklara att om "han" som jagat henne och aldrig lät henne vara ifred. Tillslut får Dan veta att det är Carl hon pratar om. Han blir förbannad och tror att de haft en affär medan hon var ihop med honom. Dan rusar iväg förbannad och lyssnar inte på Chas som säger att det inte alls är så.
Diane och Victoria kommer in på puben och möter Chas som springer efter Dan. Diane säger åt henne att inte gå ut. När Chas undrar varför så berättar Diane att Carl är död, att han hittades utanför verkstan.
Debbie ska kolla sin mobil men batteriet dör på en gång. Cain får då precis ett samtal och på så sätt får han veta att Carl mördats. Charity hör det och blir förvånad. Cain och Charity går ut ur salen för att ge Debbie lite lugn och ro. Cameron stannar kvar hos henne. Debbie vill låna Camerons mobil eftersom hennes inte fungerar. Hon lägger den på bordet bredvid sängen.
Jimmy rusar ut på gatan för att se vad som hänt. Han blir stoppad av polisen som börjat spärra av området. Jimmy är desperat men får inte se Carl så han går tillbaka hem till Rodney tillsammans med Nicola. När de börjar prata om händelsen så tror Jimmy att det är hans fel att Carl är död, att när de var i slagsmål så har Carl fått en propp som gjorde att han dog lite senare. Han erkänner att han vid just det tillfället faktiskt ville döda sin bror och nu har han gjort det...
And so concluded the first ever day in the life of Emmerdale to be covered by five episodes! I hope you all enjoyed it! :)
Firstly I must apologise for the almost complete lack of paragraph spacing in the post Marie uploaded yesterday. :o Hopefully it’ll all come out OK today!
I hope the following is of interest to some of you! :)
The Fallout
Within about 10 seconds of “Emmerdale Live” finishing on ITV1, a follow up programme began on ITV2 called “Emmerdale Live: The Fallout”. As the pre-publicity explained: “Broadcasting live from Smithy Cottage, we’ll capture the cast as soon as they come off-air, following their epic hour-long, live transmission and we’ll go behind-the-scenes to reveal the months of preparation and rehearsals involved in producing their finest hour.”
Although in his interviews the presenter asks questions about the future, the answers do not really contain any spoilers. They’re very good actually at giving answers that basically say ‘keep watching, because this is only the beginning’. I would say that the only spoiler anyone should be concerned with is at the start of part 4 when viewers were given a sneak-peek at what was coming up. Some of it you will have already seen in today’s second episode, and all those clips you haven’t seen all come from the first half of tomorrow’s first episode, except one. The only other bit you haven’t seen comes from the second half of the episode, and actually is two shots swapped round and made to look like something it isn’t – it was quite naughty of them! So, with you having seen the next episode already, there is actually barely anything that can be called a genuine spoiler in the sneak-peak. I honestly don’t think it is worth skipping over, but if you don’t want to see anything before you watch the episode properly, then at 33:20 you should jump to 34:00.
More live pre-publicity
What follows next is more interview extracts from the 6th September pre-publicity. The two pictures Marie has used in the blog were also released on this day.
Head of Design Gillian Slight
What is the reason for building new sets?
During the live, everything has to be shot at the village. There aren’t really any interiors that are large enough so we have had to scale down the sets that are going in those locations. We have been working on this since May, starting with the planning and drawings before handing over to the construction team. It’s complicated as the Woolpack is not the same size as the version we film in at our studios in Leeds. It has been a full time job for one of our team members to source many of the fittings in the Woolpack. We discovered the fabric coverings are a discontinued line, so research was done how to acquire some to match it up. Fortunately we have found some, otherwise we would have had to change the fabric beforehand in the Woolpack studios for continuity. We have been scouring bric-a-brac shops and ebay looking for props to match up.
The live episode is in October yet the scenes directly before and after have already been filmed. Did this give you continuity issues?
There have been a few continuity issues whilst filming as the scenes before and after the live episode were filmed in August. We will be matching these up to what we record during the live episode, which is of course being shot in October. So there’s a lot of pre-planning to work out.
There are two babies born in the live how do you cope with real babies?
As well as using real babies in the live episode, we will be using fake babies which we have had to pre-order well in advance. We can order exactly what is needed. They can have valves that make them look like they breathe and umbilical cords. However, as they are made of gelatine they do have a very short shelf life. They are extremely fragile so we ensure they aren’t over handled. For that reason, the gelatine babies will just be used for the actual births in the live.
How will you plan the live births?
We do have to plan the births as we have to work out how we use the fake and then the real babies. Also we do have to watch how much blood we use as we are a 7pm show. It is all implied rather than actually seen.
What are you most excited or worried about on the night?
Probably the wedding. The wedding is our biggest set up and that is something that is only there for the live. There’s a marquee, there’s music and dancing and there are fireworks that have to be timed perfectly. If fireworks are heard during other scenes it would be awful because they shouldn’t be heard. On the night of the live we are dressing up all the props men as waiters and wedding guests so if they are seen on camera they will blend in!
Are there any other special things you are doing for the live episode?
We’re having to build a soundproof booth to house the babies, cast and crew. Obviously we don’t want to hear a crying baby when we shouldn’t. It’s not so bad around the hospital because you’d presume it was just another baby in another delivery room. However there are other locations where it would be detrimental. We also have a stunt or two to take into consideration so we are having to recreate a hard area in the village. It is a material that looks like it’s hard but it is actually soft plus easy enough to walk on.
Any technical issues for the design department?
Telephones must be considered, as we have got lots of live messages that have to be timed precisely. There is limited phone reception at the village so we are having to make alternative arrangements on the night. The telephones have been established well ahead so we can use the ones that work for us.
Charley Webb (Debbie)
Debbie has given birth once before. How did you find having to act out labour?
Pretending to give birth has to be my least favourite thing ever. I can’t say that I’m comfortable doing it. I think it’s quite a difficult thing to do because labour is such a personal thing. If you are acting out labour you have to exaggerate it a little bit. As it has to look a bit more dramatic than a normal labour. It’s a really difficult thing because you want to get it right and make it utterly convincing.
Do you think it will be different this time as you have had your own child?
Having had Buster, I know a lot more about giving birth but I don’t think you can ever compare one labour with another because they are all so different. In fact my own labour was very calm and I think I was calm and focused. I have a feeling that this on screen birth will be anything but calm.
How does it feel to play such a big part in Emmerdale’s 40th celebrations?
I feel very privileged to be a part of the 40th action. I can’t say I’m not nervous for the live episode because obviously that is terrifying but it’s nice to feel they can trust me with something as big as this.
Do you have anything in common with Debbie?
I hope I don’t have too much in common with Debbie! I wouldn’t say I do, however like her I definitely have my own mind but that’s probably about it.
Do you enjoy playing Debbie?
I love playing Debbie, she is brilliant. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. The time goes so quickly and I’ve gone from storyline to storyline which has been brilliant. There is rarely a time when Debbie is doing nothing. I still feel challenged by this role.
What’s been your favourite storyline to work on?
Over the years there have been so many great stories. I have enjoyed this affair storyline as the audience know what is happening but Debbie doesn’t. I am finding it interesting to play because I have to be careful not to let that show in my performance.
How are you feeling about the live episode?
I am hoping the live episode goes really well on the night. So much work has gone into it from so many different sides. From the props department, to the director, to us, to the producer, everyone. I think it’s such a big thing, whether it goes right or wrong it will be talked about. I am absolutely terrified.
What are you most nervous about?
I’m most nervous about messing it up for someone else. Not hitting my mark or not getting that line out for another actor or messing it up for the camera guy because I’ve looked the wrong way. Whatever it is, once you have made the mistake there is no second chance they have to kind of roll with it or fix it on the spot.
Dominic Power (Cameron)
How does it feel to play such a big part in Emmerdale’s 40th celebrations?
It feels amazing to be part of the 40th I feel privileged. I couldn’t have asked for a better gig to come my way at such a great time.
Have you enjoyed the storyline?
It is great to play villains and this one has been really nice to get my teeth into. It helps that Cameron was so charming and now he is has become so duplicitous. I think what Cameron is good at doing is being your worst nightmare but with a twinkle in his eye.
How would you describe your time on Emmerdale?
I’m having a fantastic time. I joined the cast from The Bill. There’s a very similar feel to the two productions, because it is an on-going drama and everyone is in it together. Emmerdale has a really good ensemble feel to it. I think it works best when everyone is fired with the same energy and the same pace and the same enthusiasm for the scripts and the work. I’ve heard people that have been here for years say there hasn’t been a cast as strong as this before or certainly for a long time, so that is really good.
Is there anyone in particular you have learnt from?
I have learnt so much from many of the cast such as Emma Atkins, Charley Webb and Lucy Pargeter. They are all fantastic actors. I’d love to work more with Mark Charnock and Dominic Brunt. They’re a couple of geniuses at improvisation. They bounce off each other brilliantly. They are funny and take what they are given and they don’t make it too heightened. It’s always believable.
How are you feeling about the live episode?
Every time I hear that four letter word ‘live’ I get a sort of numb sensation in my left arm and I think I’m about to have a bit of a clutcher. I’m trying not to think about it too much in that sense. I’m really looking forward to it, I think it will be a good challenge. I’m looking forward to the live element. There is a real buzz. There is a real adrenaline to the atmosphere and I am hoping that is what carries me through.
What are you most nervous about?
It is making my heart race to think of someone counting us in. They will say: “Okay, coming back from the break now and 5, 4“ and then they will show three fingers and mouth the rest. The time will count down and they will point at me as if to say now we’re live! A red light will be on that I will see out of the corner of my eye and then I hope I can speak!
Rik Makarem (Nikhil)
Have you enjoyed this storyline so far?
I love it. Viewers are using the term Genhil to describe us. What we have with these two characters is two people who on paper, you wouldn’t necessarily put together but for whatever reason it works. For me it’s a dream as an actor to play as we get everything; comedy, tragedy, emotional moments, vulnerability and strength. Nikhil and Gennie work better when they are a team and working with Sian has been a real turning point for my career in the show.
How does it feel to be playing such a big part in the 40th celebrations?
I think Emmerdale is in a really strong position and I feel honoured to be part of it. We have characters that have the fine balance between reflecting reality with drama. I think we balance light and dark well. The show is in a really good shape and long may it continue.
How are you feeling about the live episode?
I feel great! It’s the opportunity of a lifetime. It has been a great year 2012, the year of the London Olympic Games, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. It has all been very exciting.
What are you most nervous about?
I am most nervous about doing my bit of the storyline as it’s in a difficult circumstance. Also having to nail my performance in one take is the biggest challenge. We won’t get a second take. I hope I do it justice.
Sian-Reese Williams (Gennie)
Are you enjoying the storyline?
I am loving Nikhil and Gennie’s journey it is such fun and working with Rik is a joy. My best double act scene was when Nikhil trashed the kitchen and Rik was really funny. I had yogurt absolutely all over me, which I didn’t really enjoy because I have a phobia of having food on me. I just wish I had been the one throwing the food.
How have you found wearing the fake maternity bumps?
Wearing those bumps was hellish. They were always hot and sweaty. I was filming in one recently then I had to drive to Wales afterwards. My back was in agony after wearing the bump all day. We have different bumps for each stage of the pregnancy. The bumps are good though as they do make you walk differently. I want to make Rik wear it, so he can understand why I moaned about it. I have noticed people laughing at me because they catch me rubbing it like a real baby. It feels natural. But I am very pleased to be getting rid of the bumps!
How are you feeling about having to pretend to give birth live?
To prepare for the birth scene I have been watching One Born Every Minute. My agent has also advised me not to make too much noise. I did a play before I started here and one of the girls played a pregnant girl so we researched giving birth. I cannot wait to do the scenes live as I am guessing it will feel like being in a play again. We never normally get rehearsal time, but for the live we are getting almost two weeks.
What is going to be your biggest challenge?
The other day we were doing the scenes when Gennie has a false alarm and I had to do lots of heavy breathing. I got really very dizzy and faint so on the night of the live episode I am scared I’ll get faint and forget where I am.
What is the atmosphere like at Emmerdale at the moment?
The atmosphere is electric. There is a mixture of excitement and nerves. However, I think we are trying not to think about it too much. It is so huge and the logistics are scary. There is definitely a buzz.
What has been your favourite moment during your time on Emmerdale?
I loved working with Alex Carter (Jamie Hope) because we were such good friends outside of work as well. I think Gennie and Nikhil are brilliant together. I love them as a couple and their storylines are really fun and exciting.
Live Births
Charley Webb and Sian Reese-Williams became the third and fourth women to act out a birth live on television. The first was in Coronation Street’s 50th anniversary episode (2010), and the BBC’s EastEnders staged their own in a rather unique partial live broadcast less than three months before Emmerdale’s own. EastEnders is set in East London, which was of course the home of the 2012 Olympic Games. In July 2012 fiction met reality when four days before the opening ceremony the real Olympic Flame, with its real torch protection team, arrived on the set – which isn’t even actually in London – and was carried by one of the cast members, in character. After carrying the torch, the character rushed to his granddaughter who gave birth at the end of the episode. The episode was the normal c.28 minutes in length, but the live part was only the final seven minutes
If anyone would like to compare the performances, here are links to see these births.
Coronation Street: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmjcsUjinwE The husband is played by Graeme Hawley, who many will recognise as DC Martin Crowe (2004 – 2006) who dated Louise. People with good memories might also recognise Emma Kearney playing the midwife, who as Rita Brannigan dated Paddy for a short while in 2007.
The last six minutes of the 7 minute-long live EastEnders segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5-TMC5g9qA There are no Emmerdale actors in this clip, but those of you who’ve seen Bakom Järngaller and Sun Hills polisstation may recognise Yvonne Atkins (at 0:19) and DC Eva Sharpe (at 2:49), while Shane Richie, father of Jake Roche as mentioned in my last post appears at 1:33. As for the young woman acting the birth, if any of you happen to have seen a 2009 Jamie Oliver programme called Jamie’s Dream School, she was one of his pupils!
Mistakes and disasters can happen!
Though Emmerdale Live was near flawless with only Paula Tilbrook (Betty) making a noticeable mistake (Edna going “Vic-, er Ashley” was apparently in the script), going live is not as easy as they may have made it look. EastEnders full live episode was only 30 minutes long, but they still managed around 15 mistakes! The worst, just seconds into the episode, was by Scott Maslen, despite the fact that, as DS Phil Hunter he’d appeared in The Bill/ Sun Hills polisstation ’s second live episode in 2005. Most of the mistakes are in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYXqfpipL8M and a few more in this less rather sillier video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gClD3Y-CDoA .
As for disasters, EastEnders nearly had a major one. The live episode resolved a whodunit storyline, and the woman who had the most important line of the episode, revaling that she was the killer, was seriously ill with the flu and could barely speak! Imagine the disaster it would have been for Emmerdale if Tom Lister or another vital character had been seriously ill on the day! Look out by the way for the EastEnders killer (the one in the white coat in the clips), a very talented actress, in an episode of series 3 of Barnmorskan i East End.
Cast absences
Emmerdale did suffer a cast casualty actually, as Richard Thorp (Alan) was supposed to appear but was sadly unavailable on the day. He was meant to appear early on, in the scene with Betty and Sandy, and his lines were given to Bhasker Pater (Rishi). Apart from him being the longest serving star, it was also a particular shame as he is the only member of the regular cast to have done live TV, having appeared in 1950s soap “Emergency - Ward 10”. Occasional star Trudie Goodwin (Georgia Sharma) has also done live television, having appeared in both live episodes of The Bill. Other notable absentees include Annelise Manojlovic (Gabby) and Joe-Warren Plant (Jacob) (both older than Daisy Campbell (Amelia), and Meg Johnson (Pearl) who for whatever reason was written out for another trip to away. There were of course two other cast members who were both unavoidably absent, but both played their part in promoting the anniversary.
New mum Natalie Anderson (Alicia) appeared on Daybreak on the 15th and had this to say about the anniversary: “I would have loved to have done it to be honest, because I'm theatre-trained and live TV is amazing, so I am a bit disappointed. However, you've got to put it in comparison with having my baby. I'm really excited for everybody and I know they've just worked so, so hard. I really want everyone to tune in on Wednesday, because it's going to be amazing. The only thing that worries me is the weather, because the village is just so exposed. But I think that's what makes us really special, because we're out there and we're doing it against the elements. I know EastEnders and Coronation Street have done their live episodes and they were amazing, so I think this is a huge challenge for us and I'm really excited. We'll be brilliant."
While Lesley Dunlop (Brenda) appeared on a show the Monday afternoon, saying: “I'm here because I'm not in it, and they're all busy! I've had a little operation, and I was written out of this period. They're all working ridiculously long hours. I think they're all brilliant. We've got some fantastic actors in this show, and I think it's going to show in the live ep. It's more about the characters and the situation in the village, rather than anything jumping out the sky."
Live Deaths
I think I’m going to leave most of what I’ve got to say about this for tomorrow’s blog, but, making my last comparison with the other live soaps, it’s actually become the norm for live episodes since 2010 for actors to leave their soap and then return to record their live death, so it probably shouldn’t have been a great surprise when it was revealed on 6th September that there would be a mystery death. It’s interesting to see a couple of people on the blog predicted his death, as even many UK fans didn’t predict the correct victim (as “Emmerdale Live: The Fallout” demonstrates!). That quote I used, by the way, (“Some of the cast have been been enjoying milking the wildest of the rumours and throwing people off the scent in interviews”)” to help cover up whether Sian’s teasing of “there might be a little bit of a baby on the way” was a real spoiler or not, was a genuine newspaper quote, but it was referring to the cast helping to keep the murder victim a secret! I fell victim to this cast teasing myself, second hand. My mum saw Christopher Chittell (Eric) be interviewed, and he told the interviewer that there would be two deaths! So, right at the end when we saw Debbie asleep and her phone start bleeping, I thought it was an alarm going off and that she was about to die! What a tease he was!
I must leave it there, but I shall be back with some final information and some more videos tomorrow. :)