Emmerdale marks incredible milestone in soap's 52-year history

Emmerdale is preparing to mark an incredible milestone next week.

The ITV soap will air its 10,000th episode on May 22 and the cast have gathered in the village to mark the occasion.

Emmerdale first aired on October 16, 1972, and was originally commissioned for just 26 episodes.

A firm fixture in the broadcaster’s nightly schedule with six episodes airing per week, Emmerdale has gone on to win multiple awards and even found an global audience, currently screening in Australia, New Zealand, Eire, Canada, Sweden, Finland and the US.

To celebrate its achievement, Emmerdale has decided to thank the local community for its endless support by helping with the maintenance of 10,000 trees.

Explaining how they are swapping the Woolpack for the woodland, Head of Production Nader Mabadi said: “Our Studios and Village are a large part of the community, helping us beam the beautiful Yorkshire Dales to countries across the world, and all of us on the team are grateful to the Leeds and the wider Yorkshire communities for their continued support over the last 52 years of filming Emmerdale in the region.

“With this in mind we thought a great way to celebrate our 10,000 milestone would be to pay that support forward, by making a sustainable contribution to the local environment in helping with the woodland project near to our village.

“The University of Leeds Gair Wood project aims to build up an ecological corridor, taking carbon from the atmosphere and improving the biodiversity of the countryside, so this summer the Emmerdale Production team are swapping the Woolpack for the woodland and under the guidance of Dr Cat Scott and Dr Thomas Sloan from the University of Leeds, we will be helping with the maintenance of 10 000 young trees on site, ensuring the beauty of our part of the world is retained for generations to come.”

He continued: “The woodland project is one of many ways we engage with sustainability. Working with organisations like BAFTA albert (wearealbert.org), our transition to a net-zero production is incredibly important to us at Emmerdale. Whether it's behind the scenes or in the onscreen daily lives of our characters, we feel a responsibility to show and talk about these things.”

John Whiston, Managing Director of Continuing Drama & Head of ITV in the North, added: “Very few TV programmes in the world have made it to 10,000 eps. Even fewer dramas have managed to get that far. And for a drama to do it in such style is vanishingly rare. Emmerdale today feels full of excitement, full of mischief, full of fun and full of life. Long may it continue to prosper and thrive.”