Emmerdale is set to celebrate its 50th anniversary this year and the show remains as popular as ever.
The ITV soap will mark its milestone birthday with a month of celebrations in October. Show bosses have revealed the episodes will centre around a devastating storm which will forever transform the fictional village.
The ECHO were invited to a press event to kickstart the birthday celebrations and were keen to find out why a show set in the Yorkshire Dales connects with people from Liverpool so strongly. We uncovered the show has a strong Liverpool presence in two key creative roles.
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Producer Kate Brooks and Executive Producer Jane Hudson both revealed their Liverpool links when asked a question by the ECHO. Kate hails from Liverpool and Jane previously worked for the ECHO so were both keen to answer our questions.
Jane later explained the show connects with Scousers because the storylines are universal so apply to people from all over the UK. She said: "A story that happens to someone in Yorkshire can happen to somebody in Suffolk and somebody in Wales.
"An affair is an affair whichever county you're having sex in. As much as we are unique to Yorkshire and our setting, I think our stories transcend."
She also credited the diversity of the writing team for being able to create stories that connect with people from all backgrounds. She said: "I think there's 28 writers and they're from all over the country. So they're not all from Yorkshire. We have people of all age ranges."
The executive producer said the show's unique selling point to audiences is the rural setting - and Katherine Dow Blyton agreed this was the most important aspect of the show.
She told the ECHO: "This village is the most beautiful place to work. Not so good in the winter, but as you're coming in in the morning and the sun rises, it's just so beautiful."
Zoe Henry plays Rhona Ghoskirk in Emmerdale and she told the ECHO how the show's extensive history is another reason why it applies to people from all over the country.
She said: "There are a lot characters who have been in it for a long time so there's a history and people are rooted in those characters. I think it's all of those things tied together."
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