Emmerdale stars have revealed the real reason why filming was moved from Esholt village to a purpose built set during a special 50th anniversary documentary.
Emmerdale was filmed in the village of Esholt, West Yorkshire, for 22 years from 1976 until 1996. By 1998, the villagers tired of the camera crews and coach loads of tourists clogging up the roads.
Today, the interior scenes are filmed in a studio in Leeds, while the exteriors are shot on a purpose-built set on the Harewood estate on the outskirts of the city.
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External filming originally took place in Arncliffe in the Yorkshire Dales while filming for the fictional market town of Hotten takes place in Otley, which is a Leeds suburb.
The introduction of producer Sir Phil Redmond saw the soap soar in popularity which meant for the first time ever Emmerdale now stood shoulder to shoulder with it's rivals.
Producer Sir Phil Redmond said: "I was going to make history one way or another, it was going to be absolutely fantastic or it was going to be a real turkey and that would have been the end of me probably."
Sir Phil Redmond was the brains behind the iconic plane crash, which caused monumental damage to the original village. However, the devastation caused by the crash created an opportunity.
The director explained: "By destroying most of the village we could then reconstruct it and we decided to rename the village, (which was formerly known as Beckingdale), Emmerdale in tribute.
And with the ratings on a new high filming in the real village of Esholt got a lot harder. During tonight's Emmerdale documentary, 'Emmerdale 50 Unforgettable Years', the stars spoke of the challenges they faced during filming before the show was moved.
Claire King, who plays Kim Tate, said: "It was like doing live theatre, you'd get bus loads coming in to see us filming", fellow Emmerdale legend Lisa Riley, who plays Mandy Dingle, added: "We couldn't film because of the noise, it would be like 'and action.... waaahhh' a babies crying, so I think after a while they realised that the only thing we could do would be to build our own village."
So a brand new village was built, it took five months, with the beautiful filming location covering over eight football pitches. The new Emmerdale village, inspired by Esholt, opened in 1998 and was given the real seal of approval during a visit from Queen Elizabeth in 1992.
Speaking of what it's like to work in the village, actor Emile John who plays Ethan Anderson said: "It's an amazing place to be, this is my office, this is where I work."
Soap legend Elizbaeth Estensen, who has recently returned to her iconic role as Diane Sugden for the anniversary special, said: "Going down to the village I used to think oh god do I really work here."
Lucy Pargeter who plays Chas Dingle added: "The village is beautiful in the summer, its stunning, we have a lot of wildlife when it's sunny it's gorgeous but in the winter it's a different story."
To keep up with the latest Emmerdale 50th anniversary news visit our blog dedicated to the major milestone. You can visit our Emmerdale homepage to find the latest gossip about the soap and its stars.
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