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Leeds Live
Entertainment
Monde Mwitumwa

I watched the first Emmerdale ever broadcast and got bored five minutes in

The first episode of Emmerdale, which was known as Emmerdale Farm, was broadcast back in October 1972.

The soap was mainly about the Sugden's, a family of farmers who lived in the fictional Yorkshire Dales village. However the soap is worlds apart from the twists and turns we see today and that isn’t the only difference.

Back then the show was only on twice a week in the afternoon but now we get the soap for five days a week with an hour special every Thursday.

READ MORE: Emmerdale fans make heartbreaking prediction as Noah Dingle flees the village

During the first episode I was hoping to witness a juicy family feud because after Jacob's funeral the Sugden family were shocked to discover that the Emmerdale Farm was left to Jack, played by Andrew Burt, who recently returned to the village.

The Sugden family (ITV)

Which should have caused chaos among Jacob’s other children Peggy, Played by Jo Kendall And Joe played by Frazer Hines.

However I was disappointed as there was no shouting, kick offs or surprise deadly twists we get to see in the current episodes of Emmerdale today. Don't get me wrong there was definitely tension and awkward vibes in the air but it wasn't enough.

I would compare the Sugden family to the Dingle Family as they both take pride in being a close knit family but always end up betraying each other in one way or another.

However the only thing is the Dingles provide so much more entertainment as you never know what to expect. Not only that but the other residences provide just as much drama.

Within five minutes I was bored and struggled to follow the slow paced storyline however it was only the first episode so things may have picked up as it went on because it proved it be a huge hit back then as it is now.

Looking at comments it seems like I had a very unpopular opinion as a number of people seem to enjoy the more ‘sleepy’ toned down version of the soap which was a lot more wholesome and focused on the farming compared to the dramatic twists and turns.

John Riggs commented: “A sleepy, believable and fairly authentic portrayal of life in the Yorkshire Dales then. What a difference from the sick, twisted, politically correct, culturally over diverse and completely unbelievable program today.”

Gavin Thorburn wrote: “Sadly now just a violent boring depressing show but back then was magic.” Ian Mclaughlan said: “Acting then was better just like people in pubs and clubs were more human than they are today Emmerdale has become a bit like Midsomer murders.”

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