Fans of ITV's long-running soap Emmerdale might be wondering how much of the fictional village is actually real and what hides behind the doors of the cute stone cottages dotting the streets.
This year, the show is celebrating its 50th anniversary with some gut-wrenching plotlines and emotional farewells. Producers said viewers can expect to laugh and cry as well as be amazed at some of "the most epic stunts".
Currently, life in Emmerdale has been full of surprises and viewers are bracing themselves for a major character death in the anniversary episodes. Rumours are also swirling around about the return of some familiar faces.
Read more: Tributes pour in from family and friends of 'inspiring' Emmerdale actor Sam Gannon
To mark the milestone, our sister title the Liverpool Echo was invited for a private screening of some of the upcoming events. While we cannot yet reveal some of the secrets that have been shared, we did learn a thing or two only die-hard viewers might be aware of.
After spending several hours in the village, we found out whether or not it was as big as it appears, how much of the show is filmed in studio and whether you can actually enjoy a tipple at the Woolpack. Here's everything we discovered...
It's a lot smaller than on television
The first thing reporter Christopher Megrath noticed when entering the village, was its size. What we see on screen every evening on weekdays is apparently a lot smaller in real life.
Made up of two streets and surrounded by the beautiful Yorkshire countryside, you could loop round Emmerdale in no more than two minutes. Christopher said: "I didn't expect it to have sprawling country lanes or hidden passageways out to the country, but the diminutive nature of Emmerdale is certainly one of the first things you notice. But this only adds to the charming, boutique feel of the village that is often translated on screen."
There isn't an "outdoor set"
Whenever characters are wandering around the village on screen, they are literally smack in the middle of the countryside. While some shows have streets built in a studio, Emmerdale has no need for this and can just use the beautiful location surrounding them.
"During our interviews with the cast, multiple actors said one of the stand-out perks of Emmerdale is they have so much nature to make use of," said Christopher. "This means if it rains on set it rains on screen and the producers don't have a say on it otherwise."
The cottages are used by staff
Sadly, no one actually lives in any of the cottages in Emmerdale. Instead, the homes are used by crew and staff to store equipment or as tea rooms.
"With the number of homes around Emmerdale, it was quite the bombshell that literally no one actually lives there," said Christopher.
Some buildings are real, some are not
Both the church and town hall are real buildings that the cast use for their scenes. They both maintain their rustic and nostalgic charm without any heavy production wires bolted to the floor.
"My initial thoughts going in were, 'there's no way they fit an entire crew in here', but they do," said Christopher. "As aforementioned, everything translates a lot bigger on television than in reality but both were quite a cosy squeeze."
If you are hoping to catch a glimpse of the café and salon you will sadly leave disappointed as both are housed in a studio closer to the city. And if you're wanting to knock a few pints back next to the Dingles, well...
You can't visit the Woolpack
You cannot actually sit down and have a pint at the Woolpack as the scenes are actually filmed away from the village in a studio.
"I cannot put into words how disappointed I was when I discovered my dream of being served a pint in the Woolpack would never come to fruition," said Christopher. "Stood outside, I looked up at one of soap opera's most famous pubs, knowing I'll never get to enjoy one of the many lagers that have been thrown around by countless characters. On the day, however, there was a live band for us to enjoy and bottomless prosecco so not all was lost."
You can book a tour of the village for £35. There is also the option to visit the Emmerdale Studio Experience which is a guided tour of the interior sets, which costs £21 per person.
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