Emmerdale looks back at The Dingle family

In terms of soapland’s response to the pandemic, the good folk of Emmerdale have led the way.

As with many long-running TV series, filming had to be halted, but the cast members found new ways to channel their creative juices as actors Bradley Johnson, Isobel Steele and Olivia Bromley, aka Vinny, Liv and Dawn, performed covers of their favourites songs from their living rooms for the Woolpack Sessions.

Then as the cast gradually got back to work, Emmerdale brought us a series of special episodes, mostly two-handers, exploring how the characters were coping in lockdown.

And while we may be getting fewer instalments a week than we have in years, the soap has managed to stay on our screens, which is no small achievement given the huge challenges involved.

Speaking ahead of her special lockdown episode, Lisa Riley, who plays Mandy, gave an insight into some of the changes that had been made.

She said: “I will miss weird things like, there will be no fluids in our cups and glasses to drink… [and] for the first time in Mandy Dingle’s history she will not be wearing false eyelashes, as I can’t put them on myself…

“The Emmerdale makeup artists can’t touch me due to social distancing and I can’t put my lashes on myself or my hair pieces in.”

However, there’s one area where Emmerdale has arguably been lagging behind some of its soap rivals, and that’s in terms of documentaries celebrating its past. EastEnders definitely got a head start on it there, thanks to Secrets from the Square.

But that’s now being rectified with Emmerdale’s Family Tree, a new series exploring the tangled relationships of three key Yorkshire clans.

Future episodes will focus on the Sugdens, who were at the heart of the serial back when it was still called Emmerdale Farm, and the Tates, who made a recent comeback.

But we’re starting with the clan with arguably the most complicated family tree of all – the Dingles.

It may surprise some younger fans to learn that they only arrived in the mid-1990s, when Emmerdale had already been on the air for more 20 years, as they now seem so central to village life – two of them, Chas and Charity, have even taken over the Woolpack.

Over the years, the Dingles have provided much of the soap’s comic relief, but as the clan has expanded, they’ve also brought danger, romantic intrigue and tragedy.

The episode begins by looking at the patriarch who led the way – Zak, played by Steve Halliwell, who arrived in 1994 to challenge Ned Glover to a bare-knuckle fight and was only meant to stay for a few episodes.

Instead, he ended up sticking around and bringing a huge amount of relatives with him.

This programme looks at the lives and loves of Zak and his children (not to mention his nieces, nephews, grandkids, siblings and three wives).

So sit back and reminisce about the ‘good olde days’!

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