Emmerdale Victoria Sugden gets news of Annie Sugden, comp with Annie and Joe Sugden
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Emmerdale’s evolution from Emmerdale Farm to village drama

What is the sad history of the home that gave the show its name?

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When Emmerdale began, back in 1972, at the heart of it was Emmerdale Farm.

The show was even called Emmerdale Farm back then and the village was Beckindale.

Emmerdale Farm original logo
Emmerdale was originally known as Emmerdale Farm (Credit: ITV/YouTube)

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Who lived at Emmerdale Farm?

In the early days of the show, Emmerdale Farm was inhabited by the Sugden family.

The very first episode to be aired was focused on the death of farmer Jacob Sugden whose family had gathered for his funeral.

His widow, Annie Sugden, lived at the farm along with son Joe. The family’s other son, Jack, had moved to London but returned for his dad’s funeral.

It must have been a very roomy house with lots of space, because Annie’s dad, Sam Pearson, also lived there.

Annie’s daughter Peggy, and her husband Matt Skilbeck lived there too when the show first began.

Emmerdale Farm the Sugden family
The Sugdens lived at Emmerdale Farm (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)

Changing names

In 1989, the show changed its name from Emmerdale Farm to Emmerdale to reflect the focus of the show moving from the Sugden family to the inhabitants of the whole village.

The village changed its name from Beckindale to Emmerdale in 1994, after the dramatic plane crash.

Disaster for Emmerdale Farm

In 1974 Sam Pearson declared that the farm would stand forever.

But in 1993, Jack Sugden’s tractor fell down a hole.  A surveyor examined the building and said because of subsidence, the farm was no longer safe to live in.

In actual fact, the real-life farmhouse, called Lindley Farm in Yorkshire, used for filming had been sold to new owners, who no longer wanted it to be featured in the show.

So Emmerdale Farm, which had given the show its name, was no more.

Victoria Sugden’s inheritance

In 2020, Victoria Sugden was saddened when her grandmother Annie died.

She was surprised when she discovered Annie had left her some land that was now being farmed by Moira Barton at Butler’s Farm.

Victoria was sad when her grandmother Annie died (Credit: ITV)

Read more: Who is leaving Emmerdale in 2022?

Despite the land being worth millions to a developer, Vic decided not to sell and instead to rent it to Moira.

She told Moira that her gran wouldn’t want the land built on, and admitted she had happy memories of helping her dad farm the land.

She even said she wanted to learn more about farming from Moira. However, so far she hasn’t got too stuck in!

But could this be a new beginning for Emmerdale Farm?

Want more spoilers from Emmerdale? Entertainment Daily has a dedicated Emmerdale spoilers section for you to get your fix before the latest episodes air.

Emmerdale usually airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays.

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Kerry Barrett
Freelance Soap Writer