Emmerdale executives ‘leave’

Soap File Special: Anita Turner the current – but not for much longer – producer of long running rural serial Emmerdale (once of the farm variety) managed to do what many thought was impossible; made the soap even more of a shambles than ever before. The unfortunate news is, the person who sent the show on its downward spiral in the first place is returning to ‘revive’ it after disastrous Christmas ratings, regular critical derision and its regular viewership flagging behind EastEnders.

Anita Turner the current – but not for much longer – producer of long running rural serial Emmerdale (once of the farm variety) managed to do what many thought was impossible; made the soap even more of a shambles than ever before. The unfortunate news is, the person who sent the show on its downward spiral in the first place is returning to ‘revive’ it after disastrous Christmas ratings, regular critical derision and its regular viewer ship flagging behind EastEnders.

Remember 2007, oh how cocky they were. Emmerdale cast coming out with bold statements such as ‘we’ll be the nations second most watched soap’, or ‘we’re better than EastEnders’ and the laughable ‘we deserve to win more awards’.

Well, newsflash. Viewers don’t like cocky. EastEnders is respected, in the main, because they’re quite humble about their success. ITV soaps wouldn’t know humble if it was written in huge bold letters across their scripts. While BBC soap stars thank the viewers, ITV soap stars thank themselves.

Mix this arrogance into the production of the programme and you end up with a sizzling disaster waiting to happen. Emmerdale of course in the past decade has been quite used to disasters; from storms to house explosions, several fires and car crashes its been a regular occurrence due to lazy script writers resorting to gimmicks and fancy stunts rather than well-crafted storytelling through words.

But Emmerdale’s biggest disaster to date has to be its ratings for Christmas day 2008. The word pathetic doesn’t even come close to describe the position it reached. We’ve been noting the downward decline of Emmerdale since 2002. Its gone from a well produced drama series to a pantomime of a daily soap opera – which currently makes even the worst of the worst edition of Crossroads look like a BAFTA-worthy episode.

There is little in the way of structure or believability. For its faults at least Brookside managed to understand social status – something severely lacking in the Yorkshire soap. The Dingles mixing with the posh middle class ladies? Please! The Vicar; who has far from a spiritual manner – whenever I’ve seen him he’s been anything but forgiving or turning his other cheek. Everyone knows each other, if there is a wedding the whole village attends. The rich invite the lower dregs of society to their functions, and worse; these posh-lot drink regularly in the grotty lowly local boozer. Welcome to lala land, or maybe Laladale?.

Then there are the storylines. This is a village where practically everyone is a murderer or has committed some form of crime. And we’re supposed to feel for these people? Crossroads, Brookside and, ironically that dear old show, Emmerdale Farm knew that the key to the longevity and the believability of regular characters was to have them react to situations brought on by shorter term characters. To be in the heat of the action but to more often than not, not be the cause of the action.

The cast is littered with stars of sitcom and other soaps. Its become almost a retirement home for actors who can’t get employment anywhere else. The leading star of course has to be Madge from Neighbours who is a hoot – for all the wrong reasons. One day she might even attempt to do some acting.

Who’s to blame? Well I could suggest Andy Allen for pulling the plug on Crossroads in 1988 and leaving us to endure far worse. Or maybe even Alan Yentob for axing Eldorado, which by now would have seen Emmerdale off into the sunset had the Spanish saga lasted the course.

The real culprits are of course ITV bosses in London who are flogging their soaps to the death; with more and more hours to fill it was inevitable Emmerdale would become Emmerdung. They could have learned from Crossroads in the sixties. When it was in the game of making five-episodes per-week it was quite often of “dubious quality.” And its critical drubbing stems from that era.

It improved by producing fewer episodes. Emmerdale doesn’t even have any of the excuses Crossroads had for its rough edges. Emmerdale is afforded the luxury of editing, its able to re-take and is able to hire more script writers. Yet despite all that, we end up with a joke of a soap.

And joke is quite fitting; the balance of ‘humour’ and ‘drama’ has swung dramatically – the only dramatic thing lately – into the wrong direction. Its more sitcom than soap. Let’s face it, you had more drama in Acorn Antiques.

So today its been announced Anita Turner, the series producer, and Keith Richardson, executive producer, are ‘leaving’ the soap. Our old chums at YTV have said there has been some unease for quite some time over at Emmerdale. Turner leaves after just over a year, Richardson has been with the programme, over seeing its decline, for the past two decades.

The ITV remedy to turn around Emmerdale’s fortunes is to re-introduce former boss of the soap, Steve Frost. The very man who made Emmerdale pantomime in the first place; and who went on to do the same at Coronation Street.

Keith Richardson will continue in his role at Yorkshire TV as Head of Drama – overseeing other Leeds produced shows currently on the ratings decline. Namely; The Royal and Heartbeat. We’re not sure what Anita Turner will be doing next. However Tesco are recruiting. Seems a more fitting place for your talents Anita hun.

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