The Great British soap opera has become segmented in our lives, with the likes of Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks providing us with over 22,850 episodes between them totalling over 11,500 hours since they all began entertaining us, making them almost an extension of our own lives.

With these facts and figures which make the likes of the Mitchells, the Barlow’s, the McQueen’s and the Dingles such a strong influence on society, it is no wonder the divorce rate in Britain today is so high.

The average relationship life expectancy in soapland is anywhere between six weeks and six years, and whilst weddings occur almost weekly on one mainstream soap or another, successful, long and fulfilling marriages are almost unheard of.
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Emmerdale viewers will probably know that over the Christmas period, Cameron Murray is set to kill again – he of course murdered Carl King during the show’s landmark live episode – in order to stop his mystery victim from revealing what really happened to Carl…

That chain of events is set into motion after Cameron (Dominic Power) confesses that he, not Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) killed Carl.

However, though Emmerdale star Mark Charnock has revealed that the “dark” storyline will have viewers gripped over Christmas, he’s also claimed that we’re in for a good deal of laughter too, most especially in the episode that air on Christmas Day.

While appearing on This Morning, Mark, who of course plays pub chef Marlon Dingle, said, “Our Christmas Day is a belter this year. It’s an absolute belter… Read more & comment »

Fans of Emmerdale will of course know that former BFFs Paddy Kirk and Marlon Dingle are now enemies – on the face of it at least – after they ended up brawling when Marlon (Mark Charnock) stopped Paddy and his wife Rhona (Zoe Henry) from taking his son Leo to New Zealand…

And as a result of that fight, Paddy was charged in court with affray and had to carry out community service, which of course put a rather large black mark on his record with the licensing authority who oversee the practices of vets in the UK.

But worse yet, part of his punishment saw Paddy’s license to practice being suspended, so he isn’t permitted to carry out any treatment on animals.

However, as Dominic Brunt, who plays Paddy, has revealed to Inside Soap, his character is soon to put his career at risk once again by helping Marlon when his beloved dog Daisy is accidentally run down by Ashley Thomas (John Middleton).

Dominic began by saying, “Paddy is definitely pining for Marlon and wants them to be back where they were… Read more & comment »

Last night saw the amazing Emmerdale Live hour-long episode, which boasted two wedding, two births and a murder, whilst managing to maintain comedy levels to an all-time high throughout as well.

We all watched with utter amazement at what is already been classed as the best ever live soap episode, beating the likes of its two biggest rivals, Coronation Street and EastEnders who have both attempted similar live broadcasts to mark their own shows anniversaries. According to overnight figures, a peak audience of 9.2m tuned in for the show, the highest-rated episode of the soap to date, with viewing figures reaching their high in the last 15 minutes which saw Carl King (Tom Lister) meet his maker at the hands of Cameron Murray (Dominic Power).
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With all the buzz and excitement today surrounding Emmerdale and its epic hour long live episode tonight to mark its 40th anniversary, we thought we would take a moment to recap over some of the amazing storylines the classic ITV soap has tackled in order to have kept it going up until this momentous occasion!

Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972, as Emmerdale Farm as it was back then.
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Emmerdale star Mark Charnock has revealed that something “really cataclysmic” is going to happen in the live hour long episode of the soap, due to air tomorrow night, which will “change the lives of a lot of characters”.

The celebrations began for this epic occasion yesterday, and are set to continue on par with a rollercoaster throughout the week.
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As fans of Emmerdale will of course know, Paddy Kirk and Marlon Dingle were once the best of best mates…

Even the fact that Marlon’s pregnant girlfriend Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry) dumped poor Marlon to live with Paddy (Dominic Brunt) wasn’t enough to break the BFFs up.

However, when Paddy and Rhona made it clear that their future lies in New Zealand, and that they would take Marlon’s son Leo with them, pub chef Marlon put his foot down and took out a court order to prevent his ex taking his son overseas.

But of course, that has resulted in a bitter feud between Paddy and Marlon, and as we saw last week, they both ended up getting arrested for brawling on the morning that Paddy and Rhona were going to sneak off to NZ without telling anybody… Read more & comment »

As fans of Emmerdale will of course know, Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy) and Marlon Dingle have rekindled their love for each other now that Laurel’s separated from shamed vicar, Ashley (John Middleton).

However, since being forced to go public with their relationship – after Paddy (Dominic Brunt) angrily announced it to the packed pub – things haven’t been going smoothly for the couple, particularly with Laurel’s step-daughter Gabby, who hasn’t taken kindly to her mother’s new boyfriend.

But nonetheless, Mark Charnock, who plays Marlon, has revealed that even with the drama over Rhona (Zoe Henry) having taken baby Leo to New Zealand, and all the angst with Gabby, Marlon has never been happier than he is with Laurel… Read more & comment »

In tonight’s episode of Emmerdale, Ashley Thomas (John Middleton) will be seen telling his children Gabby and Arthur that he and their mum Laurel won’t ever be getting back together.

As we saw in last night’s episode, Ashley finally learned that Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy) and Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) have reignited their affair, and have in fact been an item for weeks now.

Laurel has been seen repeatedly promising Marlon that she will tell Ashley about them as soon as she felt the time was right, but of course, during an angry outburst in the Woolpack, Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) spilled the beans about Maurel – or Laurlon maybe? – to the pub’s patrons, including Ashley… Read more & comment »

Fans of Emmerdale will of know that Marlon Dingle and Laurel Thomas have been seeing each other for a few weeks now…

However, in order to choose the right moment to break the news of their relationship to Laurel’s kids, her father-in-law Sandy (Freddie Jones) and of course, her ex, Ashley, the couple have been keeping things on the down low and seeing each other in secret.

So far, only very few people in the village know that Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy) and Marlon (Mark Charnock) have rekindled their passion – they of course had a platonic affair last year – but unfortunately for them, among those who know are Paddy and Rhona who are of course embroiled in a bitter row with Marlon over his decision to stop them leaving the country with his son Leo… Read more & comment »

As fans of Emmerdale saw in last night’s trip to the village, Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) dropped a bombshell on newlyweds Rhona and Paddy when he told them that he is applying for a court order to stop them from taking his son Leo out of the country.

Rhona (Zoe Henry) and Paddy are of course planning on leaving the village in September to start a new life in New Zealand, but as neither of them have any intention of leaving without Leo, those plans are now of course in disarray.

Yesterday, Dominic Brunt, who of course plays vet Paddy, revealed that the former best friends are now of course adversaries, and while discussing the plot during an appearance on This Morning yesterday, Dominic promised that the plotline would see some “dark” scenes between the men.

Dominic said, “I think it’s going to get worse before it gets better. It gets very, very dark, and that’s great to play… Read more & comment »

Emmerdale star Charlotte Bellamy, who of course plays Laurel Thomas, has revealed to Inside Soap magazine that although her character and lover Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) will soon be living together as “a family unit” their romance isn’t going to all plain sailing.

And of course, as it’s soap, we wouldn’t expect anything other!

Fans will of course know that Laurel is in the process of divorcing former vicar Ashley (John Middleton) and though she and Marlon are keeping the fact that they are now an item a secret for now, once Laurel has broken the news to Ashley, they will go public and be together openly.

However, Charlotte began by saying that having worked with John Middleton so closely during the time Ashley and Laurel were together – they wed in 2005 – to now be filming next to no scenes with him has been quite an adjustment… Read more & comment »

As fans of Emmerdale will know, Marlon Dingle is about to break the news to his – probably former – BFF Paddy Kirk and his former girlfriend Rhona Goskirk that he has taken out a court order to prevent them from taking his son Leo out of the country.

And of course, the news is going to devastated Paddy and Rhona (Zoe Henry) who have a new life ready and waiting for them in New Zealand.

Their plan had been to go in September, and in order to go out there as man and wife, the couple are set to wed this week, and it’s at the wedding reception that Marlon (Mark Charnock) drops his bombshell.

Dominic Brunt, who plays Paddy, has previously revealed that there’s no way his character and Rhona would leave without Leo, so a dramatic tug of love is set to ensue, and inevitably, bitter rows between Paddy and Marlon will play out… Read more & comment »

As fan of Emmerdale will know, vets Paddy and Rhona are off New Zealand in September, and they’re taking baby Leo with them…

Leo is of course Rhona’s (Zoe Henry) son, but he’s also pub chef Marlon Dingle’s little boy, and when faced with the prospect of not seeing his son for at least two years, Marlon (Mark Charnock) decided to go with Paddy (Dominic Brunt) and Rhona to NZ.

However, that decision was made before Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy) – with whom Marlon had a platonic affair last year – told Marlon that she’s in love with him and wants them to have a proper relationship now that her marriage to shamed vicar Ashley (John Middleton) is over.

In the wake of Laurel’s news, Marlon made the heartbreaking decision that he couldn’t now go to New Zealand, and initially, it appeared he’d therefore chosen his love life over his son… Read more & comment »

As fans of Emmerdale will know, last year, Laurel Thomas and Marlon Dingle had a platonic affair, and though they were deeply in love with each other, Laurel decided to end their illicit relationship so that she could concentrate on rebuilding her marriage to Ashley…

But of course, that all went very much Pete Tong when Ashley (John Middleton) physically abused his elderly dad Sandy (Freddie Jones) and was cast out by the village as whole in true pariah style.

Which has of course now left Laurel single, and Marlon – who’s never stopped loving her – with a glimmer of hope that perhaps the lady will be his after all…

And indeed she will be, as Mark Charnock and Charlotte Bellamy, who of course play the soon-to-be lovers explained to TV Times magazine.

When asked how he feels about Marlon and Laurel finally being able to enjoy a proper relationship, Mark said, “It feels really right,” but he added that he’s glad the love story has been a slow burner… Read more & comment »