I visited the ITV Emmerdale studios in Leeds – and here’s everything they don’t tell you about the Dales.
While it’s common knowledge that soap operas aren’t real life, not everyone is aware of the amount of time, effort, and skill required to make the characters look as authentic as possible. Express.co.uk was given an exclusive look at some of the work the prop team at ITV’s Emmerdale does to make sure viewers are completely engrossed in the drama.
The props warehouse amazed me more than the amazing camera equipment and stunning sets, which I didn’t anticipate being as impressed with in person. I was unsure of what to look at first, with Andy Sugden’s severed arm, a dead dog, and a dummy infant you could actually pump air into.
The amiable Emmerdale employees gave us a tour and even let us break items. They demonstrated how sugar-infused glass can be shaped into a variety of shapes, such as bottles and glasses, adding to the “smashing” of the images.
We were allowed to bash each other over the head with bottles that looked realistic at one point. We were all shocked by the pop that accompanied the smash since, while appearing so real, we hardly felt anything when it struck us.
The sugar glass broke and disintegrated at the slightest touch, but the team told us it didn’t matter because they will be creating lots more soon.
A table containing a variety of gory objects, including faux cow pats (which fortunately didn’t have the scent added to them), was located on the opposite side of the room.a prosthetic tongue-wielding dead dog, and a baby that was given an umbilical cord and a special pump to simulate breathing.
The artificial blood was another ingenious detail. It always seemed to me that it would be liquid, as in a kit for special effects makeup. But in order to maintain consistency, the team clarified that the blood spatters were composed of a rubbery substance, which made it simpler to replicate the same blood patterns when necessary.
The crew displayed several fictitious weapons for us to see, including a crowbar and a knife, which they claimed were based on the actual thing. It was challenging to distinguish between the two when holding them together, but the textures, weights, and feels of them were all extremely distinctive.
The fact that the show employs graphic designers to make fictitious labels for bottles and food items is another intriguing feature. To ensure that takes may be completed without the performers getting tipsy on set, all of the wine and beer are created from juices.
Their huge storehouse is equipped with cereals, snacks, beers, wines, and other foodstuffs, resembling their own supermarket under the Emmerdale name.
Every actor from the ITV soap opera had a storage place in another section of the props room. Some of the most recognizable belongings of the character, such Marlon’s masks from Rhona’s hen party and Mandy Dingle’s cleaning equipment, were kept here.
I found it really startling that some of the cherished characters from Emmerdale truly met their demise in this region. I happened to come across an urn marked “Liv’s ashes” among Victoria Sugden’s possessions while poking around.
Two replicas of Faith Dingle’s ashes that had been transformed into pyrotechnics were located a few cubbyholes below. “In loving memory of Faith Dingle,” it said. You made our lives brighter.
I was given a ton of summertime Emmerdale spoilers in addition to an exclusive look at what goes on behind the scenes. I wonder whether someone else’s ashes will find themselves in a cupboard anytime soon?
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