Emmerdale will celebrate a major milestone next week, with the ITV soap officially airing its 10,000th episode on May 22.
Long-standing cast members of the Yorkshire soap have come together for a special photograph to commemorate the occasion, including Eric Pollard actor Chris Chittell and Mark Charnock (Marlon Dingle).
The serial drama was originally commissioned for 26 episodes, with its first ever episode airing on 16 October 1972. Emmerdale celebrated its 50th anniversary back in 2022.
“Very few TV programmes in the world have made it to 10,000 eps,” said John Whiston, Managing Director of Continuing Drama & Head of ITV in the North. “Even fewer dramas have managed to get that far. And for a drama to do it in such style is vanishingly rare.
“Emmerdale today feels full of excitement, full of mischief, full of fun and full of life. Long may it continue to prosper and thrive.”
Actors Tony Audenshaw (Bob Hope), Martelle Edinborough (Suzy Merton) Daisy Campbell (Amelia Spencer), Rebecca Sarker (Manpreet Sharma), Natalie Ann Jamieson (Amy Wyatt), and Louise Jameson (Mary Goskirk) were additional cast members present for the celebratory photo.
In light of the milestone, Emmerdale is airing a whodunnit storyline. The drama will involve characters Cain, Caleb, Ruby and Ethan and will see the community come together for a village fête, which ends with a crime.
It’s not the only storyline that’s set to shock audiences, with Mack and Charity getting intimate again – only for the whole village to catch them in the act.
The 10,000th episode is set to be an event celebrated by fans globally with Emmerdale currently screening in 7 territories worldwide: Australia, New Zealand, Eire, Canada, Sweden, Finland and the US.
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.
