I Am A Swede

1. I think it was the actor's choice to leave at the time. 2. Yes, Diane had an "affair", it never became physical though. The man she had the "affair" with was Billy Hopwood, Andy's biological father. 3. Yes, Diane knew Robert. She came to the village in 1999 and Robert left in 2005. Jack and Diane was even married when Robert left Emmerdale. She has always had a close relationship with Andy, but if I remember correctly her relationship with Victoria became a little strained when her "affair" with Billy became known. 4. Yes, Annie Sugden is still alive and lives in Spain. I think Annie is supposed to be similar in age to Sheila Mercier who plays her, and she is 96. 5. As far as we know Joe Sugden didn't have any biological children. He had two step-children, Mark and Rachel, from his second marriage to Kate, but they're both dead. Mark was killed in the plane crash New Year's Eve 1993, and Rachel was murdered by her boyfriend Graham in 1999. Joe did spend a few years in France in the mid 1980s though, so there is an opening, should they want to, to introduce a previously unknown child. The Sugdens have been very bad at procreating, but very good at dying..... 6. I don't think anyone but Andy and Robert knows the truth about what happened when Max King died. Jack knew too of course, but he's gone.

It really is amazing how they've decimated the Sugden family over the years, and it's hard to understand why. As for Amos, I don't think anything has been explicitly stated about him, but I think we can assume that he has passed away, just like his portrayer Ronald Magill.

I agree that it's a mistake. This show needs characters like Ashley. The way things are going soon everyone will be some sort of criminal or psychopath. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, it's not believable in a show like Emmerdale which takes place in a small Yorkshire-village. Coronation Street or EastEnders perhaps, but not Emmerdale.

Let's forget about the horrible Dingles and look back to a time when this show was great. Does anyone recognize this former Emmerdale star?

That was a sad, sad day in Emmerdale history.... The only one worse was the day when the very first Dingle turned up, and that family started polluting the show.

Yeah, weak and frail are hardly words I would use to describe Chas Dingle. Feisty, hot-tempered, impulsive and loud-mouthed would come closer to the truth, at least that's how she used to be.

I have now. I'm not ashamed to admit I got a little misty-eyed watching it. Pure perfection.

This is so true! You'd hardly believe that this show takes place in a small country village in Yorkshire nowadays. With all the crimes, explosions, shootings etcetera it feels more like it belongs in a big city. This upcoming story with Ashley, however sad, is actually more the kind of story that this show should do. It should be more about the people of the village and their relationships, their trials and tribulations, not about a bunch of hoodlums and criminals double-crossing and trying to kill each other. How I wish they would just cut the entire Dingle family from the show! I used to like some of them, but now I can't stand the sight of any of them. They've taken over and almost destroyed the show. Especially since Cain/Charity/Debbie appeared. It's been downhill ever since. I'm sure a lot of people would disagree and call me anti-progress and hoplessly backwards, but I really think Emmerdale was a better show during the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. It has lost its identity and is rapidly becoming just a generic soap.

She's back!

Two days ago, October 7th, was the 20th anniversary of the premiere of Kristina från Duvemåla, a musical by Björn and Benny (the B:s from ABBA). Even though I love ABBA, I have to say that I think this musical contains their best work ever....

It's still almost hard to believe that it really happened. This is right up there with Lori McNeil beating Steffi Graf in the first round at Wimbledon 1994 (first time ever the reigning champion lost in the first round) or qualifier Jelena Dokic crushing world nr 1 Martina Hingis (6-2, 6-0) also in the first round at Wimbledon 1999.

This must be the biggest shock in a long, long time! Maybe she subconsciously already thought about that calendar Grand Slam that waited around the corner. I wonder if she'll ever get an opportunity like this again.

With all due respect to Chrissie Hynde, but she's totally and utterly wrong. It doesn't matter how you dress, or how you behave, or where you are, or whether you're drunk or not.

Here's a good site to start with http://emmerdale.wikia.com/wiki/Emmerdale_Wiki

That just sounds incredibly silly and far-fetched, not to mention like a cheap rip-off of the show's most legendary disaster.

Great episodes. In one of the 1978 episodes I did spot a possible mistake when Reverend Hinton and Annie were discussing his children. He referred to his daughter as Christine, but when she appeared on the show a few years later she was called Barbara.

You're definitely not a bad person. Robert is a fascinating character, worthy of much better writing than he gets. I've always felt more sympathy for Robert than for Andy. It used to annoy me how Jack always sided with Andy and always seemed to have more affection for him than for Robert, his biological son. Technically Sarah wasn't Robert's mom, only Victoria's. But his biological mom died when he was only 4-5 months old, and Sarah was the only mom he'd ever known. It must have been so hard for him when Jack did everything he could for Andy after Sarah's death, but almost seemed to forget Robert.

She also married Jack Sugden, a serial adulterer, not to mention the fact that her daughter is an adulteress, and her sister committed adultery with her then husband.... I agree that it's horrible writing when they have characters do and say things that make them seem so hypocritical. Had it been Victoria it would have made more sense. She has been terribly affected by adultery throughout her life.

For those interested in Emmerdale Farm during the 80s this site has a lot of material about that era. http://emmerdalearchive.blogspot.se/