Emmerdale has said goodbye to lots of soap icons in its 50 year history – but did you know there’s a graveyard where fans can pay their respects to the beloved characters, and even some real people?
As part of the official tour for the ITV soap, visitors can explore the outdoor set where exterior scenes at the fictional village are filmed.
Located 30 minutes from the centre of Leeds, the outdoor set includes the exterior builds for the famous Woolpack Pub, Home Farm, the café, village hall and many of the resident’s homes.
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Visitors can also step inside St Mary’s Church where Marlon Dingle and Rhona Goskirk were recently married, but a short walk away, there is a graveyard that includes tributes to Emmerdale icons from years gone by.
(Image: Daily Star)
There have sadly been many deaths in Emmerdale throughout the years that have left fans in tears, including Valerie Pollard and Francis “Butch” Dingle, as well as the sad loss of fan-favourite Faith Dingle this week.
Visitors to the Emmerdale set can pay their respects to the late beloved residents, including Tricia Dingle and Alan Turner, as they walk through the churchyard in the village.
Walking through the graveyard, fans have left flowers on the graves of characters including Valerie Pollard, showing just how much these characters have meant to viewers throughout the decades.
(Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Each gravestone is inscribed with the name of the character, along with the dates of their tragic passing, which nods to the dates that their exit storylines sadly took place.
There are also tributes to the characters from their loved ones in the soap.
On Tricia Dingle’s gravestone, following her death after a storm caused damage to The Woolpack in 2004, the inscription reads: “Beloved wife of Marlon Dingle and devoted granddaughter and daughter.”
(Image: Sara O’Hara/ Daily Star)
Meanwhile, following his death in 2013, Alan Turner’s gravestone has the tribute: “May the journey on your next adventure be as joy filled as your time with us.”
Close by is also the grave of Sarah Sugden, who died in a barn fire in 2000, which reads: “Wife of Jack and devoted mother of Robert, Andy and Victoria.”
The graveyard is located close to the centre of the village, but in a quiet, calm and secluded area, allowing fans and characters in the soap to pay their respects in privacy.
However, while some of the gravestones are fictional, the Emmerdale churchyard actually includes some real gravestones too.
The official Emmerdale tour informs visitors of a few facts about the village, including how the real gravestones came to be on the set.
It is revealed that a graveyard in London was going through renovations when the set was built in 1997 and offered up some gravestones for Emmerdale, which visitors will be also able to see as they walk through the churchyard.
There is also another statue of tribute in the village too away from the graveyard, in the shape of a cross, which remembers all of the residents from Emmerdale who fought in The World Wars.
(Image: Sara O’Hara/ Daily Star)
The churchyard and statue are just some of the many parts of the Emmerdale village, which is set to brace itself for the oncoming storm that will hit as part of the soap’s 50th anniversary.
With soap bosses confirming that “the village will never be the same again”, at the 50th anniversary press conference in August, viewers will have to wait and see what the true extent of the impact will be as the dramatic scenes unfold throughout the coming week.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
