Nice day for a wild wedding!

EMMERDALE

It’s a big week as the show kicks off celebrations for its 50th anniversary, on the date it was first broadcast in 1972. So much has happened in five decades, but one highlight is the conniving Kim Tate, who made her first appearance in 1989 and, after nearly 20 years off screen, returned full time in 2018. Her many men have not fared so well and she sees them off with the alacrity of a hog at a trough.

And so, to Will, who she is due to marry today. Talk about trading down. He’s the estate’s groundsman, but he’s hardly Mellors to Kim’s Lady Chatterley; heck, he’s hardly a salesman at B&Q. As with every wedding, there’s a Will they? or Won’t they? question during a row over Harriet (far right, with Will and Kim) who’s been sniffing around Will. Clearly I’m missing something, although as long as there’s a nose on her face Harriet will be sniffing around any man who stands still long enough. When Kim confronts her love rival, Harriet grabs her by the throat (her vicar days are obviously long behind her), but it’s not enough to deter Kim, who arrives at the church, magnificently, on horseback. The honeymoon period doesn’t even last until the end of the reception (does it ever?), when Lydia interrupts the festivities at Home Farm, asking for help in finding Amelia, who’s gone into labour in viciously windy conditions. With Harriet on a quad bike and Kim on a horse, the storm gathers pace, but where has everyone gone who was in the abandoned minibus heading to the wedding party? Which major character is trapped? Which reaches safety?

Will Amelia give birth, or will it be Withering Heights for her, as she grows weaker? More to the point, how will this village of functioning alcoholics cope, given the damage that’s been done to the Woolpack? With the sun finally rising in the aftermath, the extent of the devastation is revealed.

How bad is it, or will it all turn out to be a storm in a teacup?