'Emmerdale' stars are to tell stories about World War I heroes from the village which inspired the soap.

Natalie J. Robb

Natalie J. Robb

Natalie J. Robb - who plays Moira Dingle in the ITV soap - and Mark Charnock (Marlon Dingle) are among the stars of the show who will appear in a six-part documentary, entitled 'Emmerdale 1918', which will focus on tales of their characters' wartime counterparts in Esholt, West Yorkshire.

According to The Sun's Bizarre TV column, the series will air this autumn and will be accompanied by a book called 'Christmas At Emmerdale'.

Mark, whose alter-ego is a chef, will look back at the villagers who went on to become Army cooks, and he will also delve into the record books to find out about an incredible local guy.

What's more, Natalie will look into information about Esholt's Women's Land Army volunteers.

Emmerdale's outdoor scenes were shot in Esholt from 1976 to 1999, when the soap moved to a purpose-built location on the Harewood estate near Leeds.

But the show returned to the village in 2016 to film scenes for Ashley Thomas' (John Middleton) special episode, which was told through the character's eyes about how he dealt with dementia.

Show bosses used the old village setting to create a disorientating feel for the character, who died just months later in April 2017.

Following Ashley's death, John hinted he could return to the soap as another character.

He said: "There's no hint of Ashley coming back as a ghost but Ashley does have a twin brother called Luke so that could happen."


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