Everybody has been talking about Emmerdale this week. The show has been teasing the death of at least one of its major characters for some time now, and throughout the first five episodes of the week so far we have seen some shocking scenes all leading up to the most ambitious and jaw-dropping car crashes the world of British soap has ever seen.
Credit: ITV
I think it's fair to say there wasn't a single member of the viewing audience across the country that wasn't sat on the very edge of their seats as some of Emmerdale's most beloved characters - including Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller), Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry), James Barton (Bill Ward) and Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) - were left in serious peril of losing their lives as their cars crashed into one another, flipping and flying through the air after a crazed Emma Barton (Gillian Kearney) pushed James off a bridge, into a main road and on top of Ashley Peacock's (Steven Arnold) vehicle. Causing carnage, it remains to be seen how Emma will be held accountable for her actions - if at all - or whether this is the start of a massive story that has a huge trickle-down effect on storylines going forward into the months ahead.
Here, Emmerdale has really raised the bar. This was perhaps the best hour of British television the soap world has seen. It was certainly the most memorable soap moment of the year. I can't remember when a soap gripped me like this in the past. Perhaps when Coronation Street went live? But here there was just something utterly compelling and the scenes were incredibly stunning.
Over the past few months, I have to say I thought that most soaps were beginning to get stale, but Emmerdale has this week really proven it's got some gas in the tank to keep going for some time yet.
And so tonight we will see exactly whose funeral is being attended to. The episode is going to hurt, shock, unsettle and disarm. But at the end of the 30 minute run-time, you'll be thankful you were a part of watching this historic week of British television unfold.
Emmerdale continues tonight (October 21) at 7pm on ITV.
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