E
mmerdale becomes
‘Emmerdeadsville’ this
week, as the village is
transformed into America’s
Wild West for a fundraiser
organised by Bernice Blackstock.
The special scenes air on Tuesday,
but they were weeks in the making, and
couldn’t have happened without the hard
work of the soap’s art director, Shaun
Clark, and his team of talented assistants.
‘Our in-house craft shop did a huge
amount,’ says Shaun, ‘making things like
giant cacti, signs and hitching posts. Other
props were hired in, like the totem pole and
tepees. And a lot of stuff was given to us
for free, by Opera North [a national opera
company based in Leeds]. We had all sorts
of things from them, including some tin
baths, which we used when we dressed one
building as an old-fashioned bathhouse.’
But, of course, what goes up must come
down, and one of the biggest challenges for
Shaun and his colleagues was the ‘de-rig’.
‘We only had a few hours to clear up,
because there was an Emmerdale tour
happening the next day,’ says Shaun. ‘We
had a lot of hay bales, and when they’re
broken down, they tend to scatter.
‘It went relatively smoothly – but we’re
still picking up one or two bits of straw!’
Alison slAde8 TV TIMES
PHOTOS: ALAMY, AMY BRAMMALL/ITV
We go behind the
scenes at Emmerdale,
as the village is
transformed into
a cowboy town...
EMMERDALE IS PREVIEWED ON P24-
SOAP
H AY, T H E R E!
No wonder Jonny McPherson enjoys
a sit-down on the hay bales. For much
of the filming, his character, Dr
Cavanagh, is on horseback as
‘town sheriff’. ‘There was a fella
called Mark who trains people to
ride – he’s worked on Poldark,’
says Jonny. ‘He helps you look like
you know what you’re doing!’up NorthSOAP
Emmerdale
MONDAY-FRIDAY / ITV / TIMES VARY