EMMERDALE is celebrating its 50th anniversary tonight with an hour-long special episode.
The ITV soap will kick off the hour with a major storm as it sweeps through the village and kills at least one beloved character.
Emmerdale celebrates its 50th anniversary this week with a major storm hitting the village
Faith Dingle got her own send off before the storm arrives to cause further distress, which is how it should be
However the soap will need to do much more this month if it wants to make its celebrations a success.
Big deaths
For too long soaps have been teasing murders and deaths as a way of keeping viewers tuning in – but that can soon get old.
Last week Emmerdale viewers watched the heartbreaking final moments of Faith Dingle after she took her own life.
Cradled in the arms of her son Cain, it was an emotionally charged moment, months in the making.
It was right that Sally Dexter was given a swansong all of her own before the big storm.
But the big week needs to deliver real impact.
Killing off deadwood characters – of which there are a few – is all well and good, but for real emotion, bosses should be prepared to kill off major characters.
It’s the only way to guarantee the 50th goes down in history as a success.
Big reveals
Secrets and lies need to be exposed, like Al and Chas’ affair
For the last year Emmerdale has been peppering its episodes with secrets and lies that are set to be exposed.
There’s Chas Dingle’s affair with Al Chapman, the identity of Chloe Harris’ dad, and Jamie Tate’s ever present threat to return for his children.
If the show is to keep viewers watching then it needs to expose these lies and let the drama explode.
Big stunts
A big stunt is needed to for such a big week in the soap’s history
A huge wind storm is going to rip through the village next week – and cause utter chaos.
It will be big enough to uproot trees and destroy parts of the village – but there have been other hints about what could turn into a deadly weapon.
A bizarrely prominent story this year has seen Sam Dingle buy a ratty old caravan for his wife Lydia.
Despite being too knackered to go anywhere, it’s just sat in the village like a big eyesore.
But with enough wind could it turn into a deadly weapon and fly up into the air and come down on a building, killing the people inside?
Big returns
Aaron Dingle is one of the characters to have returned for the anniversary
Emmerdale bosses announced three big returns in the form of Aaron Dingle, Tracy Metcalfe and Diane Sugden for this month’s celebrations.
Frankly it’s not enough. Not to celebrate the 50th year of the soap.
Surely bosses must have some other plans up their sleeves from years gone by.
If Neighbours can convince Kylie Minogue to make a return, then Emmerdale can get some of the big names from its past back.
And it always felt to us that Meena Jutla’s serial killing reign of terror never quite ended properly.
If anyone could take advantage of a giant storm to escape prison, it would be Meena.
Big cliffhanger
The anniversary week needs to deliver a strong cliffhanger to take it into November
It’s all very well packing October full of drama, but the show will still be around in November.
And to avoid that November lull, Emmerdale needs to pull out the cliffhanger of all cliffhangers on Halloween.
That is the only way the soap will be able to build on its success.
And that way it will be able to deliver a huge Christmas like never before.
Emmerdale airs tonight at 7pm on ITV.
