Soap fans were treated to high drama as Emmerdale celebrated its 40th birthday with a live episode in which Carl King (Tom Lister) was battered to death with a brick.
The bad boy of the Dales suffered a blow to the head at the hands of his love rival Cameron Murray (Dominic Power) – but a death was not the only big event to happen in the hour-long episode.
The live show was a display of some of the soap world’s traditionally favourite occasions and was completed with two weddings and two births.
Avid viewers watched as Chas Dingle’s (Lucy Pargeter) wedded bliss to Dan Spencer (Liam Fox) lasted no more than the first 30 minutes, while Katie Sugden (Sammy Winward) enjoyed a marquee reception with new husband Declan Macey (Jason Merrells).
Elsewhere, Debbie Dingle (Charley Webb) gave birth to the baby boy she hopes will save her daughter Sarah’s life after she developed leukaemia.
Joining Debbie in her labour pains was Gennie Walker (Sian Reese-Williams) who gave birth to a baby girl on the floor at Chas and Dan’s wedding reception.
With the emotions of weddings and babies running high, the episode culminated in the shocking death of Carl which show bosses say will have have “major, far-reaching repercussions”.
Fans of the soap were left to speculate about the death, which was kept secret until tonight.
Viewers feared Carl may meet his demise but other characters fans thought faced playing out their final scenes live included vet Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt), old favourite Alan Turner (Richard Thorp) and shrewd businessman Declan Macey.
The ITV soap has followed in the footsteps of Coronation Street and EastEnders as each celebrated their 50th and 25th birthdays respectively with live episodes.
Did you watch Emmerdale’s live 40th or The Fallout behind the scenes? Personally i think they pulled it off, let us know what you think in the comments below!
Jordan Couzens is the man behind JordanTBH Technologies. He has a keen interest in Technology and Computer Programming.
Some links are affiliated links and therefore it helps our websites and software stay free, as it is tracked to us. If you go through it, it can sometimes result in a payment or benefit to the site. It’s worth noting this means the third party used may be named on any credit agreements. If it isn’t possible to get an affiliate link for the top deal, it is still included in exactly the same way, just with a non-paying link.