Here’s a full episode of Emmerdale that I wrote back in 2002. It’s being hosted by a fan on YouTube and I came across it by pure co-incidence looking for another episode I wrote.
I used to really enjoy writing for the Dingles. It was good fun, writing for a rough and ready, mostly drunk, dysfunctional rural Yorkshire family. And this episode is a good example of that. I was 28 years old when I wrote this, and the youngest writer that Emmerdale had ever had at the time.
I must admit, that when watching it back now I laugh at many of my own lines of dialogue!
The process of writing for the soaps is a tough one, and script writers often get worn out, and their own personal voices get diluted (and everything they end up writing starts to feel like a soap). I have fond memories of working on Emmerdale and Eastenders. But I’m very glad I got out when I did.
The episode is below…
Matthew Cooper has been a script writer for hire for over 20 years. He’s written for most of the UK soaps, including writing award winning episodes of Emmerdale, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs and has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a script writer. He’s also a leading UK script consultant. You can find some of his broadcast credits on the IMDb. You can get in touch with Matthew on matcoop23@yahoo.co.uk or hire him on Peopleperhour