Emmerdale Farm in 1976

1976 was Emmerdale Farm's 5th year. Production was overseen by producer Robert D. Cardona and executive producer David Cunliffe. 
38 episodes were broadcasted this year. Major storylines included Joe Sugden and Kathy Gimbel's scandalous relationship, Matt Skilbeck's twin children being killed in a road traffic accident along with his Aunt Beattie, The Woolpack relocating following subsidence, Amos Brearly becoming a reporter for the Hotten Courier and Jack Sugden's brief return. 
==Production==
Behind the scenes, location filming switched from Arncliffe to Esholt where it would remain until 1998. Crew had decided that Arncliffe was too far from the Yorkshire TV studios, resulting in travelling being both time-consuming and expensive as, usually, cast and crew would need to stay overnight in local hotels. Like Arncliffe, Yorkshire Television were contracted not to name the new village being used. The Woolpack was deemed the most recognisable exterior from the Arncliffe village and therefore a storyline was devised for subsidence to force a relocation to a different building onscreen in Beckindale. The final episode filmed in Arncliffe was Episode 311 (5th April 1976). 
Michael Glynn was announced as taking over production duties from Robert D. Cardona in May but, due to the programme remaining off air from mid-May for the remainder of the year, his work was not broadcast until the start of 1977. The break saw Emmerdale Farm remain off-screen for over six months and, as a result, only broadcast a total of 38 episodes in the calendar year. This is currently the longest period the show has remained off-air since it began. It didn't return until January the following year. 
Lorraine Peters made her last appearance as Lena Dawkins. Both Angela Cheyne and Andrew Burt returned to the screen for short stints in March as Christine Sugden and Jack Sugden respectively. This would be Andrew Burt's last appearance of Jack, being replaced by Clive Hornby upon the character's return in 1980. In April Lesley Manville departed as Rosemary Kendall after fourteen months in the role.
==Episodes==
==Main Cast==
Ranking	Character 	Played by 	Duration 	Number of Episodes	Running total	Previous year's ranking
1 	Joe Sugden 	Frazer Hines 	Full year 	38 	310 	1
1 	Annie Sugden 	Sheila Mercier 	Full year 	38 	305 	4
1 	Matt Skilbeck 	Frederick Pyne 	Full year 	38 	299 	2
1 	Sam Pearson 	Toke Townley 	Full year 	38 	283 	6
5 	Amos Brearly 	Ronald Magill 	Full year 	34 	291 	3
6 	Henry Wilks 	Arthur Pentelow	Full year 	32 	294 	4
7 	Rosemary Kendall	Lesley Manville	Until April 	30 	77 	7
8 	Kathy Gimbel 	Polly Hemingway	Until February and May	16 	60 	8
9 	Jack Sugden 	Andrew Burt 	March to May 	12 	104 	-
10 	Christine Sugden	Angela Cheyne 	March to April 	6 	74 	-
==Storylines==
to be added
==Who lives where==
*Emmerdale Farm - Annie Sugden, Joe Sugden, Matt Skilbeck and Sam Pearson. Rosemary Kendall (until April). Jack Sugden (from March, until May)
*The Woolpack - Amos Brearly and Henry Wilks.
*Beckindale Shop - Lena Dawkins (until February).
*Mulberry Cottage - Will and Julie Croft (from February).
==Who works where==
to be added
==Awards and Nominations==
to be added
Category:1976
Category:Emmerdale year-by-year