Emmerdale in 2015

2015 was Emmerdale's 44th year. Production was overseen by Kate Oates.
320 episodes were broadcast during the year. Major storylines included the secret affair between Aaron Livesy and Robert Sugden leading to Katie Sugden's death, Debbie Dingle's affair with Ross Barton, Lachlan White's sexual assault on Alicia Metcalfe, Laurel Dingle's descent into alcohol addiction and a helicopter crash in the village that killed Val Pollard and Ruby Haswell.
==Production==
Kate Oates continued her role as Series Producer for the third year running.
The year was heavy on cast exits as a number of long-standing characters departed. Paula Tilbrook decided to retire as Betty Eagleton in an exit story which saw Betty leave for Australia in May. She would make a final fleeting appearance on Christmas Day. Sammy Winward also dropped out, having already announced her departure the previous year. Katie Sugden was killed off in a decision which left Sammy reportedly relieved to have her safety net of ever returning to the programme removed, fueling her motivation to make a success of future projects. Onscreen, her death would trigger the biggest storyline to involve the Sugden family in a number of years. Charlie Hardwick also shocked fans by announcing on Loose Women in June that she was quitting the show after appearing since 2004. Val Pollard's exit was screened less than two months later.
On 8th December, news broke that Shirley Stelfox had passed away following a short battle with cancer. Shirley had clocked up fifteen years at Emmerdale. Also on 16th August, actress Kitty McGeever, who last appeared as Lizzie Lakely in 2013 before the actress took a break due to ill health, passed away. Kitty had been waiting for a kidney transplant but sadly this had never happened.
Other departures for the year included Natalie Anderson as Alicia Metcalfe, Alicya Eyo as Ruby Haswell and Kelli Hollis as Ali Spencer. In August, viewers believed Michael Parr had bowed out as Ross Barton in a surprise exit after two years. A fight between Ross and his onscreen brother Pete saw Ross fall and crack his head. Pete, believing his brother to be dead, covered his death and buried him in a shallow grave in woodland. Michael Parr did his best to convince fans that he had left, jokingly requesting employment opportunities on Twitter and a petition was started online by devastated fans wanting writers to bring Ross back to the programme. The petition ran up 7,000 signatures and Ross returned to screen less than three weeks later. Though Ross's return had always been planned, some online news reports have falsely taken credit for bringing Michael back to the programme through the power of the petition.
Temporary exits came from Emma Atkins and Nicola Wheeler as both actresses went on maternity leave. Emma opted to take a longer break and remained missing for most of the year, returning infrequently to push certain storylines along. Trudie Goodwin also took a break from the programme allowing Georgia Sharma to depart the village on a cruise.
Cast additions for the year included the arrival of Gillian Kearney as Emma Barton and the return of Carly Hope, now portrayed by Gemma Atkinson. Denise Black as Joanie Wright also reprised her role along with Huey Quinn as Kyle Winchester. Two other former characters also returned to the programme for visits - Mathew Bose as Paul Lambert for six episodes between March and September and Rik Makarem as Nikhil Sharma. One of the biggest surprise returns of the year saw Gemma Oaten reprise her role as Rachel Breckle for Charity Dingle's trial in January. Here, the programme managed to succeed in keeping the secret where they had failed previously with Roxy Shahidi's return in 2013. Gemma would stay with the programme for eight months before departing again.
A dramatic helicopter stunt announcement was reported in the press in August. Initial reports indicated that the stunt would be of catastrophic proportions for the residents and would rival the plane crash of 1993, though in reality, the helicopter crash failed to reach the impact of destruction or aftermath on the village that the plane crash had previously. Series Producer Kate Oates later revealed that the crash was originally planned for later in the year but bosses at ITV had requested the crash to be planned into storylines for August. Not unlike the plane crash twenty-two years previously, the stunt also attracted controversy for similarities to the real-life helicopter crash in Glasgow in 2013. However, the programme was cleared by Ofcom of being insensitive.
In other news, The Emmerdale Club, the official fan club set up by Jenny Godfrey in 1990 celebrated its 25th anniversary in January. The club and its members celebrated with a series of special reflective newsletters distributed to members throughout the year.
==Viewership==
The average viewing figure for the year was 5.41 million viewers, which was down 330,000 on 2014. It should be noted that this figure only includes those who watched on the main ITV channel, as BARB did not begin combining the viewing figures from ITV HD and ITV+1 with those from the main channel until May 2016. It also does not include the small percentage of viewers who watched on tablets, PCs and smartphones, which BARB did not include in the viewing figures until August 2018. The most-watched episode of the year was Episode 7254 (5th August 2015), with 6.53 million viewers, while the least-watched episode was Episode 7226 (3rd July 2015), with 4.04 million viewers. 3 episodes ranked within the weekly top 10 for all UK TV, which was 1 less than the year before.
==Episodes==
==Main Cast==
Ranking	Character 	Played by 	Duration 	Number of Episodes	Running total	Previous year's ranking
1 	Chas Dingle 	Lucy Pargeter 	Full year 	208 	2021 	6
2 	Robert Sugden 	Ryan Hawley 	Full year 	185 	1416 	58
3 	Diane Sugden 	Elizabeth Estensen 	Full year 	175 	2558 	9
4 	Aaron Livesy 	Danny Miller 	Full year 	173 	821 	48
5 	Debbie Dingle 	Charley Webb 	Full year 	172 	1938 	2
6 	Chrissie White/Sugden 	Louise Marwood 	Full year 	169 	208 	61
7 	Ross Barton 	Michael Parr 	Full year 	167 	353 	5
8 	Finn Barton 	Joe Gill 	Full year 	155 	280 	28
9 	Bob Hope 	Tony Audenshaw 	Full year 	150 	2144 	12
10 	Emma Barton 	Gillian Kearney 	From January 	145 	145 	N/A
11 	David Metcalfe 	Matthew Wolfenden 	Full year 	142 	1181 	21
12 	Cain Dingle 	Jeff Hordley 	Full year 	140 	1819 	3
12 	Victoria Sugden/Barton 	Isabel Hodgins 	Full year 	140 	1478 	24
14 	Andy Sugden 	Kelvin Fletcher 	Full year 	139 	2165 	33
15 	Lawrence White 	John Bowe 	Full year 	133 	166 	64
16 	Laurel Dingle 	Charlotte Bellamy 	Full year 	132 	1641 	24
17 	Paddy Kirk 	Dominic Brunt 	Full year 	131 	2176 	47
18 	Moira Dingle 	Natalie J Robb 	Full year 	129 	929 	10
19 	Kerry Wyatt 	Laura Norton 	Full year 	128 	466 	15
19 	Pete Barton 	Anthony Quinlan 	Full year 	128 	271 	18
21 	James Barton 	Bill Ward 	Full year 	126 	278 	14
21 	Leyla Harding 	Roxy Shahidi 	Full year 	126 	680 	11
21 	Zak Dingle 	Steve Halliwell 	Full year 	126 	2468 	7
24 	Eric Pollard 	Christopher Chittell 	Full year 	122 	2698 	39
25 	Ashley Thomas 	John Middleton 	Full year 	121 	2072 	40
26 	Jai Sharma 	Christopher Bisson 	Full year 	120 	906 	4
27 	Adam Barton 	Adam Thomas 	Full year 	119 	784 	29
28 	Bernice Blackstock/White	Samantha Giles 	Full year 	116 	904 	20
29 	Sam Dingle 	James Hooton 	Full year 	115 	1763 	23
30 	Marlon Dingle 	Mark Charnock 	Full year 	113 	2666 	15
31 	Lisa Dingle 	Jane Cox 	Full year 	111 	2396 	19
32 	Doug Potts 	Duncan Preston 	Full year 	109 	589 	62
33 	Priya Sharma 	Fiona Wade 	Full year 	107 	540 	21
34 	Vanessa Woodfield 	Michelle Hardwick 	Full year 	106 	348 	36
35 	Brenda Walker 	Lesley Dunlop 	Full year 	105 	786 	43
36 	Dan Spencer 	Liam Fox 	Full year 	103 	506 	12
36 	Lachlan White 	Thomas Atkinson 	Full year, except June 	103 	125 	71
38 	Belle Dingle 	Eden Taylor-Draper 	Full year 	100 	1043 	35
38 	Carly Hope 	Gemma Atkinson 	March to July, from September 	100 	105 	N/A
40 	Alicia Metcalfe 	Natalie Anderson 	Until June, August to September 	96 	616 	27
40 	Rhona Goskirk 	Zoe Henry 	Full year 	96 	650 	43
42 	Val Pollard 	Charlie Hardwick 	Until August 	94 	1598 	38
43 	Rakesh Kotecha 	Pasha Bocarie 	Full year 	92 	146 	54
44 	Harriet Finch 	Katherine Dow Blyton 	Full year 	91 	222 	32
45 	Jimmy King 	Nick Miles 	Full year 	88 	1583 	31
45 	Tracy Shankley 	Amy Walsh 	From January 	88 	111 	70
47 	Kirin Kotecha 	Adam Fielding 	Full year 	84 	122 	62
47 	Megan Macey/Sharma 	Gaynor Faye 	Full year, except May 	84 	531 	8
49 	Rachel Breckle 	Gemma Oaten 	January to August 	78 	373 	74
50 	Rishi Sharma 	Bhasker Patel 	Full year 	76 	375 	41
51 	Rodney Blackstock 	Patrick Mower 	Until February, from July 	65 	1607 	50
52 	Joanie Wright 	Denise Black 	From June 	63 	91 	N/A
53 	Nicola King 	Nicola Wheeler 	Until March, May, from November 	57 	1832 	17
54 	April Windsor 	Amelia Flanagan 	Full year, except February 	56 	132 	45
54 	Sandy Thomas 	Freddie Jones 	Full year, except April 	56 	700 	59
56 	Moses Dingle 	Arthur Cockroft 	From June 	54 	54 	N/A
56 	Pearl Ladderbanks 	Meg Johnson 	Full year, except July 	54 	984 	69
58 	Sarah Sugden 	Sophia Amber Moore 	Full year 	48 	638 	60
59 	Edna Birch 	Shirley Stelfox 	March to October 	47 	1564 	52
59 	Ruby Haswell 	Alicya Eyo 	Until August 	47 	454 	29
61 	Gabby Thomas 	Annelise Manojlovic 	Until June, from September 	41 	573 	66
62 	Ali Spencer 	Kelli Hollis 	Until February, April to August 	39 	403 	36
63 	Amelia Spencer 	Daisy Campbell 	Full year, except March and July 	38 	223 	53
64 	Archie Breckle 	Aadam Wahab Shahzad and Liyana Shahzad	January to August 	36 	101 	83
65 	Kyle Winchester 	Huey Quinn 	From June 	34 	65 	N/A
65 	Nikhil Sharma 	Rik Makarem 	From October 	34 	634 	N/A
67 	Jack Sugden 	Seth Ball 	Full year, except April 	29 	114 	72
68 	Arthur Thomas 	Alfie Clarke 	March to June, from September 	28 	255 	65
68 	Georgia Sharma 	Trudie Goodwin 	Until April 	28 	208 	56
70 	Jacob Gallagher 	Joe-Warren Plant 	Until June, September 	27 	293 	54
71 	Katie Sugden 	Sammy Winward 	Until February 	23 	1475 	33
72 	Noah Dingle 	Jack Downham 	Until February, May to July, from October 	20 	320 	57
73 	Charity Dingle 	Emma Atkins 	Until February, June to July, from December	19 	1616 	1
73 	Samson Dingle 	Sam Hall 	Until June, August, from November 	19 	325 	67
75 	Amba Metcalfe 	Ava Jayasinghe 	Full year, except March, July and November 	18 	44 	68
76 	Angelica King 	Rebecca Bakes 	January, March to April, July to November 	16 	197 	74
77 	Johnny Woodfield 	Luca Hepworth 	From September 	14 	14 	N/A
78 	Leo Goskirk 	Harvey Rogerson 	January, April, June to July, from November	12 	129 	76
79 	Jermaine Bailey 	Micah Balfour 	June to July, September to October 	10 	10 	N/A
80 	Liam Cavanagh 	Jonny McPherson 	January, March, May, November to December 	9 	16 	81
81 	Cathy Hope 	Gabrielle Dowling 	March, July to August, from November 	7 	146 	79
81 	Heath Hope 	Sebastian Dowling 	March, July to August and from November 	7 	147 	79
81 	Paul Lambert 	Mathew Bose 	March and September only 	7 	594 	N/A
84 	Betty Eagleton 	Paula Tilbrook 	May and December only 	6 	1731 	78
84 	Molly Sharma 	Unknown 	From October 	6 	85 	84
86 	Gemma Andrews 	Tendai Rinomhota 	January only 	1 	73 	73
==Storylines==
===January===
* Belle attempts to silence Gemma's torment by taking legal highs dealt to her by Lachlan. When he decides to try the high himself, he has a seizure and slips into unconsciousness. He is rushed to hospital and soon makes a full recovery. In order to keep him out of trouble, Chrissie agrees to let him join David and Alicia's kids' football team. Lachlan soon takes a shine to hanging around the pair and becomes inspired by David's tattoos, getting one of his own. David steadily starts to feel uneasy as he believes Lachlan to have a man-crush on him, but Lachlan seems to have his sights on Alicia.
* Aaron and Robert continue their affair but Robert warns Aaron that it will end when he marries Chrissie. Katie begins to believe that Robert is having an affair and intends to expose him.
* Finn tracks down his mum, Emma, in Hotten and introduces himself to her. The pair initially agree to meet in private but Finn later breaks the news to the rest of the family that he's tracked her down. Pete especially doesn't take the news well and unsuccessfully tries to manipulate Finn into giving up seeing his mother. Emma soon comes face to face with Ross and Pete following a bar fight and introduces herself to them. Pete is adamant he wants nothing to do with her but Ross is curious and agrees to keep seeing her. Ross breaks the news to Emma that her suspicions of James having an affair with Moira all those years ago came out to be true last summer and that they had a child together - Adam. Emma storms across to The Woolpack and slaps James, before subtly threatening Moira - her first contact with both of them in twenty two years. Pete confides in James that he remembers seeing Emma attempting to smother Ross when they were younger. Meanwhile, Ross and Finn become attached to Emma and stage a break-in at her house in order to unnerve her into needing to move in with them. As Pete continues to resent her, Emma begs James to try to win him around. When he refuses to help, the two become involved in an argument on the farm and Emma swings out in frustration at a hoist causing a pallet to fall down on James. Emma initially leaves him for dead but is forced to turn back and help when she witnesses Pete approaching. James remembers nothing of the incident and thanks her for saving his life while Pete agrees to give her a chance in order to show his gratitude.
* Cain collapses in the garage and soon reveals to Charity that he's been having dizzy spells and blacking out. She forces him to go to the hospital where he's told he has a brain aneurism, brought on by his head injury a few years ago. Initially keeping the news quiet from everyone bar Charity, the news comes out when he collapses in the brook and is taken off to hospital. Moira persuades him to overcome his fears of having the operation. He does, the following day, and the operation is deemed a success.
* Jai and Megan tie the knot but find their family threatened when Rachel Breckle returns to the village with Archie and Jai discovers the son he bought believing was his is actually somebody else's. The news hits Megan hard and she attempts to abduct the boy before handing him over to Social Services.
* Tracy Shankley returns to the village much to Sam's surprise and begins paying back what she owes to the Dingles. Val takes pity on her when she hears of Tracy's abusive former boyfriend and agrees to put her up in the spare room at The Grange. Tracy soon becomes involved in a relationship with Sam as Kerry tries to break them up in order to reunite Sam with Rachel.
* Katie finds Belle talking to Gemma and alerts Zak and Lisa that Belle isn't well. Belle locks herself in Katie's car as Gemma instructs Belle to run Zak down. Belle overcomes her torment to prevent causing any more harm and finally admits she needs help. She attends a doctor's appointment where she is prescribed pills that help to stop the voices, but leave her feeling emotionless.
* Charity is sentenced to two years in prison for perverting the course of justice as Rachel returns to the village in order to give evidence against her. As Charity is led away, she confesses to Cain that she loves him and wants to be with him when she is released.
* Nicola is told that she's experiencing early menopause.
* Adam and Aaron launch a scrap business together in the village with Adam selling his share in the farm in order to fund it. They encounter a problem when Eric threatens to complain about the location of their business - next to his Barn Conversion, but is won round when Adam offers him a 5% share in the business on the condition it's kept quiet from Val.
* Victoria and Adam begin seeing each other again.
* Marlon and Laurel agree to an alcohol-free January.
===February===
*Katie and Andy begin moving their stuff over to a caravan on Wylie's Farm. Robert secretly sets fire to it when Katie refuses to drop her accusations of an affair and she soon works out that he was responsible for the fire. Andy grows irritated by her attempts to pin everything on Robert and begins to wonder if he wants to be with her at all. Fed up with everything being on Robert's terms, Aaron decides to get his own back and confesses to Katie that Robert has been having an affair - with him. He lures Robert to Wylie's Farm as Katie lurks in the background and takes a picture as he and Aaron kiss. Confronting Robert about the affair, they become involved in a tussle and Robert pushes Katie. She falls to the floor and straight through the rotten floorboards to her death. Robert recruits Aaron to help cover up any clues that may incriminate them, lying that Katie had deleted the photo of their kiss from her phone and was going to remain quiet about the affair. He manipulates Aaron into believing he is responsible for Katie's death by calling her up to Wylie's Farm to expose the affair and they leave Katie lying dead on the floor for somebody to find. Andy eventually finds Katie and her death is deemed accidental as Aaron struggles with his guilt. He admits to Paddy and Chas that Katie was right about Robert's affair and confesses it was him who Robert was seeing, before warning them that it must never be revealed. Andy sinks into depression and soon decides to take his own life. Robert and Aaron find him and stop him just in time and the Sugdens realise they need to keep a closer eye on him.
*Laurel is irritable as Paddy makes a bet with her and Marlon to another month without alcohol, the loser buying the other couple a meal. Doug soon manages to talk her out of it and she secretly shares drinks with him. Marlon foils her however and the pair soon agree to drop the bet. Her drinking takes a turn for the worse, however, when she turns up drunk and late for work and then goes on to insult Jai, not realising he's in the room. Jai sacks her and refuses to reconsider when she returns the next day to beg for her job. She manages to arrange an interview for a job in Hotten but soon finds herself seeking comfort from the bottle again when she misses her bus and the company refuse to rearrange her interview.
*Tracy continues to rub her relationship with Sam in Rachel's face. Realising she has little chance of ever repairing her relationship with Sam, Rachel applies for a job in Luton and soon finds out she has been successful. Megan overhears the news but decides to keep it quiet from Jai. As Rachel prepares to leave, Ali tries to make Sam see sense while Leyla pushes Megan to tell Jai the truth. Sam and Jai unite in order to stop Rachel from leaving as Jai tells Rachel that he wants to be a part of Archie's life and Sam confesses he's still in love with her and has ended things with Tracy. Rachel decides to stay in the village. Quietly sickened by his wife's betrayal, Jai makes a call to his solicitor.
*Rodney is horrified when Georgia shows interest in moving in to Tug Ghyll with him. He pays Leyla to put Georgia off the idea but when that fails to work, he admits he doesn't want to move in with her and thinks they should end their relationship before leaving for a break in Europe. When he returns, Georgia tries to pick up their relationship but he insists he's only interested in sleeping with her rather than a relationship. She slaps him before telling him there's no chance.
*Emma's relationship with Ross and Finn is tested as she finds out Ross was responsible for the break-in as a way of getting her to move in with them. Pete is angry when he finds the pair feeling guilty and blurts out how Emma tried to kill Ross when he was younger, leaving him devastated. Emma tries to explain to them about her post-natal depression but the Barton boys begin to wonder if they've done the right thing letting their mother back into their lives. Ross confides in Debbie who encourages him to give his mother a chance.
*Alicia and David's relationship with Chrissie and Lachlan continues to grow as Chrissie asks Alicia to be her back-up bridesmaid when her sister is unable to attend her wedding. Lachlan's obsession with Alicia also continues to grow as he begins to bunk off school, lying to Chrissie, in order to offer his assistance in the shop. David is confused when Alicia receives a Valentine's gift that wasn't sent by him and soon discovers Lachlan is responsible when she also receives a handbag she had commented on in front of him. David warns Lachlan off but he refuses to listen and turns up at the shop the next day offering his assistance. When David has to rush off to the hospital with Amba, a tipsy Alicia returns home after celebrating her birthday. Lachlan waits for Alicia to fall asleep before unbuttoning her shorts and sexually assaulting her. Alicia wakes to discover what Lachlan is doing and, petrified, calls the police on him and confides in Leyla and David. Lachlan is arrested, to Chrissie's horror, but spins the story saying he was involved in a relationship with Alicia. Disgusted, Chrissie pushes for Alicia to be punished for grooming Lachlan.
*Priya recruits Kirin to help Jai realise she's a necessity at the factory and Jai's soon offering her a full-time position.
*Belle feels guilty when she feels numb over Katie's death and stops taking her medication. In doing so, Gemma's voice returns to taunt her and she goes up to Wylie's Farm to commit suicide. Cain grabs her before she has the chance to jump from the rafters and she is sectioned to the adolescent mental health unit.
*Emma is upset when James asks her for a divorce but later agrees. Harbouring deep dislike for both Moira and Adam, Emma secretly causes friction at the scrapyard by switching signs on a car for scrap, forcing the wrong one to be scrapped. She's later delighted to see an argument between Adam and Aaron lead to one between James and Chas too. Moira soon works out that Emma's meddling is responsible and warns her not to interfere with their lives again as she has far more to lose now she's just beginning to build bridges with her sons.
*Pearl is shocked to discover that she's been underpaying her gas bill and is now heavily in debt. She returns to gambling as a way of trying to pay off her bills.
*Nicola is down as she begins to believe she is past it. She is disappointed in Jimmy when he calls the police on her, believing her to have snatched Amba after taking her for a walk, when she had been locked in a barn after sheltering from the rain.
*Harriet decides to start a career as a Private Investigator.
*Cain takes Noah to see Charity in prison. Charity assures Cain that she meant everything she said about wanting to be with him when she gets out.
===March===
*The aftermath of Lachlan's sexual assault on Alicia creates waves as battle lines are drawn between the Metcalfes and the Whites. The Whites find themselves in an awful situation as the villagers support Alicia but Chrissie fails to see through her son's lies and decides to counter battle Alicia for grooming. As the police drop both cases for lack of evidence, Alicia begins to worry whether she was responsible for her assault and begins to think she did lead Lachlan on. After another confrontation with Lachlan, David decides to make him pay and kidnaps him, scaring him witless in a barn in a bid to make him confess. Chrissie discovers Lachlan's camera, full of pictures of Alicia, and confronts him, realising that her son has been lying. Chrissie apologises to Alicia and reports Lachlan to the police and is left to await the outcome of his court hearing.
*Jimmy gets a shock when Lawrence sends Nicola to Dubai on a business trip he can't make and she returns having being offered a job there on a six-month contract. Initially agreeing to go along with her, Jimmy changes his mind when at the airport and they return home with Nicola questioning whether she can forgive Jimmy for ruining a once in a lifetime chance for her. Jimmy eventually agrees to let Nicola go alone and she leaves Angelica behind with him.
*Zak and Lisa are pleased to see Belle coping in the mental-health unit when they visit her on the eve of Gemma's death. She returns home mid-month, having felt ready to return home but causes rifts in the family when Rachel refuses to allow her near Archie.
*Pearl finds herself in great debt when her gambling spirals out of control and she begins stealing from the vets. When she's nearly caught out, she begins to feign alzheimer's for mislaying money but when Vanessa finds an IOU book she's been keeping, Paddy and Rhona confront Pearl who finds it hard to wriggle out of her lies. A furious Paddy sacks her and Pearl sells her house back to Eric in order to pay back the money she stole. She packs and leaves the village but Rhona and Paddy discover her plan and convince her to say, sure they will be able to rebuild their trust soon.
*Val suffers a health scare and ends up in hospital with pneumonia. Paul Lambert returns to visit her as her family and friends are informed that she's unlikely to pull through. Val eventually regains consciousness and is informed that she needs to start taking HIV medication. She becomes severely depressed as she struggles to accept the fact that she'll be on medication for life and begins to question whether it's worth it. Finn begins dating Darren Thompson, a hospital nurse who tended to Val, but soon news reaches him and his friends that Darren is also HIV positive. Val becomes scared for Finn and attempts to scare Darren off by sending him abusive text messages and vandalising his car. Finn eventually finds out and is livid with her.
*Rachel sets Tracy up to move in with Dan and Kerry but Kerry soon has enough of her and kicks her out. She winds up moving in with a grieving Andy who kicks Leyla and Vanessa out of Tug Ghyll and starts sleeping with her. Tracy returns to The Grange later in the month when Andy begins to scare her, leading Andy to realise that is behaviour has been spiralling out of control. He apologises to all that he's hurt and moves in with Victoria at Keepers Cottage.
*Laurel begins working for Bernice and Kerry as an events hostess. She begins to turn to the bottle more and more and Doug begins to pick up on the amount she's drinking, even secretly hospitalising April at one point who picks up a mug of vodka. Doug threatens to expose her problem to Marlon but Laurel kicks him out and threatens to stop him seeing his grandchildren if he breathes a word.
*Bob is astounded when his daughter Carly turns up in a wedding dress dragging Bob off to the ceremony about to start. As Bob speaks to her about her other half, Sunil Malla, he realises Carly does not love him and is only marrying for his money. He talks her out of the wedding and Carly returns to the village to temporarily live with him and Brenda. Bob is delighted at the chance of rebuilding his ropey relationship with his daughter. Carly begins dating Ross who is soon shocked to discover that Carly is Donna's step-sister.
*Vanessa suffers a health scare when Kirin finds a lump in her breast. Their relationship falls apart as Kirin is unable to support her and Vanessa faces a worrying wait for her test results alone, with only the support of Rhona.
*Robert confesses to Aaron that he had no part in Katie's death, explaining how they rowed and she fell. He tells Aaron he loves him and the pair restart their affair.
*Adam publicly proposes to Victoria on her birthday, leaving her feeling pressured into saying yes. When she finally builds up the courage to tell him she's not yet ready to marry him, Adam is devastated and spends the night with a lonely Vanessa.
===April===
To be added
==Who lives where==
Main Street
*Mulberry Cottage - Debbie Dingle and Sarah and Jack Sugden. Pete Barton (until August). James Barton (April to June). Moses Dingle (from June). Ross Barton (from October).
*The Grange - Tracy Shankley (January to February, March to April, and from May). Robert Sugden (July to August). Megan Sharma (August only).
*The Woolpack - Diane Sugden and Chas Dingle. Aaron Livesy (until October, and from November). James Barton (until April). Andy Sugden (February only). Doug Potts (from March). Robert Sugden (April to May).
*Woodbine Cottage - Edna Birch. Sandy Thomas (until October). Harriet Finch (from December).
*Tug Ghyll - Leyla Harding and Vanessa Woodfield. Katie Sugden (until February). Andy Sugden (until February, and March). Tracy Shankley (March only). Carly Hope (April to July, and from September). Johnny Woodfield (from December).
*Dale Head - Dan Spencer and Kerry Wyatt. Amelia Spencer (from May). Rachel and Archie Breckle, and Sam and Samson Dingle (all June to July). Ruby Haswell (June to August). Joanie Wright, Kyle Winchester, and Zak Dingle (all from December).
*Mill Cottage - Jimmy and Angelica King, and Bernice Blackstock, and Gabby Thomas (all until September). Nicola King (until March). Tracy Shankley (April to May). Rakesh Kotecha, Priya Sharma, and Amba Metcalfe (all from September). Kirin Kotecha (from October).
*Dale View - Ross Barton (until October). Finn and Emma Barton (both from January). James Barton (from August). Pete Barton (from December).
*Connelton View - Brenda Walker, and Cathy, and Heath Hope. Bob Hope (until August, and from September). Rodney Blackstock (until February, and from July). Carly Hope (March to April).
*Victoria Cottage - Rakesh Kotecha (until September). Kirin Kotecha (until July). Priya Kotecha and Amba Metcalfe (both May to September). Jimmy King (from September). Angelica King (September to November, and from December). Bernice Blackstock and Gabby Thomas (both September to October). Laurel Dingle (November to December). Nicola King (from December).
*Keepers Cottage - Victoria Barton. Andy Sugden (March to November). Betty Eagleton (May only). Adam Barton (from June). Robert Sugden (from September).
*Brook Cottage - Ashley Thomas. Harriet Finch (until December). Arthur Thomas (from April). Laurel Dingle (May to June, and from December). Sandy Thomas (from October).
Church Lane
*Farrers Barn - David Metcalfe (until June, and from July). Alicia Metcalfe and Jacob Gallagher (both until June, and August to September). Nikhil and Molly Sharma (both from November).
*Tenant House - Ali and Amelia Spencer (both until May). Ruby Haswell (until June). Rachel and Archie Breckle (both January to June, and July to August). Sam and Samson Dingle (both May to June, and from July). Megan Macey (from August).
*Jacobs Fold - Pearl Ladderbanks (until April). Kirin Kotecha (July to October).
Hotten Road
*Smithy Cottage - Paddy Kirk, and Rhona and Leo Goskirk. Pearl Ladderbanks (from April).
*Butlers Farm - Moira, Cain and Noah Dingle. Adam Barton (until June). Charity Dingle and Finn Barton (both until January). Andy Sugden (November to December).
*Caravan at Butlers Farm - James Barton (June to August). Pete Barton (August to November).
Cricketer's Row
*Tall Trees Cottage - Marlon Dingle and April Windsor. Laurel Dingle (until May, and June to November). Arthur Thomas (until April). Doug Potts (until March).
Robblesfield Way
*Wishing Well Cottage - Lisa Dingle. Zak Dingle (until December). Sam, and Samson Dingle (both until May). Belle Dingle (until February, and from March). Joanie Wright and Kyle Winchester (both June to December).
*Holdgate Farm - Jai and Rishi Sharma. Megan Sharma (until August). Priya Sharma and Amba Metcalfe (both until May). "Archie" (until January). Georgia Sharma (March to April).
*Wishing Well Barn - Eric Pollard. Val Pollard (until August).
Connelton Lane
*Home Farm - Lawrence and Lachlan White, and Chrissie Sugden. Robert Sugden (until April, May to July, and September). Andy Sugden (February to March). Bernice Blackstock and Gabby Thomas (both from October). Nicola and Angelica King (both November to December).
Others
*Skipdale Women's Prison - Charity Dingle (from January).
*HMP Hotten - Bob Hope (August to September)'. Lawrence White (October only). Aaron Livesy (October to November).
*Adolescent Mental Health Unit - Belle Dingle (February to March).
*Mental Health Unit - Chas Dingle (December only).
==Who works where==
Main Street
*The Grange - Eric Pollard. Val Pollard (until August). Finn Barton. Tracy Shankley (January to February, March onwards).
*The Woolpack - Diane and Victoria Sugden, Chas and Marlon Dingle and Priya Sharma. Alicia Metcalfe (until June and August).
*Beauty & Bernice - Bernice Blackstock and Kerry Wyatt.
*Take A Vow - Leyla Harding. Megan Macey (until July).
*Dingle & Dingle Automotives - Debbie and Cain Dingle, Ross Barton and Dan Spencer. Aaron Livesy (until February).
*Café Main Street - Bob Hope and Brenda Walker. Ruby Haswell (until August). Laurel Dingle (August to September).
Church Lane
*Hope for the Best - David and Alicia Metcalfe (until June). Carly Hope (June to July).
*St. Mary's Church - Ashley Thomas.
Hotten Road
*Emmerdale Veterinary Surgery - Paddy Kirk, Rhona Goskirk, Vanessa Woodfield and Pearl Ladderbanks.
*Butlers Farm - Moira and Zak Dingle, James and Pete Barton and Andy Sugden. Adam Barton (until February).
Robblesfield Way
*Sharma & Sharma Sweet Factory - Jai and Rishi Sharma. Lisa and Belle Dingle (from April). Laurel Dingle (until February and from September). Ali Spencer (until June). Rachel Breckle (from June). Megan Sharma (July to August)
*Holey Scrap - Aaron Livesy and Adam Barton (both from February.
*Home James Haulage - Jimmy King. Charity Dingle (until January). Tracy Shankley (from May).
Other
*Home Farm - Lawrence White, Chrissie Sugden and Sam Dingle. Nicola King (until March). Robert Sugden (until September).
==Awards and Nominations==
National Television Awards
*Best Newcomer: Michael Parr (Nominee)
*Best Serial Drama Performance: Verity Rushworth (Nominee)
*Best Serial Drama: Emmerdale (Nominee)
British Soap Awards
* Best Actor: Michael Parr (Nominee)
* Best Actress: Natalie Anderson (Nominee)
* Villain of the Year: Ryan Hawley (Nominee)
* Best Comedy Performance: Laura Norton (Nominee)
* Best Newcomer: Ryan Hawley (Nominee)
* Best Storyline: Donna's demise (Nominee)
* Best Single Episode: Andy goes to the brink (Episode 7110/7111 (19th February 2015)) (Nominee)
* Best Dramatic Performance: Natalie Anderson (Nominee)
* Best On-Screen Partnership: Verity Rushworth and Michael Parr (Nominee)
* Best Young Performer: Amelia Flanagan (Winner)
* Scene of the Year: Donna's goodbye (Winner)
TV Choice Awards
* Best Soap Newcomer: Ryan Hawley (Nominee)
* Best Soap Actress: Natalie Anderson (Nominee)
* Best Soap Actor: Danny Miller (Winner)
* Best Soap: Emmerdale (Nominee)
Inside Soap Awards
*Best Actor: Michael Parr (Winner)
*Best Actress: Charley Webb (Nominee)
*Best Bad Boy: Michael Parr (Winner)
*Best Bad Girl: Emma Atkins (Nominee)
*Funniest Female: Laura Norton (Nominee)
*Best Newcomer: Ryan Hawley (Winner)
*Best Young Actor: Amelia Flanagan (Winner)
*Sexiest Female: Natalie Anderson (Nominee)
*Sexiest Male: Michael Parr (Winner)
*Best Shock Twist: Robert and Aaron's relationship (Nominee)
*Best Affair: Debbie and Ross (Winner) and Aaron and Robert (Nominee)
*Best Partnership: Charlie Hardwick and Christopher Chittell (Winner)
*Best Showstopper: Donna's death (Nominee)
*Best Soap: Emmerdale (Winner)
Category:Emmerdale year-by-year
Category:2015