Emmerdale General News Thread

[Perdita]

Emmerdale star Rokhsaneh Ghawam-Shahidi promoted the benefits of a vegan lifestyle yesterday by wearing an eye-catching gown made entirely of lettuce leaves.

Standing outside the Leeds Corn Exchange, the actress showed off the unusual dress as she posed for cameras in an attempt to encourage more people to go vegan.

Rokhsaneh - who plays Leyla Harding in the Yorkshire soap - was representing People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) on the eve of World Vegetarian Day, which takes place today.

PETA members were also in attendance to raise awareness of the cause, handing out vegan sausages to passers-by.

In a statement, Rokhsaneh said: "I went vegan six years ago - out of concern for my health and also a hatred of animal cruelty - and I haven't looked back!

"I saw an immediate improvement in my skin, my waistline is trimmer, and I can enjoy delicious vegan food knowing that I'm in no way contributing to the suffering and death of animals."

[Perdita]

X Factor winner Joe McElderry paid a visit to the Emmerdale studios yesterday while on the road promoting his new single 'Ambitions'.

The 19-year-old bagged a tour of the Yorkshire soap after being interviewed at Radio Aire's base in Leeds, which is next door to Emmerdale's interior sets.

Afterwards, McElderry told his Twitter followers: "I had a look around the Emmerdale set this morning and sat in the woolpack!! Haha."

Danny Miller - who plays Aaron Livesy on the ITV1 show - was among the cast members who Joe met during his brief visit.

Writing to McElderry on Twitter, Miller said later: "Lovely to have met you today dude! Keep in touch! Hope you enjoyed your tour x".

Joe's fellow X Factor champion Alexandra Burke also toured the Emmerdale set earlier this year.

[Perdita]

'Emmerdale's' Dominic Brunt and Mark Charnock would love a cop buddy spinoff for their characters.

The duo - who play Paddy Kirk and Marlon Dingle in the ITV soap - revealed their dream storyline would involve the pair moving to New York to become crime fighters.

Asked what they would come up with for their characters if they could write their own scripts, Mark re exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "I'd love our own spinoff where we become detectives."

Dominic added: "They'd move to New York."

Mark - who depicts unlucky in love chef Marlon on the show - admitted he wishes their characters could get some more female attention.

He said: "There would be some sort of cultural shift whereby Marlon and Paddy actually become accepted as the good looking norm. There would be this massive change in public perception. "

Dominic also revealed he wished bosses hadn't written into the script that local vet Paddy's father was dead because he has the perfect actor in mind to play him.

He said: "Paddy's father wasn't in the soap but he's dead, he committed suicide. I'd love to see Christopher Biggins as a father for Paddy though, he'd be perfect."

[Perdita]

Emmerdale star James Sutton has joked that he doesn't get enough undies sent to him by adoring fans.

The actor, who plays mechanic Ryan Lamb in the soap, said he's the "grown up" among his co-stars, who all compete to have the most Twitter followers.

James told Inside Soap: "Danny Miller (Aaron Livesy), Lyndon Ogbourne (Nathan Wylde) and Adam Thomas (Adam Barton) compete over everything! They all fight it out on Twitter to see who's got the most followers."

He went on: "I'm the grow-up - I get lovely letters, but I haven't really had any indecent proposals yet. I don't get enough knickers sent to me. I have a 32" waist if anyone wants to post some!"

James, who split from co-star Sammy Winward earlier this year, added that he is "literally the most useless person in the world" when it comes to charming girls.

[Perdita]

Jeff Hordley plays pranks on his 'Emmerdale' co-stars which film love scenes with wife Zoe Henry.

The 40-year-old actor - who has appeared in the rural soap as badboy Cain Dingle since 2000 - deliberately tries to embarrass his real-life spouse, who joined the show as Rhona Goskirk in March this year.

She said: "We filmed a sequence where Rhona and Marlon were hugging in the pub, and Cain was playing darts. Jeff normally takes no notice of all that, but on this occasion he turned round and said, 'What do you think you're doing?' Mark Charnock, who plays Marlon, and I went bright red, while everyone was howling with laughter. So he has the odd joke!"

Despite the occasional on-set joke, Zoe adores spending time with her husband - and she thinks he has accepted her presence in the show "graciously".

She added to Inside Soap magazine: "It's fab to be working alongside Jeff. I thought it would be a bit weird for him, but he's been so cool about the whole thing. If I'd been there for 10 years, I think I'd have been a bit more huffy! But he's so gracious, and has been brilliant."

(C) BANG Media International

[alan45]

Emmerdale veteran Richard Thorp has decided to sell his Welsh home and move closer to the show's Leeds-based studios.

The 78-year-old actor, who plays long-standing character Alan Turner, currently lives in a four-bedroom country house in Powys, meaning that he has a long commute every time he is required on set for his soap scenes.

Speaking to Wales On Sunday, Thorp explained: "It's simply a question of age and work. I've been here for 13 or 14 years and I have totally loved living here.

"But I'm getting on a bit and it is a hell of a long drive to work. It didn't matter when I was doing a lot of work and I would stay for a few days, but I find myself doing a 150-mile trip to do one scene and then coming all the way back again. It's exhausting at my age."

He continued: "Emmerdale has been very good to me and has renewed my contracts for years, but they have not got as much work for me these days - I'm more like the village memorial now than an active character.

"Quite frankly, unless I was working like I used to, I couldn't afford to keep it. I need the work but it is getting very expensive to travel and live so far away, with the work I am getting. It gets harder and harder as you get older."

Thorp - who has been a member of the Emmerdale cast since 1982 - is thought to have put his property on the market for £750,000.

[alan45]

EMMERDALE'S Adam Thomas apologised yesterday for making a "queer" jibe at a gay student.
Thomas, 23, snapped after Ricky Platts, 22, approached him in a McDonald's.
Ricky - who is openly gay - went up to say hello after he spotted the actor having a meal there.

'Snapped' ... Adam Thomas
ITV
But he says he was stunned when Thomas replied: "Yeah, what about it gay boy?"
Ricky claimed Thomas then started "hopping up and down like a madman" and calling him and a pal - who was in drag - "queers".
The student, who videoed the incident at the restaurant in Leeds, added: "I couldn't believe that someone who is meant to be a role model would do something like that."
Thomas's soap character Adam Barton has been dealing with his best pal's homosexuality in the series. Thomas, of Leeds, said in a statement: "I deeply apologise for my actions and I am horrified to realise that I have caused offence."


Gay rights activist Sarah Carmody, 32, said: "His apology is all very well, but the producers of Emmerdale must take decisive action."


Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...#ixzz13X2SZJhU

[Perdita]

Emmerdale star James Hooton has admitted that he enjoys hiding behind his character.

The actor, who plays Sam Dingle in the ITV1 soap, revealed that people often don't realise who he is because he is so different from his on-screen character.

Speaking at the launch of spinoff DVD The Dingles: For Richer, For Poorer, he told Holy Soap: "I like to hide behind the character. I like roles that are a bit further away from how I might be perceived in real life. It's nice to immerse yourself in a different character.

"I tend not to get recognised a lot. I don't get it anything like Jane [Cox, who plays Lisa] and Steve [Halliwell, who plays Zak].

"Steve can't tie his shoelaces in the street without people noticing. It's the beard. But I tend to get away with it."

[alan45]

EMMERDALE actress Catherine Tyldesley looks good enough to eat as she puts a British twist on the famous nude pose from American Beauty.
The star, who played prison guard Abi Peterson in the Dales soap, stripped off, but instead of covering her modesty with fresh rose petals, like actress Mena Suvari in the hit movie, she opted to hide her assets with Yorkshire Puddings.
The 25-year-old actress shed her clothes to help raise awareness of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign's "Come Dine With Us" appeal.




Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...#ixzz14iGKVAjR

[alan45]

IT IS the high life for the Dingles when the Emmerdale's poorest family win big on the lottery.
In a one-off special, Dingles For Richer, For Poorer Zak Dingle (Steve Halliwell) sets off with Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) to by a lottery ticket in an attempt to cure their financial woes.
The feature length fantasy storyline, exclusively for DVD, follows the family's experience of what life could be like if they won a £50m jackpot.

In one version of the story Zak ends up hiring Nicola and Jimmy King as their family's housekeeper and chauffer and the Dingle clan enjoy hot tubs and a fridge full of beer.
But the brood soon find that money does not mean happiness when Lisa (Jane Cox) realises that the cash has changed everything.
In the second version the Dingles miss out on a win, but Zak tells Lisa they have won big, resulting her in splashing cash the family does not have.
The DVD is released on November 15.


Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...#ixzz14lGQQOxk