Perdita
15-10-2008, 07:30
Emmerdale is in meltdown after furious claims that the cast are being overworked to exhaustion.
The ITV1 soap’s stars say producers are making them work extra hours, including more Saturdays, to meet their five-episodes-a-week schedule.
A set source told the Mirror that many of the cast have fallen ill as they struggle to deal with the extra hours.
These are thought to include Roxanne Pallett, 25, who has taken time off the soap in the last week due to illness.
And the Mirror can reveal that show unity has been rocked further with news that the character of Anna De Souza has been axed. Emma Davies, who plays Anna, was brought into the soap in the summer by executive producer Anita Turner.
But Turner, dubbed Anita Turnoff, has since told the whole cast they were all under review in a huge purge. A show source said: "Morale is at an all-time low. Sometimes you don’t finish until midnight and we’re working more days, including Saturdays.
"It’s too much and if things don’t change, they’ll have a mutiny on their hands."
It is the latest in a long line of problems in the 10 months since Turner joined the show, which gets a massive seven million viewers an episode.
Last week, it was revealed that 60 per cent of the show’s extras were being made redundant.
Several characters have already been axed, including Grayson Sinclair and Jonny Foster, played by Christopher Villiers and Richard Grieve. Verity Rushworth, who plays Donna Dingle, and Roxanne Pallet, who plays Jo Sugden, are also leaving.
Matthew Bose, who plays gay heartthrob Paul Lambert, and Michael Jayston, who plays Donald de Souza, have also recently walked out.
As revealed recently by the Mirror, the cast and crew are in revolt over "unsuitable" storylines.
They claim the show is being turned into a laughing stock and that the final straw came with a scene in which Douglas Potts, played by Duncan Preston, is seen scratching himself after catching an STD.
One insider said: "This has to be the tackiest soap story of all time. Duncan was horrified. His character has casual sex, ends up getting crabs and scratches himself in the corner shop. How can this be suitable for a 7pm audience?"
At the British Soap Awards in May, the drama picked up just one award – for Best Single Episode.
An Emmerdale spokesman said: "Filming hours have not been increased. It is not unusual for us to film on Saturdays and night shoots are the norm when working on a soap."
From The Mirror
So Emma Davies as Anna is leaving, can't say I have taken to her character so will not miss her.
The ITV1 soap’s stars say producers are making them work extra hours, including more Saturdays, to meet their five-episodes-a-week schedule.
A set source told the Mirror that many of the cast have fallen ill as they struggle to deal with the extra hours.
These are thought to include Roxanne Pallett, 25, who has taken time off the soap in the last week due to illness.
And the Mirror can reveal that show unity has been rocked further with news that the character of Anna De Souza has been axed. Emma Davies, who plays Anna, was brought into the soap in the summer by executive producer Anita Turner.
But Turner, dubbed Anita Turnoff, has since told the whole cast they were all under review in a huge purge. A show source said: "Morale is at an all-time low. Sometimes you don’t finish until midnight and we’re working more days, including Saturdays.
"It’s too much and if things don’t change, they’ll have a mutiny on their hands."
It is the latest in a long line of problems in the 10 months since Turner joined the show, which gets a massive seven million viewers an episode.
Last week, it was revealed that 60 per cent of the show’s extras were being made redundant.
Several characters have already been axed, including Grayson Sinclair and Jonny Foster, played by Christopher Villiers and Richard Grieve. Verity Rushworth, who plays Donna Dingle, and Roxanne Pallet, who plays Jo Sugden, are also leaving.
Matthew Bose, who plays gay heartthrob Paul Lambert, and Michael Jayston, who plays Donald de Souza, have also recently walked out.
As revealed recently by the Mirror, the cast and crew are in revolt over "unsuitable" storylines.
They claim the show is being turned into a laughing stock and that the final straw came with a scene in which Douglas Potts, played by Duncan Preston, is seen scratching himself after catching an STD.
One insider said: "This has to be the tackiest soap story of all time. Duncan was horrified. His character has casual sex, ends up getting crabs and scratches himself in the corner shop. How can this be suitable for a 7pm audience?"
At the British Soap Awards in May, the drama picked up just one award – for Best Single Episode.
An Emmerdale spokesman said: "Filming hours have not been increased. It is not unusual for us to film on Saturdays and night shoots are the norm when working on a soap."
From The Mirror
So Emma Davies as Anna is leaving, can't say I have taken to her character so will not miss her.