Emmerdale is set to air its first big stunt since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, as a mystery character is killed off after Mandy Dingle and Paul Ashdale’s wedding takes a deadly turn.
In scenes set to air next week, several villagers will be left fighting for their lives after Jimmy King loses control of his van and ploughs into a farm building in an attempt to stop Juliette Holliday taking his children away.
Bosses have offered fans a glimpse of the tense stunt scenes after filming the tense storyline with the use of green screens and stunt doubles to ensure they were adhering to Covid safety guidelines.
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Explosive: Emmerdale is set to air its first big stunt since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, as Mandy Dingle (right) and Paul Ashdale’s (left) wedding takes a deadly turn
After weeks of lying to fiancée Mandy (played by Lisa Riley), and repeatedly attacking his son Vinny (Bradley Johnson), Paul is adamant that his wedding day will go off without a hitch, even after his most recent attack left the teen hospitalised.
Liv Flaherty (Isobel Steele) became determined to find out how Vinny was left bloodied and bruised, even after he ends their relationship in a desperate bid to keep her safe from Paul.
But next week Paul’s secrets will finally come to light when Liv uncovers the truth, with the teen’s life in grave danger as she boldly confronts him.
Terrifying: In tense scenes Jimmy King’s van collies with some farmyard buildings, with a flashforward hinting three characters’ lives will be left hanging in the balance
Worried: Jimmy jumps behind the wheel of his van after discovering Juliette Holliday is planning to take his children away
Scared: For weeks Paul has been attacking his son Vinny, with the teen too scared to tell the police as Mandy’s wedding day looms
Will it happen? As Mandy dons her leopard print dress and pink veil and prepares to walk down the aisle, she has no idea of Paul’s wrongdoing
As Mandy puts on her leopard print wedding dress and eagerly counts down the minutes to her big day, viewers will be left on tenterhooks waiting to see whether she’ll make it down the aisle.
The long-running storyline is set to collide with another dramatic plot when Jimmy (Nick Miles) drives off panic-stricken after learning Juliette (Amelia Curtis) is threatening to take his children away without permission.
Speeding off in his van, Jimmy is blinded by the sun and loses control, crashing into some farmyard buildings.
Sneaky: Paul has been desperate to hide his lies from fiancée Mandy, but his luck looks set to run out when Liv Flaherty discovers his lies
Giddy: A first look trailer for the scenes shows Mandy clearly thrilled to be marrying Paul, completely unaware his attacks left poor Vinny hospitalised
Deadly secrets: By the week’s end, lives will be changed forever as one character is killed off
In danger: After learning of Paul’s lies, Liv rushes to confront him, placing herself in mortal peril, as it’s clear he’ll do anything to silence her
The crash will set off a devastating chain of events, with flashforward scenes showing three characters fighting for their lives in hospital.
By the week’s end, lives will be changed forever as one character is killed off.
The stunt scenes were Emmerdale’s first since the soap introduced new Covid restrictions in June 2020, with all cast members required to maintain social distancing during filming.
Bosses have revealed that the crash was filmed for real on the outskirts of the village where Emmerdale is filmed in Leeds, and green screen filming techniques were also adopted to ensure the cast and crew were able to film safely.
Sinister: Paul is determined his wedding day will go off without a hitch, even after Liv discovers the truth behind his lies
Fearful: Vinny remains terrified of his father and what he’ll do to hide his string of lies, and viewers will have to wait and see who will survive the tense week
Producer Laura Shaw says: ‘For months now we’ve been waiting for the appalling, horrible truth about Paul to be exposed and of course, we always knew that we would want that truth to come out in a hugely dramatic and explosive way.
‘Shooting a colossal stunt with social distancing is no easy task and it took months of meticulous planning and the whole Emmerdale team, proudly pulling together, to enable us to successfully achieve what are undoubtedly, our most ambitious and spectacular episodes of the last year.
‘It’s a highly charged, emotional, nail biting, holding-your-breath week of Emmerdale, that promises to leave devastation in its wake and irrevocably change the lives of some of our most loved villagers.’
Worried: Meanwhile Jimmy’s wife Nicola decides to take on a dodgy job with Mack in a desperate bid to get the money to fund her legal battle against Juliette
What will happen next? In typical soap fashion things don’t go to plan, leaving fans fearful for Nicola’s safety
Safety first: In according with Covid safety guidelines, soap bosses used a large outdoor set, stunt doubles and green screens to safely film the spectacular scenes
Speaking about the spectacular scenes, director Dave Beauchamp said: ‘The great thing about working on Emmerdale is everyone there is so committed to making the show as good as possible.
‘I knew I had to make it look and feel special. Every job I do I try to do this, but this felt an especially big challenge with a lot of people wanting it to be something to be proud of.
‘We couldn’t have the real actors close for safety reasons so we used a mixture of stunt-doubles and green-screen shots to make you think the actors were in real jeopardy. I’m extremely pleased and relieved!
‘It does look spectacular, and I am so happy for everyone involved. This would have been a big challenge in normal times, but to be able to achieve this with all the Covid protocols in place is amazing.
‘There was a lot of planning and hard work involved and I think that comes across on screen.’
Emmerdale’s terrifying stunt week will begin on Monday 29 March on ITV.
Back soon: Emmerdale’s terrifying stunt week will begin on Monday 29 March on ITV