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Great Moments In Emmerdale - The Home Farm
Siege
Put together by Will
Alan Turner’s fortunes took a turn for the better
when he met Shirley Foster while helping out
at the drop-in centre where she worked. Love blossomed,
and it wasn’t long before Shirley was installed behind
the bar of The Woolpack. The couple married in February
1994 but, just four months later, their wedded bliss
was cut short by a heartbreaking tragedy.
When postmistress Viv Windsor’s ex husband, the recently
released convict Reg Dawson, arrived in Emmerdale
he claimed it was to visit his son Scott. Initially
he
played the doting dad, but he was actually planning
to rob the
post office and, 19 days after his arrival, stunned
Viv when he and his gang burst in demanding money
and shooting
Alan Turner in the ensuring struggle. Meanwhile,
Michael Feldmann and Joe Sugden noticed that something
was
amiss and disturbed the gang who fled with Viv as
a hostage.
By a tragic coincidence, Shirley Turner was passing by,
and the raiders seized her Range Rover to make a fast
getaway. They could not have picked a worse fellow hostage
to accompany Viv, as the two women hated each other,
the raiders and their hostages headed for a deserted
Home Farm, but were forced to abandon the vehicle and
proceed on foot across the moors. At Home Farm, things
began to go tragically wrong when Reg accidentally shot
dead one of his accomplices, mistaking him for a policeman.
He was about to shoot Viv too, when Shirley bravely intervened,
took the full force of the bullet, and was killed.
Al Hunter Ashton, who played robber Colin Long, found
filming the siege scenes unforgettable.
“
I remember it like it was yesterday,” he laughs. “It
was freezing cold, there was even snow on the moors,
and we spent what seemed like weeks dragging these two
women across the moors. At one point we had to wade through
a river - and cold was not the word! I was wearing a
long boiler suit so I could wear wellies in the freezing
water - whereas Rachel Davies and Deena Payne, who played
Shirley and Viv, had no choice but to do it in high heels.
It was the coldest, yet funniest, experience I’d
ever had.”
Before Emmerdale, Al starred in Crossroads as Ray
Grice, and has gone on to star as Pitbull in London’s
Burning, as well as appearances in Holby City and
Doctors. Al
is also a screenwriter, and is currently one of the
main storyliners for Eastenders. Reg Dawson, who
died in the
ill-fated siege was played by Niven Boyd.
He went on to appear in Coronation Street as Paul
Fisher, the slimy amusement arcade boss who blackmailed
Judy
Mallet into sleeping with him. Rachel Davies, who
was already an established actress when she was cast
as
Shirley, has gone on to star in shows including Band
of Gold,
Silent Witness, Dangerfield, Harbour Lights and BBC1’s
Linda Green.
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