Annie Brearly
Encyclopedia
Anne "Annie" Brearly is a fictional character
in the popular soap opera
Emmerdale
. She was played by Sheila Mercier
as a regular character between 1972 and 1994, making guest appearances in 1995, 1996 and 2009. Annie was one of Emmerdale Farm's original characters, appearing in its first episode on 16 October 1972. She was the soap's "first matriarch", the maternal force behind the Sugden family, who were collectively one of Emmerdale Farm's main focal points.
Sheila Mercier as Annie Sugden and Frazer Hines
as Joe Sugden
were the only two original cast members to take the show into its 20th year. Though the character left the serial in 1994, she has made occasional appearances since this time and last appeared on-screen in February 2009, in a special tribute episode to mark the death of Clive Hornby
who played her on-screen son, Jack Sugden
. This episode mirrored the first ever episode of Emmerdale Farm. in that they both featured warring brothers over their father's graveside - one of whom had returned to the village from time spent away.
Sheila Mercier has previously made guest appearances in 1996 and in 2000 for a special web broadcast in which Annie talked to her troubled screen son Jack. The broadcast was available for viewers to download on the official Emmerdale website. Despite having married Amos offscreen in late 1995, she was credited upon her return in 2009 by her most famous name, Annie Sugden.
Actress Sheila Mercier — whose career had been mainly theatrical — was chosen to play the role and went on to be the serial's longest running original actor. Mercier has commented "I had done a lot of television from the stage of the Whitehall, but very little else before joining Emmerdale Farm…I remember, at first, playing to the Gods! Tristan de Vere Cole, one of the first directors on the programme, told me to take [my performance] down until it was so low I was almost muttering. Then, Gordon Flemyng
- another of the directors - played back to me a scene I did so that I could see what I had done wrong."
The character of Annie Sugden has been described as a firm favourite with viewers, from the opening scene of Emmerdale Farm with Annie standing in the farmhouse kitchen, to the day she left. As peacekeeper between her sons, Joe and Jack, Annie was soon placed at the centre of the soap's action. The character was involved in numerous storylines, including marriages, bereavements, tragedies and family problems. Commenting on her "most gripping" storylines, Mercier has said, "Annie's daughter, Peggy Skilbeck's death, Peggy's twins' deaths and Annie's father, Sam Pearson's death, which all called for lots of tears."
In the 1985 Emmerdale Farm Celebration Edition 1000 Episodes Magazine, Annie's personality is described:
Commenting on her character in 1985, Mercier said: "Annie Sugden has changed a great deal over the years. At the beginning she was very terse. She was the head of the family and let everyone know it. She ruled with a rod of iron. She'd had a tough life. She'd had a rough ride with her husband Jacob, who used to drink the money away and sit in the Woolpack until all hours. Her son Jack didn't live at home then and it was Annie who kept the farm together. Until Henry Wilks came along they were poor farmers, living hand-to-mouth. But now things are different. Jack has made a success of Emmerdale and Henry's interest in the farm and Annie herself has made her relax. She's mellower now.
Despite suffering from arthritis, Mercier managed to undertake location filming for the show from 1972-1990. In the final episode of Emmerdale Farm before the transition to Emmerdale, broadcast in November 1989, she appeared on location at Lindley Farm near Harrogate, which served as the exterior for Emmerdale Farm, for scenes in which Annie greeted son Jack on his return from a trip to Italy.
From the early 1990s, Sheila Mercier cut back on her appearances, usually working only in the studio. However, she appeared on location in a car during the 1993 plane crash episodes. Annie Sugden reportedly poured more than 6,000 cups of tea in the farmhouse studio, where she was most often seen. After she retired in 1994, she has appeared in only a handful of Emmerdale episodes, making guest appearances in 1995 and 1996. However, in 2000 she came out of retirement briefly to take part in an special internet mini-drama, which ran side-by-side with the Emmerdale television broadcast. Mercier talked live on the Net with her troubled screen son, Jack, played by Clive Hornby. The broadcast was available for viewers to download on the official Emmerdale website. Mercier was also invited to return to the Emmerdale set to celebrate with the crew at the official 30th anniversary party. In an interview in 2002, Mercier said she had no desire to return to acting, "I don't want to act. I watch TV, read and live like an ordinary person." However, for the show's 5000th episode in May 2008 a special documentary was transmitted across the ITV
network, Mercier (aged 89) made another appearance along with the actors who played Matt Skilbeck and Dolly Skilbeck and son Joe Sugden.
In 2008, following the off-screen death of actor Clive Hornby who played Annie's son Jack Sugden, the Emmerdale producers decided to kill off the character of Jack off-screen so the programme could pay tribute by giving Jack a funeral. It was announced that Shiela Mercier would reprise the role of Annie for the episodes, which screened in February 2009. By this occurring, it meant that Annie outlived all three of her children. Mercier said, "It will be a pleasure to return for this special tribute episode to Clive. I'm sure it will be a fitting way to celebrate the life and memory of one of Emmerdale's dearest characters".
The audience was introduced to farmer's wife Annie Sugden in the soap's first episode in 1972. It was a time of sadness for the Sugden family, as Annie was burying her recently deceased husband, Jacob, who had died after spending much of his later years in the pub, The Woolpack, drinking away the family's farming profits. Early central storylines in the serial followed Annie as she struggled to come to terms with the death of her husband, support her family, and run Emmerdale Farm, set in the Yorkshire Dales in the fictional village of Beckindale.
Matriarchal Annie aimed to rebuild the ailing farm by reuniting her two feuding sons, Jack and Joe. She sold part of Emmerdale Farm to village outsider, Henry Wilks, who had made his fortune in the wool industry and brought his business acumen to Beckindale. Early in the series, Woolpack landlord Amos Brearly decided a woman’s touch was needed in his pub and proposed to Annie. She turned him down.
In 1973 Annie was delighted when Peggy gave her her first grandchildren who were twins but tragedy struck when Peggy died a few months after their birth in July of a brain hemorrhage. Life for Annie then became more positive, she became close friends with Henry. Jack and girlfriend Marian left Beckindale for Italy in January 1974 putting a stop to the frequent feud between Jack and Joe. Joe later married Christian Sharp although the marriage ended after a few months. The following year she learnt to drive. 1976 saw tragedy return the twins were killed on a level crossing leaving Annie to comfort a devastated Matt who had now lost his entire family. Jack briefly returned with writers block and after some words of wisdom from Annie returned to Italy.
In February 1980 Annie was delighted when Jack returned permanently now more serious about farming. Later in the year she suffered from a pain in the knee and was reluctant to go to hospital about it and swore Dolly who witnessed her in pain to secrecy, however when the knee got worse Annie finally went to hospital on Dolly's insistence to get it seen to.In 1984 Sam died although Annie was 64 and had had her father for a long time. 1986 saw a mixture of happiness and sadness when Joe returned permanently from france. Annie became a grandmotheer for the 3rd time in April following the birth of Robert Sugden
unfortunately a reply of 1973 happened when his mother Pat Sugden
died in a car crash leaving Annie to help Jack bring up Robert. In 1988 Annie was traped in Matt and Dollys home Crogate when it caught fire but was rescued by Matt. 1989 saw Annie develop an addiction to tranquilizers but she soon recovered. In 1990 Annie celebrated her 70th birthday in The Woolpack where Amos suffered a stroke. The following year saw the death of Henry and Annie was devastated to have lost her best friend and confident but being Annie helped his other best friend Amos also deal with his grief over Henrys death.
In early 1993, Emmerdale Farm began collapsing due to subsidence. Although the family moved into Hawthorn Cottage, Annie remained unhappy until it was renamed Emmerdale Farm. In December that year, Annie and her new husband, Leonard Kempinski, whom she had married in October, planned to go on holiday to Spain. The night they were supposed to fly out was the night of a plane crash. As Joe was driving them to the airport, a wing of a plane collided with the car. Joe escaped with a broken leg; however, Annie was in a coma for several months. The cries of her new baby granddaughter Victoria
finally woke Annie from her coma in April 1994 but she was devastated to discover that Leonard had died. Widowed again, Annie was left to mourn a second husband.
Annie was honoured at her son Jack's wedding to Sarah Connolly when Amos announced that the residents of Beckindale had decided to rename the village Emmerdale, in honour of Annie. He remarked that people had voted for the name Emmerdale as they held Annie in such high regard. After moving to Spain in 1994, Annie returned to Emmerdale Farm in 1995 to bury her son Joe, who had died in a car accident. 23 years after his first proposal, Amos Brearly proposed to Annie again; this time she accepted. Annie and Amos returned to Spain where they married on 5 November 1995, though Annie returned briefly on 7 November 1996 to ask Jack to sell Emmerdale Farm; he refused.
After a 13 year absence, Annie returned to the village on 9 February 2009 for Jack's funeral. Jack had been staying with her in Spain and had suffered a fatal heart attack; she accompanied his body home to Emmerdale. She grieved with Jack's family and returned to Spain after his funeral.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the popular soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
. She was played by Sheila Mercier
Sheila Mercier
Sheila Mercier is an English actress and the elder sister of actor Brian Rix. She was born in Kingston upon Hull, England, United Kingdom....
as a regular character between 1972 and 1994, making guest appearances in 1995, 1996 and 2009. Annie was one of Emmerdale Farm's original characters, appearing in its first episode on 16 October 1972. She was the soap's "first matriarch", the maternal force behind the Sugden family, who were collectively one of Emmerdale Farm's main focal points.
Sheila Mercier as Annie Sugden and Frazer Hines
Frazer Hines
Frazer Hines is an English actor best known for his roles as Jamie McCrimmon in Doctor Who and Joe Sugden in Emmerdale. Hines was born in Horsforth, a civil parish of Leeds.-Acting career:...
as Joe Sugden
Joe Sugden
Joseph "Joe" Sugden is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale. He was played by Frazer Hines.Joe was one of the main characters in the Yorkshire-set soap for a 22-year period between 1972–1994 with a brief intermittancy of three years in the 1980s...
were the only two original cast members to take the show into its 20th year. Though the character left the serial in 1994, she has made occasional appearances since this time and last appeared on-screen in February 2009, in a special tribute episode to mark the death of Clive Hornby
Clive Hornby
Clive Hornby was an English actor, known for his part in ITV's Emmerdale as farmer Jack Sugden.-Television:...
who played her on-screen son, Jack Sugden
Jack Sugden
John Jacob "Jack" Sugden is a fictional character in the British television soap opera Emmerdale. The character was originally played by Andrew Burt from 1972 to 1974 with a brief return in 1976, when he left for Italy to write a book. On his return in 1980 he was played by Clive Hornby...
. This episode mirrored the first ever episode of Emmerdale Farm. in that they both featured warring brothers over their father's graveside - one of whom had returned to the village from time spent away.
Sheila Mercier has previously made guest appearances in 1996 and in 2000 for a special web broadcast in which Annie talked to her troubled screen son Jack. The broadcast was available for viewers to download on the official Emmerdale website. Despite having married Amos offscreen in late 1995, she was credited upon her return in 2009 by her most famous name, Annie Sugden.
Character creation and development
Annie Sugden was created by Kevin Laffan, the mastermind behind Emmerdale Farm who also wrote the serial's first 212 episodes. Laffan was said to be "keen on dominant women" and it has been said that he created a "memorable heroine" in Annie Sugden, "the wife of the ne'er-do-well…who drank himself to an early grave" (the first episode opened with his funeral). The show originally focused upon the struggles of Annie and her family, with the first episode of Emmerdale Farm (1972) being billed as "the living story of the Sugden family - the excitement of country life around."Actress Sheila Mercier — whose career had been mainly theatrical — was chosen to play the role and went on to be the serial's longest running original actor. Mercier has commented "I had done a lot of television from the stage of the Whitehall, but very little else before joining Emmerdale Farm…I remember, at first, playing to the Gods! Tristan de Vere Cole, one of the first directors on the programme, told me to take [my performance] down until it was so low I was almost muttering. Then, Gordon Flemyng
Gordon Flemyng
Gordon William Flemyng was a Scottish director of six theatrical features, several television films and numerous episodes of TV series, some of which he also wrote and produced. Flemyng directed both of the Dalek feature films of the 1960s, Dr...
- another of the directors - played back to me a scene I did so that I could see what I had done wrong."
The character of Annie Sugden has been described as a firm favourite with viewers, from the opening scene of Emmerdale Farm with Annie standing in the farmhouse kitchen, to the day she left. As peacekeeper between her sons, Joe and Jack, Annie was soon placed at the centre of the soap's action. The character was involved in numerous storylines, including marriages, bereavements, tragedies and family problems. Commenting on her "most gripping" storylines, Mercier has said, "Annie's daughter, Peggy Skilbeck's death, Peggy's twins' deaths and Annie's father, Sam Pearson's death, which all called for lots of tears."
In the 1985 Emmerdale Farm Celebration Edition 1000 Episodes Magazine, Annie's personality is described:
Commenting on her character in 1985, Mercier said: "Annie Sugden has changed a great deal over the years. At the beginning she was very terse. She was the head of the family and let everyone know it. She ruled with a rod of iron. She'd had a tough life. She'd had a rough ride with her husband Jacob, who used to drink the money away and sit in the Woolpack until all hours. Her son Jack didn't live at home then and it was Annie who kept the farm together. Until Henry Wilks came along they were poor farmers, living hand-to-mouth. But now things are different. Jack has made a success of Emmerdale and Henry's interest in the farm and Annie herself has made her relax. She's mellower now.
Despite suffering from arthritis, Mercier managed to undertake location filming for the show from 1972-1990. In the final episode of Emmerdale Farm before the transition to Emmerdale, broadcast in November 1989, she appeared on location at Lindley Farm near Harrogate, which served as the exterior for Emmerdale Farm, for scenes in which Annie greeted son Jack on his return from a trip to Italy.
From the early 1990s, Sheila Mercier cut back on her appearances, usually working only in the studio. However, she appeared on location in a car during the 1993 plane crash episodes. Annie Sugden reportedly poured more than 6,000 cups of tea in the farmhouse studio, where she was most often seen. After she retired in 1994, she has appeared in only a handful of Emmerdale episodes, making guest appearances in 1995 and 1996. However, in 2000 she came out of retirement briefly to take part in an special internet mini-drama, which ran side-by-side with the Emmerdale television broadcast. Mercier talked live on the Net with her troubled screen son, Jack, played by Clive Hornby. The broadcast was available for viewers to download on the official Emmerdale website. Mercier was also invited to return to the Emmerdale set to celebrate with the crew at the official 30th anniversary party. In an interview in 2002, Mercier said she had no desire to return to acting, "I don't want to act. I watch TV, read and live like an ordinary person." However, for the show's 5000th episode in May 2008 a special documentary was transmitted across the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
network, Mercier (aged 89) made another appearance along with the actors who played Matt Skilbeck and Dolly Skilbeck and son Joe Sugden.
In 2008, following the off-screen death of actor Clive Hornby who played Annie's son Jack Sugden, the Emmerdale producers decided to kill off the character of Jack off-screen so the programme could pay tribute by giving Jack a funeral. It was announced that Shiela Mercier would reprise the role of Annie for the episodes, which screened in February 2009. By this occurring, it meant that Annie outlived all three of her children. Mercier said, "It will be a pleasure to return for this special tribute episode to Clive. I'm sure it will be a fitting way to celebrate the life and memory of one of Emmerdale's dearest characters".
Storylines
Annie Sugden was born Annie Pearson in Beckindale on the 5th July 1920; the only child of young labourer Sam Pearson and his wife Grace Mary Pearson née Armitage. Annie married local farmer Jacob Sugden in Beckindale in 1945. He moved her into Emmerdale Farm and they had 3 children John Jacob "Jack" Sugden born in 1947, Peggy in 1948 and Joe in 1949. Annie's mum died in 1968 the year her daughter Peggy married Matt Skilbeck.The audience was introduced to farmer's wife Annie Sugden in the soap's first episode in 1972. It was a time of sadness for the Sugden family, as Annie was burying her recently deceased husband, Jacob, who had died after spending much of his later years in the pub, The Woolpack, drinking away the family's farming profits. Early central storylines in the serial followed Annie as she struggled to come to terms with the death of her husband, support her family, and run Emmerdale Farm, set in the Yorkshire Dales in the fictional village of Beckindale.
Matriarchal Annie aimed to rebuild the ailing farm by reuniting her two feuding sons, Jack and Joe. She sold part of Emmerdale Farm to village outsider, Henry Wilks, who had made his fortune in the wool industry and brought his business acumen to Beckindale. Early in the series, Woolpack landlord Amos Brearly decided a woman’s touch was needed in his pub and proposed to Annie. She turned him down.
In 1973 Annie was delighted when Peggy gave her her first grandchildren who were twins but tragedy struck when Peggy died a few months after their birth in July of a brain hemorrhage. Life for Annie then became more positive, she became close friends with Henry. Jack and girlfriend Marian left Beckindale for Italy in January 1974 putting a stop to the frequent feud between Jack and Joe. Joe later married Christian Sharp although the marriage ended after a few months. The following year she learnt to drive. 1976 saw tragedy return the twins were killed on a level crossing leaving Annie to comfort a devastated Matt who had now lost his entire family. Jack briefly returned with writers block and after some words of wisdom from Annie returned to Italy.
In February 1980 Annie was delighted when Jack returned permanently now more serious about farming. Later in the year she suffered from a pain in the knee and was reluctant to go to hospital about it and swore Dolly who witnessed her in pain to secrecy, however when the knee got worse Annie finally went to hospital on Dolly's insistence to get it seen to.In 1984 Sam died although Annie was 64 and had had her father for a long time. 1986 saw a mixture of happiness and sadness when Joe returned permanently from france. Annie became a grandmotheer for the 3rd time in April following the birth of Robert Sugden
Robert Sugden
Robert Jacob Sugden is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale. He was played by three different actors: Richard Smith , Christopher Smith and Karl Davies .-Storylines:A character that was born on the show, Robert was notorious for the number of romantic relationships in...
unfortunately a reply of 1973 happened when his mother Pat Sugden
Pat Sugden
Patricia Ruth "Pat" Sugden is a fictional character in the popular soap opera Emmerdale. She was played by Lynn Dalby and Helen Weir.-Early days:...
died in a car crash leaving Annie to help Jack bring up Robert. In 1988 Annie was traped in Matt and Dollys home Crogate when it caught fire but was rescued by Matt. 1989 saw Annie develop an addiction to tranquilizers but she soon recovered. In 1990 Annie celebrated her 70th birthday in The Woolpack where Amos suffered a stroke. The following year saw the death of Henry and Annie was devastated to have lost her best friend and confident but being Annie helped his other best friend Amos also deal with his grief over Henrys death.
In early 1993, Emmerdale Farm began collapsing due to subsidence. Although the family moved into Hawthorn Cottage, Annie remained unhappy until it was renamed Emmerdale Farm. In December that year, Annie and her new husband, Leonard Kempinski, whom she had married in October, planned to go on holiday to Spain. The night they were supposed to fly out was the night of a plane crash. As Joe was driving them to the airport, a wing of a plane collided with the car. Joe escaped with a broken leg; however, Annie was in a coma for several months. The cries of her new baby granddaughter Victoria
Victoria Sugden
Victoria Anne Sugden is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale originally played by Jessica Heywood, then Hannah Midgley and currently Isabel Hodgins.-1994–:...
finally woke Annie from her coma in April 1994 but she was devastated to discover that Leonard had died. Widowed again, Annie was left to mourn a second husband.
Annie was honoured at her son Jack's wedding to Sarah Connolly when Amos announced that the residents of Beckindale had decided to rename the village Emmerdale, in honour of Annie. He remarked that people had voted for the name Emmerdale as they held Annie in such high regard. After moving to Spain in 1994, Annie returned to Emmerdale Farm in 1995 to bury her son Joe, who had died in a car accident. 23 years after his first proposal, Amos Brearly proposed to Annie again; this time she accepted. Annie and Amos returned to Spain where they married on 5 November 1995, though Annie returned briefly on 7 November 1996 to ask Jack to sell Emmerdale Farm; he refused.
After a 13 year absence, Annie returned to the village on 9 February 2009 for Jack's funeral. Jack had been staying with her in Spain and had suffered a fatal heart attack; she accompanied his body home to Emmerdale. She grieved with Jack's family and returned to Spain after his funeral.