EMMERDALE CAST TALK ABOUT THE FILMING FOR THEIR PRIDE EPISODE AIRING THIS WEEK

Ahead of this week's first ever Emmerdale Pride episode which airs on Wednesday evening (30th June), the cast involved have been talking about their time filming these episodes.

Emmerdale's first ever pride episode features a special guest in The Vivienne.

Anna Nightingale (Andrea Tate): "I was absolutely thrilled to be involved in Emmerdale's first ever Pride episode. After such a time of restrictions and change in both real life and being on-set it was a breath of fresh air. When I got the script I was so excited to see Andrea was involved."

"It's very important for events such as Pride to be covered in soaps and drama. The more we can talk about any issues or expand on acceptance of any marginalised groups the better!” The Pride episode is full of surprises, love in so many forms and a splash of good old Emmerdale drama."

Emile John (Ethan Anderson): "It was a true privilege to be involved in Emmerdale’s first Pride, an event that celebrates the love and unity between all people, irrespective of what it may look like. This episode will land directly in the hearts and minds of Emmerdale’s viewers and it’s a true honour knowing that I played a part in reinforcing and recognising that, which universally binds us. The desire to love and be loved unconditionally."

"Soaps have a huge responsibility in reflecting our culture, societal norms and attitudes back to us on a mass scale. Of course not everything you see in soap should be taken literally but I’d argue that characters In soap closely parallel ordinary working people’s lives like no other. If there are opportunities in which we can raise social justice issues in order to positively progress our communities I not only think it’s important for us to do so, but as creators I believe it’s our duty."

Kevin Mathurin (Charles Anderson): "I was very pleased to be a part of this episode. It was great supporting and celebrating a subject matter important to so many people, including cast members, crew and many of the programme's fans."

"There is a great message throughout this episode. It shows how much the whole Emmerdale team supports moving with the times. I’m grateful to be a part of it. It was such a fantastic day to be involved in. The detail of the set was amazing, huge hats off to our design and props department for making the village look so fantastic! It felt like a real event too) well it was the closest we’ve all been to a festival in a long time. The village had such a lovely vibe. Even the crew dressed up and it felt like a real celebration."

Ash Palmisciano (Matty Barton): "The day was so much fun, there was a lot of laughter and silly dancing! The crew made it hilarious by all dressing up and really getting into the spirit of things (you might even catch some of them dancing by the pride stage). Myself and Natalie Jamieson who plays Amy got to work with the incredible ‘The Vivienne’, which was a lot of fun! I wasn’t as aware of drag race as Nat was before filming and joked with her that she’d be a proper fan girl on set but I was actually more star struck than she was. I’ll definitely be catching up now. It was a real pleasure meeting her, I kept calling her ‘The Vivienne’, but she told me it’s ok to just call her Viv so I feel like we’re mates now. We were really lucky with the weather up until our scene with The Viv where it snowed one minute and then was sun-shining the next! So we had to hide in a tent for a bit but it certainly didn’t dampen the vibe of the day."

Natalie Ann Jamieson (Amy Wyatt): "I was so excited to be involved in Emmerdale’s first ever Pride episode. I actually heard that Emmerdale were doing a Pride episode before I knew I was in it and I had my fingers crossed that Amy Wyatt would make an appearance. When the script came out and I saw my name I was over the moon - then I read it and saw The Vivienne on the cast list and I was ecstatic!"

You can watch this week's episodes of Emmerdale including the Pride episode of ITV, and ITV Hub.