Emmerdale (known as Emmerdale Farm until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale Farm was first broadcast on 16 October 1972. Interior scenes have been filmed at the Leeds Studios since its inception. Exterior scenes were first filmed in Arncliffe in Littondale, and the series may have taken its name from Amerdale, an ancient name of Littondale. Exterior scenes were later shot at Esholt, but are now shot at a purpose-built set on the Harewood estate.

The series originally aired during the afternoon and was intended to be a three-month television series. However, more episodes were ordered and transmitted during the daytime until 1978, when it was moved to an early-evening prime time slot in most regions. In the late 1980s, the soap was met with a new production team which oversaw the name change, more dramatic storylines and an increase in episode output. As a result of the changes, viewers and popularity surrounding the soap increased and Emmerdale began to be considered as a major British soap opera. The programme began broadcasting in high definition on 10 October 2011 and in 2016, Emmerdale won the award for Best British Soap at the British Soap Awards for the first time. Since January 2019, "classic episodes" of Emmerdale have been broadcast weekly on ITV3.