Emmerdale farm has featured every type of love story imaginable – from secret affairs to huge age gaps, from happy endings to tragedy and broken hearts…
But one of the saddest love stories to ever take place in the Dales wasn’t dreamt up by scriptwriters – it’s one that happened in real life.
Read more: Emmerdale’s Dominic Brunt explains soap’s most heartbreaking story
On Thursday (27 September), Emmerdale 1918 investigated the real life – and frankly heartbreaking – story of Joshua Booth.
Charlotte Bellamy joined Esholt historian Ben Anderson in the continuing series, which marks 100 years since the end of the First World War by uncovering incredible untold stories of real Yorkshire men and women.
The actress, who plays Laurel Thomas, visited the village of Esholt - the real life inspiration for Emmerdale and where the soap was filmed until 1996..
Read more: Emmerdale’s Moira “trending on Twitter” after making killer confession
She introduced viewers to the true story of love and loss that played out at the real Woolpack pub during the Great War – that of 22-year-old Joshua.
The son of the landlord, Joshua was the life and soul of the village until he volunteered to fight in the Great War – leaving behind his sweetheart Winnie.
Charlotte told us: “From this street, 11 men went to war.”
She was seen following in his footsteps from the real Emmerdale, through military training in the Dales, and finally across the channel to the Belgium front line – despite being woefully undertrained.
But did Joshua return home to Winnie and the Woolpack after the Great War?
Charlotte discovered that while Joshua DID survive the Somme Offensive, which killed more than 57,000 people, sadly Winnie married another man while he was away.
SOB!
Delving into the life of World War I, @ZoeHenry03 discovers what it was really like during those times.#Emmerdale1918 Tonight 8.30pm @ITV #Emmerdale pic.twitter.com/skIn2Pa4m2
— Emmerdale (@emmerdale) September 27, 2018
Eventually, Charlotte found out that Joshua was tragically killed on December 17, 1917, never to return to his home town.
She said: “It’s very sobering to think that this young man who left a Yorkshire village where he was pulling pints went on a journey… and then he died. He didn’t really have a life.”
Fans were upset by the sad tale, with one simply saying: “Joshua survived but Winnie married someone else.”
https://twitter.com/Danielle92_xo/status/1045400783536234497
#Emmerdale1918 I so wanted Joshua Booth to survive the 1st World War #WeWillRememberThem
— Tina (@tina3trees) September 27, 2018
Another lamented: “I so wanted Joshua Booth to survive.”
The next episode sees Zoe Henry research the story of a Yorkshire man who changed the course of veterinary science through his service in the war.
Are you enjoying Emmerdale 1918? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!