Monday 18 April 2011

Emmerdale's finest - Amos Brearly: 1972-1995

Amos Brearly was played by Ronald Magill and appeared in Emmerdale Farm from 1972 - 1995. He ran the Woolpack Public house, along with Henry Wilks for 19 years.

When Emmerdale Farm began, Amos had been the landlord of the Woolpack for several years. He originated from a family of undertakers in Bridlington.

Amos was Beckindale's local gossip, he was at the centre of all the local news, in the Woolpack. In 1973, Amos was convinced that the brewery liked couples to run pubs and Amos saw a decent woman in Annie Sugden. Annie turned Amos down gently, later he went into business with Henry Wilks and they ran the pub together until Amos retired. In 1976 The Woolpack premises had to be moved when it was found to be suffering from subsidence. In 1978 while closing up The Woolpack Amos and Mr Wilks were thretened by burglars and were locked in the cellar all night. However, later that year he was proud to give his barmiad Dolly Acaster away when she married Matt Skilbeck.

In summer 1980, gamekeeper Seth Armstrong switched from The Malt Shovel to The Woolpack- Seth continuously irritated Amos. Amos gained an allotment in 1980, and this was the scene of much rivalry between himself and Seth for many years. In 1981, Amos set up his own village newsletter - The Beckindale Bugle. It was short-lived.

In 1983, Amos sought upward mobility by cultivating the friendship of NY Estates boss Alan Turner. He was distressed to hear Alan criticising him to a golfing pal. From then on, Amos treated Alan frostily, insisting on calling him "Mr Turner". Amos had a brother Ezra Brearly who made a few appearances in the 1980s. He also mentioned another brother who had died young.

In July 1990, while celebrating friend Annie's 70th birthday, Amos suffered a stroke. Shortly after he decided to retire to Spain in January 1991 handing the pub over to Alan Turner he returned to the village in October for Henry's funeral. Even though Amos left the show as a regular character he was to make several guest appearances over the coming years. He made a brief return in 1992. In 1993 he was present when Annie married Leonard Kempinski, whom she had met a year earlier while staying with Amos in Spain.

He made several appearances throughout 1994, first returning for the funeral of the Plane Crash victims where he did the same reading he had done at Wilks funeral 2 years previously. In February he served as best man when Alan Turner married former prostitute Shirley Foster. He returned again in May for Jack & Sarah's wedding, at the reception - held in a barn at Emmerdale Farm - he made the announcement that the residents of Beckindale had decided to rename the village Emmerdale in honour of Annie Sugden.

Amos made his final appearance in the show in June 1995 when he came home with Annie for her son Joe Sugden's funeral. Joe had died in a car crash while staying with Amos & Annie in Spain. Amos later remarked that one night while enjoying a drink with Joe in Spain, Joe had asked Amos to make sure that if anything was to happen to him that there would be a few free drinks given in The Woolpack after the funeral. Amos thought that this request to him was strange considering that Joe was more likely to outlive him, hinting that Joe's death may not have been an accident.

Following the funeral, Annie contemplating life alone shocked Amos by proposing but Amos told her he would have to think about it and Annie, feeling embarrassed, told him to forget about it. After Amos discussed it with Alan, he proposed to Annie, 23 years after his first proposal. This time Annie accepted. Sarah then waved them off as they left Emmerdale Farm, returning to their home in Spain. Amos was never seen in the village again. Him and Annie married, offscreen, on 5 November 1995.

Amos was not present for his stepson Jack Sugden's funeral in 2009, as the actor Ronald Magill had died in 2007. As of 2010 it is not known whether Amos is still alive, though it has been implied that Annie lives alone in Spain.

Amos Brearly
Emmerdale character
Portrayed byRonald Magill
Created byKevin Laffan
Duration1972–1991,
1992–1995
(recurring)
First appearance16 October 1972
Last appearance7 July 1995
ClassificationFormer Regular
Profile
Date of birth21 April 1920 (age 90)
HomeSpain
OccupationRetired


70s Retro - The Starsky and Hutch Detective Game: 1977


I remember waking on Chrissie morning 1977 and unwrapping this game.


Players begin the game with a randomly distributed 'criminal' card. By moving around the board by the roll of a dice, players obtain other cards that either match their criminal or one of their opponents.


Cards that match are placed face up. Cards that do not match are discarded into a single discard pile for each player. If a player lands on an opponent by exact count, he may steal one card from the opponents discard pile!

The first player to get four cards that match their criminal wins the game.