Annie Sugden
| Annie Sugden | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Sheila Mercier as Annie Sugden (2009)
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| Emmerdale character | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Sheila Mercier | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1972–1996, 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 16 October 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 10 February 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Kevin Laffan | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | David Goddard (1972) Mervyn Watson (1995, 1996) Anita Turner (2009) |
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| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Home | Spain | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Father | Sam Pearson |
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| Mother | Grace Pearson |
| Husband | Jacob Sugden (1945–1972) Leonard Kempinski (1993) Amos Brearly (1995–2007) |
| Sons |
Jack Sugden Joe Sugden |
| Daughters | Peggy Skilbeck |
| Grandsons |
Jackie Merrick Sam Skilbeck Robert Sugden Andy Sugden (adoptive) |
| Granddaughters |
Sally Skilbeck Victoria Sugden |
| Aunts | Rosemary Kendall |
| First cousins | Beryl Crossthwaite |
| Other relatives |
Sarah Sugden Jr. (great-granddaughter) Jack Sugden Jr. (great-grandson) |
Anne "Annie" Brearly (also Pearson, Sugden and Kempinski) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, Emmerdale. She is played by Sheila Mercier as a regular character between 1972 and 1994, while making occasional guest appearances in the show since her original departure. Mercier cut back on location filming during the late 1980s and eventually left the serial in 1994 due to the gruelling schedule. Annie was one of Emmerdale's original characters, appearing in its first episode on 16 October 1972 and became the longest serving female character in the series' history. She was the soap's "first matriarch", the maternal force behind the Sugden family, who were collectively one of Emmerdale's main focal points.
Mercier and Frazer Hines, who played Joe Sugden, were the only two original cast members to appear in the show for its 20th anniversary. 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.
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 off-screen in late 1995, she was credited upon her return in 2009 by her most infamous name, Annie Sugden.
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."
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