Kings River Explosion July 2006
On Thursday 13 July 2006, the Kings unveiled their brand new showhome which was to house married couple, Marlon Dingle and Donna Windsor-Dingle. When local resident, Noreen Bell opened a cupboard door inside the house, it triggered an automatic light switch that an electric spark discharged causing a gas ignition. that caused a large gas explosion that catapulted her down the stairs. The explosion ripped through the bathroom floor knocking Jimmy King and Sadie King to opposite sides of the bathroom. The estate agent David Brown, who was located near the cupboard, was set alight. While running towards the house, Marlon and Donna were thrown back by another explosion. Debris such as a spark plug, a toaster, a boiler, and windows started to fly towards the residents as the house started to explode in various places. Diane Sugden was knocked out by a collapsing ceiling while Danny Daggert and Dawn Woods, who were running behind her, got caught in another explosion. The bathroom floor gave way and Jimmy fell through, shortly followed by Sadie. The house then fully collapsed horrifyingly as the residents of Emmerdale watched in shock. Three were confirmed dead: Noreen Bell, who was hit by the full force of the initial explosion and died instantly, Dawn Woods, who was rescued from the rubble but later died in hospital as a result of internal injuries from burns and Smoke inhalation, and the estate agent David Brown from burns.
This was an hour long episode, and attracted 6.7 million viewers, beating EastEnders in the ratings. It was the most watched television programme of the day.
At the 2007 British Soap Awards Emmerdale won two awards, one of which was 'Most Spectacular Scene' for the Kings River Explosion.
The House Collapse won an ITV competition to find the best Emmerdale moment, coinciding with Emmerdale's 5000th Episode.
Read more about this topic: Major Emmerdale Storylines
Famous quotes containing the words kings, river, explosion and/or july:
“Such is the caprice of Romans ... who reject kings in name but not in practice, and accept an Emperor mightier than a hundred kings.”
—Pierre Corneille (1606–1684)
“My favorite figure of the American author is that of a man who breeds a favorite dog, which he throws into the Mississippi River for the pleasure of making a splash. The river does not splash, but it drowns the dog.”
—Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918)
“Frau Stöhr ... began to talk about how fascinating it was to cough.... Sneezing was much the same thing. You kept on wanting to sneeze until you simply couldn’t stand it any longer; you looked as if you were tipsy; you drew a couple of breaths, then out it came, and you forgot everything else in the bliss of the sensation. Sometimes the explosion repeated itself two or three times. That was the sort of pleasure life gave you free of charge.”
—Thomas Mann (1875–1955)
“...there was the annual Fourth of July picketing at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. ...I thought it was ridiculous to have to go there in a skirt. But I did it anyway because it was something that might possibly have an effect. I remember walking around in my little white blouse and skirt and tourists standing there eating their ice cream cones and watching us like the zoo had opened.”
—Martha Shelley, U.S. author and social activist. As quoted in Making History, part 3, by Eric Marcus (1992)