The following is a list of characters that first appeared in theBritishsoap operaEmmerdale in 1989, by order of first appearance.Pete andLynn Whiteley, played byJim Millea andFionnuala Ellwood, were the first characters introduced in January. They were followed a month later by Pete's grandfather,Bill, portrayed byTeddy Turner. In March, Martyn Whitby took on the role ofKate Sugden's ex-husbandDavid Hughes. In November, following the change of series title fromEmmerdale Farm toEmmerdale, a new family was introduced; the Tates, with father and sonFrank (Norman Bowler) andChris (Peter Amory), followed by Frank's respective wife and daughter,Kim (Claire King) andZoe (Leah Bracknell) in December.
Pete Whiteley appeared from 1989 to 1990. Pete was the grandson ofBill Whiteley and first appeared when Bill bought his new home and invited his family to live with him. Shortly after arriving in the village Pete embarked on an affair with local teenagerRachel Hughes which was exposed at his wife Lynn's New Year party. Lynn did not split up with Pete, however, as she discovered she was pregnant and believed her child needed its father. Despite this, Pete still had a feelings for Rachel and wanted to continue the affair but Rachel eventually decided to end it. Pete took the rejection badly and began drinking heavily. One night, fearing Pete would try to drive home drunk, Rachel stole his car keys. Faced with the prospect of having to walk home, Pete stumbled into the middle of the road and was run over and killed by Rachel's mother,Kate Sugden in her car. Lynn gave birth to her and Pete's son, Peter Jr. on the day of his funeral.
Lynn Whiteley appeared for a period of five years between 1989 and 1994. Lynn moved in with her grandfather-in-law, Bill, in 1989 at his new farm. Her husband, Pete, then had an affair with teenagerRachel Hughes, which was exposed at Lynn's New Year party. Lynn did not leave Pete, as she discovered she was pregnant and believed that her child needed its father. After Pete was killed in a hit-and-run accident by Rachel's mother,Kate Sugden, Lynn gave birth to their son, Peter, on the same day as Pete's funeral. Lynn continued to live at Whiteley's Farm with Peter and Bill and carried on after Bill died in July 1991. She continued feuding with Rachel over her affair with Pete, culminating in Rachel pouring a drink over her in The Woolpack. In December 1993 Lynn went for a drink in The Woolpack and left Peter with a babysitter when the Plane Crash occurred. She suffered a minor head injury but was otherwise unscathed, and returned home to discover Whiteley's Farm had been destroyed. Peter was safe, as the babysitter had come outside with him when the crash occurred. In the aftermath of the crash Lynn continued to make herself unpopular with the other villagers. Lynn developed an attraction toJack Sugden and was slapped by Jack's wife,Sarah, when she found out. She also had a brief relationship with Jack's brother,Joe Sugden, Rachel's former stepfather, in order to get revenge for Rachel's affair with Pete. Lynn then slept with a news reporter and gave him information about the plane crash. After one final showdown with Rachel, Lynn left the village to live inAustralia with an Australian called Sven Olsen in August 1994. None of the other villagers was unhappy to see her go and none missed her.
Bill Whiteley was first seen after his house was auctioned off. He received a large sum of money for the house as a result of a high interest rate. After buying himself a new farm, which he renamed "Whiteley's Farm", Bill invited his grandson Pete and his wife Lynn to live with him. Bill was very morbid and obsessed with death, so much so that Ernie Shuttleworth, owner of the Malt Shovel barred him for depressing customers. Bill had the same effect on customers at the Woolpack. He believed that his family wouldn't be able to afford a decent coffin so he got himself one for Christmas. Bill was devastated when Pete was killed in a hit-and-run accident byKate Sugden. At Pete's funeral, Bill angrily berated Kate's husbandJoe after he offered to help the family. Following the birth of his great-grandsonPeter, Bill let Lynn and Peter carry on living with him. Bill was last seen when Kate visited him to apologize for causing Pete's death but he tells that no apology could bring his grandson back. Bill died off-screen in July 1991 of natural causes.
David Hughes, played by Martyn Whitby, made his first appearance on 29 March 1989 and departed on 22 November 1990. David is the ex-husband ofKate Hughes (Sally Knyvette) and the father of their childrenMark (Craig McKay) andRachel (Glenda McKay). David appears in the village prior to Kate's wedding toJoe Sugden (Frazer Hines) and his presence causes friction. In spite of this, Kate and Joe marry and David leaves. However, he returns several months later and intends to settle in Hotten near the village to become closer to his children, which angers Joe. During this time, David learns of Rachel's affair withPete Whiteley (Jim Millea) and agrees to keep quiet but when he sees Rachel and Pete kissing, he attacks Pete.
David then tells Kate of the affair and schemes to be closer to her by inviting her and the children to spend Christmas with him, then by buying Kate a new dress as a present. Joe, incensed, attempts to attack David but is overpowered. David then becomes obsessed with winning Kate back, which culminates in him menacing her and Joe withAlan Turner's (Richard Thorp) shotgun. However, Kate calls David's bluff and he backs down and flees the village. David returns in November and hides out at the Mill, and is aided by Mark and Rachel. After a failed attempt to visit Kate who is now incarcerated for running over Pete, David returns and apologises to Joe for attempting to shoot him and thanks him for not calling the police. Mark then urges David to give himself up, which he agrees to but when Mark returns with Rachel to drive him to the police station, David is gone and has left a note.
Eddie Hammond, portrayed by Geoffrey Banks, is the father ofKate Hughes (Sally Knyvette) who attends her wedding toJoe Sugden (Frazer Hines). He initially appears for two episodes in April 1989 and in those is mistakenly credited asEddie Hughes. He returns in September 1989 to visit Kate. In 1991, after Kate is paroled from prison for the hit and run ofPete Whiteley (Jim Millea) that resulted in his death, she goes to live with Eddie instead of returning to Beckindale.
Since his last appearance, Eddie has not appeared at his grandsonMark Hughes' (Craig McKay) funeral in 1994, great-grandsonJoseph Tate's (Oliver Young) christening in 1995 or the funerals of Kate in 1997 orRachel Hughes (Glenda McKay) in 1999, so it is unknown whether Eddie is alive or not.
Louise Merrick, portrayed by Linzi McGuire, is the daughter ofSandie Merrick (Jane Hutcheson) and Andy Longthorn (Mark Botham). She was born in Aberdeen in November 1983 when Sandie was living with her father,Tom Merrick (Edward Peel) after she fell out with her mother,Pat Sugden (Helen Weir), over her pregnancy. When Louise was born her mother was seventeen and her father was nineteen. When Sandie decided to return to Beckindale, she put Louise up for adoption to Pat's dismay as she had gotten used to the idea of being a grandmother. In 1989, Louise was returned to Sandie's care and went to live with her and her father after leaving Beckindale for good this time.
Ted takes an interest inDolly Skilbeck, when she is grieving for her recently deceased lover Steven Fuller. However, Dolly does not feel as strong about Ted as he does about her. Ted is enraged at being rejected and kidnaps Dolly. Worried that Dolly may inform the police, he initially refuses to let her go but relents when she tells him she won't tell anyone which, she does not. Ted then flees the village.
Alice Wood
3 October–9 November
Olivia Jardith
Alice is the mother ofCaroline Bates who briefly visits from Scarborough, much to the irritation ofAlan Turner. At the end of her visit, Caroline leaves with her to look after her. In 1991, Alice's Grandson Nick and his girlfriendElsa Feldmann have a daughter and name her after Alice. In 1994, Caroline receives a phone that call that Alice Sr. has died.
Sid is the manager of a Chip Shop in Hotten who employsJack Sugden. Sid is surly, miserable and often rude to his employees, including Donna, a girl who works there. Jack quickly tires of Sid's callous attitude towards Donna when she burns herself with some oil and stands up to Sid. Sid threatens to fire Jack, who resigns but not before pouring baked beans all over Sid much to the amusement of Donna and the customers. As Jack leaves, Sid tells Donna to stop him but she tells Sid to stop Jack himself..
