EMMERDALE has come a long way since the days when Annie Sugden put the world to rights over a pot of tea at the kitchen table.

It started life on October 16, 1972 as a daytime drama about a rural community - and over its 44-year history, the Bafta-winning Yorkshire soap has seen countless murders, steamy affairs, kidnappings, explosions, blackmail plots, domestic abuse, addiction woes, scams and floods, not to mention both a ‘plane and a helicopter crash. “Nay, Mr Wilks,” as Amos Brearly would mutter.

Originally filmed in the Dales, it later shifted to Esholt, where tourists still flock to the Woolpack pub. In 1997 the village set was moved to the Harewood estate, for exterior scenes, and interiors are filmed at ITV studios in Leeds.

The Emmerdale Studio Tour allows fans access to set reconstructions, props, costumes, interactive exhibits and snippets of inside info. The tour, which opened last month, is an insight into how the soap is made, from the scriptwriting process to the special effects. With tours running seven days a week, the studios are set out like a museum, so don’t expect to see any of the cast shooting scenes. The real studios are in a separate part of the building, our guide told us.

At the ‘writers’ desk’ we learned how scripts are created from storyboards and developed over several months, often leading to explosive storylines. Next came the wardrobe department, with racks of costumes, from Annie’s pinnie to Moira’s dramatic red wedding dress and Edna Birch’s famous hat. We learned how clothes are adapted to suit the characters, right down to filling Lisa Dingle’s cardigan pockets with tins of bean tto make them sag.

In make-up we watched footage of actor Michael Parr, who plays bad boy Ross Barton, having a bruised and scarred face made up. He’s quite a hit with the ladies, judging from admiring noises from the tour group! Next came furniture and props, including a plastic sausage, the polystyrene brick that killed Carl King in the 40th anniversary live episode, a chocolate bunny from the Sharmas’ factory and the Hotten Crown Court sign that has made several appearances over the years.

A highlight was taking a peek at the sets. We learned that Berniece’s pink beauty salon, a working set, is on wheels so the camera operators can film from different angles. The Dingles’ living-room was suitably chaotic, complete with a stain on a cupboard door and a packet of biscuits next to a hot water bottle. A lot of work goes into making it look ramshackle. We could almost hear - and smell - the pigs outside!

In the production suite we tried editing a scene and, watching a montage of dramatic footage including the storm that brought the Woolpack chimney down, we learned how some of the show’s most dramatic weather-driven scenes are created.

The trip doesn’t include Emmerdale’s exterior set but the next best thing is a delightful model of the village, with church bells ringing. On display was a miniature Woolpack cellar, used to plan the dramatic flood scenes of 2013. Half a ‘helicopter’ sticking out of a roof was a reminder of a particularly memorable episode.

Finally, we reached the Woolpack where I half expected to see Chas and Charity, the Dingle landladies, bickering behind the bar, or chef Marlon stressing over his steak 'n' ale specials.

The tour offers an enjoyable trip behind the scenes, with a fun, interactive element. For me, it wasn’t as thrilling as the Coronation Street tour because that had been a working set, with soap history seeping through the walls, and the tour included dressing-rooms once occupied by some of its biggest stars. And, of course, visitors could explore the cobbled set outside.

The studios on the Emmerdale tour aren't used for filming, and the props display looked more like a storage area. The Woolpack interior is a mock-up, so didn’t feel as special as the Rovers.

It’s great fun for Emmerdale fans though, and for anyone interested in what goes into making one of the nation’s most watched shows. And hopefully it will be a tourism boost for the region.

* The Emmerdale Studio Experience lasts an hour and 20 minutes. It runs at ITV’s Burley Road Studios, Leeds, seven days a week from 10am - 5pm.

Tickets are available on ticketmaster.co.uk/emmerdale