I’LL ADMIT to being worried before visiting The Emmerdale Studio Experience.

I used to watch the programme avidly, but had not properly tuned in for years. If I’m honest I am more familiar with Amos Brearly and Jack Sugden than the Kings and the Dingles.

So when I got the chance to go and look behind the scenes of the popular soap, I took along my friend Betty, a lifelong fan, who has watched it from the start back in 1972 and still tunes in to almost every episode. “They’re like family,” she said of the characters.

Betty, 88, fizzed with excitement as we joined a small group at the former ITV studios in Burley Road, Leeds to discover more about the making of the show. “It was designed to last 13 weeks,” we were told by our guide Anne Jarvis, as she led us into the production department.

First we were shown how a storyboard is created , with around 20 writers pitching in with ideas that are put into the mix and eventually emerge as a story. Artists sketch the scenes to bring them to life.

Wardrobes came next, with Alan Turner’s cap, Seth Armstrong’s hat and Annie Sugden’s pinny - all of which I recognised - among the exhibits. The main conversation piece was Edna Birch’s “faded and battered” hat. “I know that so well,” said Betty.

Dan Spencer’s pink wedding suit drew a few gasps. “Clothes are bought from places where those characters would be likely to shop,” explained Anne, asking us to guess where Kerry’s clothing came from (Primark and New Look). And Bernice? (Zara).

Anne told us how Lisa Dingle’s cardigan pockets would be weighted down with cans of beans and wet tissues to make them look droopy. “Her shoes are scuffed with a cheese grater,” she laughs.

In make-up, we learned how mortician’s wax is used to create fake skin that can be cut for realistic injuries.

Walking past a display of props, we looked at plastic food, rubber ironmongery and the foam brick that was used to kill Carl King in 2012. Charity and Chris Tate’s plastic wedding cake was still intact - “It has done a lot better than their marriage,” joked Anne.

One of a number of guides, Anne’s passion for Emmerdale shone through. You do not need to be an avid fan to enjoy this tour, it is interesting to see how a soap which airs five nights a week is put together.

Anne showed us how to work the studio lighting in the garishly decorated Beauty and Bernice salon.

The home of the Dingle family - faithfully recreated - was the next stop on the studio tour, then onwards to have a go at editing a clip yourself and comparing it with the professional cut.

Nowadays the main Emmerdale studio is around the corner on Kirkstall Road, although some sequences are still filmed on this site. One minor gripe - signs to the site could be clearer. We ended up at the wrong place and had to be given directions.

A lovely surprise on the tour came with the mini Emmerdale, a superb model village, copied from the purpose-built set on the Harewood estate. This quarter-scale replica of Main Street, complete with birdsong and church bells, was so prefect I could have moved in.

Special effects used to create extreme weather and dramatic incidents like the devastating helicopter crash are revealed.

We had our photograph taken on the sofa in Smithy Cottage, and - one of the highlights - visited The Woolpack, where there was a chance to be photographed pulling a pint. Betty was in her element behind the bar, ringing time with the bell. “They drink real beer,” Anne told us. Our 80-minute tour was over all too quickly, but we hadn't finished yet, as we went on to enjoy a sandwich and cup of tea in the studio's lovely cafe.

Tours run daily from 10am, and from 9.30am on Saturdays. They take place regularly throughout the day.

*The Emmerdale Studio Experience, 27 Burley Road, Leeds LS3 1JT ; visit emmerdalestudioexperience.co.uk ; For more information and to book tickets ring 0844 453 9090. To contact the attraction directly please call 0113 430 1243.

Helen Mead