Edna Birch
Edna Birch is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Shirley Stelfox. She made her first appearance during the episode first broadcast on 25 May 2000. Edna is characterised as a proud and independent Christian woman who often judges her neighbours' lifestyles. She is recognisable amongst the public for her pudding-basin hat and dog – firstly, Batley the Yorkshire Terrier, followed by Papillon Tootsie. Many of her stories have involved her dogs, including being run over saving Tootsie and the death of Batley, which won an award. The programme established friendships for Edna with many characters of a similar age, and in later years, she was paired with Sandy Thomas, which generated many comedic scenes.
Edna's family were also seen at various points. The introduction of her estranged sister, Lily Butterfield, created a new story for Edna as it was revealed that her son was in fact her nephew. In 2012, the character of Edna was used to explore the issue of pride amidst financial difficulties. During the story, Edna faces having to pay for Tootsie's medical bills, a burglary at her home, debts and eventually, a collapse.
Stelfox died in December 2015 after portraying Edna for fifteen years. The character's final scenes were broadcast prior to her death, in the episode first broadcast on 26 October, and she was killed off-screen in May 2016. The character and Stelfox's performances were widely praised by viewers and critics alike. Simon Farquhar of The Independent opined that Stelfox had established Edna as "one of the best loved characters on the programme in years".
Storylines
Having lived in the village for many years, Edna first appears when she opposes the matching of local vicar Ashley Thomas and pub landlady Bernice Blackstock. Edna is pleased when her teenage granddaughter Eve Birch comes to live with her, however, Eve becomes involved in a hit-and-run accident with her boyfriend, Marc Reynolds, which kills her teacher. Eve manipulates Edna into believing Marc is a bad influence and Edna refuses to believe stories of Eve's misbehaviour until her friend Betty Eagleton spots Eve kicking Edna's beloved dog Batley. Finally seeing her true colours, Edna sends Eve back to live with her father, Peter Birch, in France. Edna is heartbroken when Batley becomes ill and has to be put down; she struggles with his death. When vet Paddy Kirk finds a homeless dog, Tootsie, he asks Edna to care for her. Despite her initial reluctance, Edna agrees and she brings happiness into her life.Edna befriends Len Reynolds, who develops feelings for her. She does not reciprocate these feelings and tells Len, although she is displeased when he begins dating Pearl Ladderbanks. Edna struggles to warm to Pearl, but is the only person to defend the couple when Pearl's son, convicted rapist Frank Bernard Hartbourne, comes to live with them. Pearl and Edna bond over the trouble they have with their respective sons and become close friends. When Len dies, Edna is devastated and briefly falls out with Pearl over Len's feelings for Edna. After learning that her grandmother was a prostitute, Edna becomes ashamed and briefly goes into hiding. Whilst walking Tootsie, Edna becomes the victim of a hit-and-run accident, falling into a ditch and breaking her hip. Her lifeless body is discovered by Shadrach Dingle who steals from her purse. The blame initially falls onto Cain Dingle as his car was involved, but Sam Dingle later admits responsibility.
After needing a new boiler, Edna accepts a loan from local businessman Tom King to buy one. To pay the loan back, Tom suggests that she become his personal assistant as he would prefer someone efficient rather than the glamorous yet incompetent young women favoured by his sons. Edna and Tom soon become close friends and he often turns to her for advice. Edna sometimes found the company challenging to manage, causing her to clash with Tom's sons, Jimmy King and Matthew King, and quit when Tom retired. Edna joins Tom when he starts Home Farm Estates. While she does not always agree with Tom, Edna believes he is a good person and soon falls for him; she is consequently disappointed when he marries Rosemary Sinclair.
Peter later arrives in the village to ask his mother to attend Eve's wedded blessing in France. Edna refuses as she resents Peter's rejection of her faith and believes that she failed to care for Eve properly. Edna is persuaded to attend the blessing, where she reunites with her estranged sister, Lily Butterfield. Back in the village, Edna confides in Tom that Lily is Peter's biological mother and she adopted him as a baby. Tom uses this information to blackmail her into not revealing his family's involvement in the show home disaster, ending their friendship. Consequently, Edna tells Peter the truth about his parentage, but he does not respond well and rejects Edna. She then resigns from her job working for Tom. Despite this, she is sad to learn of his death soon after. Months later, Tootsie begins to feel unwell and is examined by vet Hari Prasad, who finds her close to giving birth. Edna is surprised but Tootsie gives birth to two healthy puppies.
Lily arrives in the village and begins to grow cannabis in Home Form's polytunnel, having found it more effective for her arthritis than prescription medicines. The police invade Edna's home and arrest Lily, so Edna evicts Lily in disgust. Lily later returns and during an argument, Edna admits that she resents her sister for being adventurous; they reconcile. Lily and her colleagues win a car worth £15,000 but Peter returns and makes Lily feel guilty, so she gives him the winning ticket. Edna asks Peter to pay back the money but he refuses and explains that he feels that Lily owes him. Edna then tells Lily that he has agreed to pay the money back, but instead, she withdraws the money from her savings. Weeks later, Edna becomes suspicious of the relationship between Lily and Rodney Blackstock, especially when they disappear together. Rodney informs Edna that Lily has a brain aneurysm and has fled hospital before surgery. Although she is hurt over her sister's secrecy, Edna convinces Lily to have the operation and asks her to move in with her while she recuperates. However, Lily soon feels smothered and moves back in with Pearl.
When the King brothers start their own haulage business, Edna offers her help to receptionist Scarlett Nicholls. However, she impresses Jimmy, who asks her to work for them; Edna agrees and they get along well. Jimmy needlessly worries that Edna has a crush on him. Edna and Scarlett bond and they bake a pie together for Scarlett to give to her boyfriend Daz Eden. Edna soon realises that she has lost her wedding ring, which Daz finds in the pie. Despite Daz initially thinking that Scarlett was proposing marriage, Edna retrieves her ring. After learning that the church will be closing, Edna and other villagers start a choir. She also takes in Nicola De Souza when she becomes homeless, but kicks her out after discovering that Nicola, David Metcalfe and Eric Pollard have been plotting to sabotage the choir and buy and demolish the church. Edna has to miss the choir competition to be with Lily at the hospital and despite their win, Bishop George informs the choir that the church will still close. Edna, a reformed Nicola and other parishioners are furious and stage a lock-in on Christmas Day, convincing Eric and David not to buy the church. Mark Wylde and Natasha Wylde buy the church but gift it to the village.
Sally Spode begins lodging with Edna after being evicted by Ashley. Sally explains that she is terrified of her husband, vicar Vincent Spode, who beats her, so Edna suggests that Sally move in permanently. Sally smashes Edna's window and claims that Vincent did it, horrifying Edna, who later discovered the truth. When Sally accuses Ashley of abusing and torturing her, Edna informs Bishop George, who suspends Ashley pending investigation. Sally's true colours are revealed, so Edna apologises to Ashley and confronts Sally, accusing her of torturing Ashley not vice versa. Sally later trashes the vicarage, shocking Edna and Ashley. Edna hates being fooled by Sally and confides in Betty, but she spreads the story around the village.
Eve returns to the village to live with Edna, delighting her. She struggles to find work, so Edna arranges her to start work as a farmhand at Moira Barton's farm. The following year, Edna, Pearl and Betty are involved in a fire which runs through the village. Eve later leaves the village to start a life in Mexico, which pleases Edna. After Tootsie is diagnosed with spleen cancer, Jimmy encourages Edna to retire and spend time with her, which she decides to do. Having stopped working and spent lots of money on Tootsie's vet care, Edna struggles financially, peaking when Jimmy finds her unconscious due to not being able to afford heating or food. Edna tries to hide her financial issues, but recovers after support from the community. Ashley's father, Sandy Thomas, becomes her lodger after needing a new home and to give Edna an income source. They become close and are joined by Ashley and Edna's relative, Harriet Finch, when she moves to the village.
Following the death of his daughter Gemma Andrews, Edna befriends and supports Dominic Andrews. When Edna wins money on a scratch card, she anonymously leaves Dominic an envelope of money, which he uses to leave the village. Edna develops a friendship with Aaron Livesy, who is openly gay, and reveals to him that her dead husband, Harold Birch, was also gay and married her out of "convenience", since homosexuality was a crime in the United Kingdom at the time. She explains that Harold had a lover, Lawrence White, and she is jealous that Harold could never love her in the same way. Edna then admits to Sandy that she reported Lawrence to the police and he killed himself in prison. Sandy tries locating Lawrence's grave in hope of giving Edna closure, but is shocked to discover that Lawrence is still alive. Lawrence visits Edna and they make peace, although she struggles when he and his family move to the village. Edna is devastated to find her house robbed and her pension missing. It emerges that Belle Dingle stole the money in a schizophrenia episode.
Edna goes to stay with Lily in Bournemouth to conceal the fact that she has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. A few months later, Ashley receives a phone call from the hospital informing him that Edna's condition has worsened. Ashley and Laurel then go to the hospital and return with Tootsie, breaking the news that Edna has died. Her death devastates her friends, particularly Sandy who is annoyed that he could not say goodbye. Edna's funeral is held a week later, conducted by Harriet, who also takes care of Tootsie. Sandy says a private goodbye to Edna using their walkie-talkies.