# UK Soap and Drama Discussion > Emmerdale > General >  'Emmerdale' producer Blyth dies, aged 41

## Perdita

Emmerdale's series producer Gavin Blyth has died at the age of 41, ITV has confirmed.

The show chief - who took office at the Yorkshire-based soap in January 2009 - passed away last night following a short period of ill health.

An Emmerdale spokesperson said today: "It is with great sadness that we confirm our series producer Gavin Blyth passed away last night after a short illness. 

"Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this terrible time. He will be greatly missed by us all. Gavin leaves his wife Suzy and children Tom, 15, Anya, 11 and Carter, aged 1."

Blyth first joined the world of soap in 2002, when he landed the job of senior publicist at Emmerdale. He later secured the position of script editor at the programme.

In 2005, Blyth became a story associate at Coronation Street before moving onto the role of assistant producer.

After returning to Emmerdale in the position of series producer last year, he began steering a major revamp of the rural soap. His decisions included introducing the Sharma and Barton families, bringing back the characters of Cain and Charity and signing up a number of new cast members, including Kim Thomson, James Sutton, Suzanne Shaw and Pauline Quirke.

Sally Spode's evil revenge on village vicar Ashley Thomas, the tale of Mark Wylde's murder and Aaron Livesy's sexuality struggle were among the successful storylines which appeared on screens during his time with the soap.

Paying tribute to Blyth, Emmerdale's executive producer Steve November said: "Gavin has made an immense contribution to Emmerdale since taking over as series producer in January 2009 and during many hugely successful years at ITV. 

"As a friend and colleague, he will be missed an incredible amount by us all. It is a very sad day for everyone at Emmerdale. Our thoughts are with Gavin's family and those closest to him at this difficult time."



 :EEK!:   RIP

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## DaVeyWaVey

I can't believe I arrived online and read about this  :Sad:  What a shock. My thoughts are with his family and friends. 

His influence on Emmerdale is going to be sorely missed. He made the show one of the best soaps on the box again, devising some great characters and stories. 

RIP.

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## alan45

The Late Gavin Blyth

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## tammyy2j

RIP he was very young and he did well as producer some top cracking storylines

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## alan45

Tributes have today flooded in for Emmerdale's series producer Gavin Blyth, who passed away last night at the age of 41.

Members of Emmerdale's cast and crew, fans of the soap and colleagues from Blyth's time at Coronation Street are among those who have spoken of their admiration for him over the past few hours.

Writing on Twitter earlier today, Danny Miller - who plays Aaron Livesy on the show - commented: "A friend, a incredibly intelligent man, great father and husband! And a true gent!! God bless you mate and may you rest in peace! … Wouldn't be the person I am today without the legend that is Gavin Blyth! Amazing man! Love him!"

Lyndon Ogbourne - who recently bowed out as Nathan Wylde - said: "Gavin Blyth was a friend, a total gent and a true legend. For everything that he did for me, and everyone. RIP."

Suzanne Shaw - Eve Jenson in the soap - told her online followers: "Someone makes the world special by just being in it. Gavin RIP x"

Jake Roche - known for his guest role as Isaac Nuttall - said: "Just found out about the news of Gavin Blyth. Shocking. I owe him a lot. He had the final say on casting. RIP. a true gent and genius x"

Kirsty-Leigh Porter, who plays bad girl Roz Fielding, and Emmerdale's assistant producer Tony Hammond both spoke of how they felt "honoured" to have worked for Blyth, while programme director Lee Salisbury said that the show chief "will be missed so much". 

Coronation Street actor Antony Cotton (Sean Tully) also expressed his sadness on Twitter, while Weatherfield scriptwriter Jonathan Harvey described Blyth as a "lovely man" and "a real laugh".

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## Chloe O'brien

What a waste of a young life, His poor family. RIP Gavin.

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## alan45

Emmerdale star Jason Merrells has paid tribute to the soap's late series producer Gavin Blyth, praising his ambition and vision for the show.

At the weekend, it was announced that Blyth had passed away at the age of 41 following a short period of ill health.

Speaking on This Morning today, Merrells said that Blyth's passion for Emmerdale had been one of the main reasons why he signed up for the role of Declan Macey back in February.

The actor commented: "Our producer Gavin sadly passed away this weekend and I've got to say that one of the reasons that I did this job was because of him. 

"It was talking to him and listening to how he had a vision for the show that made me squash a lot of my - actually very stupid - preconceptions of soap, that I've lost now completely because of the great people there, the professionalism, and actually how much I'm enjoying it."

He added: "A lot of that was to do with Gavin and his vision and wanting it to be the best it can be. It's very difficult to make stuff that is on six nights a week and to keep those stories turning over and to keep the logic of those stories. I think Gavin was so keen on that - that was what was so exciting to join really, and it's a real shame."

A number of other Emmerdale stars have also praised Blyth in recent days, as have members of the show's crew and colleagues from his time at Coronation Street.

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## Perdita

SOAP stars wept yesterday at the funeral of TV producer Gavin Blyth, who died of cancer last month aged just 41. 

Corrie's Sally Dynevor (Sally Webster), Samia Smith (Maria Connor) and Emmerdale's Mark Charnock (Marlon Dingle) were among mourners at a church in Southport, Lancs. 

Popular dad-of-three Gavin produced Emmerdale and worked on Corrie. 

Pals said he was "a telly genius".

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## alan45

Emmerdale and Coronation Street actors attended soap producer Gavin Blyth's funeral earlier.

Blyth had previously worked on Corrie and was series producer of Emmerdale when he passed away last month.

Attendees at the Southport, Merseyside funeral included Dales stars Pauline Quirke and Matthew Wolfenden, who play Hazel Rhodes and David Metcalfe, and Coronation Street's Samia Smith (Maria Connor) and Sally Dynevor (Sally Webster).

Blyth died as a result of a short illness, ITV announced previously.

The 41-year-old left his wife Suzy and three children.

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## lizann

Rest in Peace

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## Perdita

The widow of late Emmerdale series producer Gavin Blyth has told of her devastation after returning from his funeral to find that their house had been burgled.

Suzy Blyth travelled back to her home in Rodley, Leeds on Thursday following the service in Southport. She discovered that several items had been taken, including treasured possessions.

She told the Yorkshire Post: "I am absolutely devastated that this has happened at what is already such a difficult time for our family. 

"The laptop with all our precious family photographs stored on it has been taken, along with some of our most treasured possessions. I would be so grateful if anyone who knows anything about it would come forward."

A West Yorkshire police spokesman said that forensic tests had been completed and inquiries were under way in the area. They urged anyone with information to contact them on 0113 241 4888.

Gavin passed away last month following a short illness.



 :Angry:

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## Chloe O'brien

What a load of dirty low-life scumbags. How could anyone be so heartless I hope they get the swines.

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## Katy

hope they rot, thats an awful thing to do

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## alan45

In memory of Gavin Blyth, Corrie and Emmerdale lads will be taking to the football pitch to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.  

Gavin was Coronation Street's ex-Assistant Producer and Emmerdale's Series Producer. He passed away aged 41 after a short illness in December 2010.  Read more about Gavin Blyth at itv.com.

The charity football match takes place on Saturday 19th February, kick off 1pm, gates opening at 12 noon. Tickets are payable at the turnstile. It is at the Olympic Stadium, next to the City of Manchester Stadium, Sports City, Manchester, M11 3FF.

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## Katy

Nice little stadium that commonwealth stadium, should get a good turnout, its all for a good cause.

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## alan45

Emmerdale has today announced the appointment of Stuart Blackburn as the soap's new series producer.

Blackburn - who has been working as the ITV1 drama's story editor since 2009 - takes up the post with immediate effect and will chair his first long-term story conference this week.

The programme's new showrunner succeeds the late Gavin Blyth, who passed away last November following a short period of ill health. Blyth had steered a successful revamp period for the programme, introducing new characters and families and overseeing acclaimed storylines.

Speaking of his new position, Blackburn commented: "This job is very special to me because producing is the ultimate form of storytelling and I've always been very passionate about drama in my working life.

"This is without doubt the most exciting day of my career. I feel a massive responsibility as well as excitement. We'll never be complacent at Emmerdale as it's important we look forward. Together with the cast and crew, we'll continue to work extremely hard to improve what Gavin had started."

Blackburn's first association with Emmerdale came 13 years ago when he joined the soap as a storyliner. He later went on to work on Sky's Dream Team, ITV1's The Bill and BBC One's Ballykissangel among others.

He returned to the world of soap five years ago when he took on the post of story editor at Coronation Street, where his working relationship with Gavin Blyth began. Consequently, when Blyth became Emmerdale's series producer in 2009, Blackburn was invited to re-join the show's team as story editor.

Discussing Emmerdale's future, John Whiston, ITV Studios' creative director for soaps, said: "Stuart Blackburn has a unique combination of the perfect pedigree and the fire in his belly to take Emmerdale to new heights. 

"I'm really glad he threw his hat into the ring for the producer's job and I'm confident the show will now build not just on the foundations that Gavin laid but also on the amazing work that [assistant producer] Tony Hammond and the team have done to carry on Gavin's legacy."

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## Perdita

Emmerdale star Danny Miller has today announced details of the second annual Gavin Blyth Memorial Ball, which aims to raise Â£75,000 for charity.

Cast from Emmerdale and Coronation Street will join forces with friends from Hollyoaks and EastEnders and a host of other celebrities by attending the fundraising night on Saturday, February 18.

For the second year running, soap stars are supporting the event in memory of TV producer Blyth, who passed away from cancer at the age of 41 in November 2010.

Blyth is best known for his acclaimed stint as Emmerdale's series producer in 2009 and 2010. He had previously worked on Coronation Street, starting out as a story associate before progressing to the role of assistant producer.

The Gavin Blyth Memorial Ball raised Â£65,000 last year and was the brainchild of Miller, who plays Emmerdale's troubled mechanic Aaron Livesy.

This year, the Ball will raise funds for new Manchester-based charity Once Upon A Smile, which Miller set up alongside his friend and fellow actor Daniel Jillings last year.

Miller commented: "Gavin Blyth was an inspirational and passionate producer. But not only that, he was a fantastic man, father, mentor, and friend who was like a brother to me and so many others. 

"Despite a year passing, there's still a giant hole left at Emmerdale, so we want to remember Gavin in a fitting way to celebrate his life - and raising money for our new charity Once Upon A Smile."

Jillings added: "When Danny and I agreed to set up Once Upon A Smile last year, we had a variety of different reasons for wanting to set it up and for Danny, Gavin (pictured left) was a major factor. 

"Once Upon A Smile provides respite breaks for families who have suffered bereavement - whether it's the loss of a child or parent. The impact of bereavement is immense and we do all we can to assist the family by giving them a break away from their current situation, even if it's just for a day, to put smiles back on faces and allow them time to be a family again.

"Tickets are still available in limited supply for the ball. Tickets are priced at Â£100 each, with tables of 10 and 12 available. For more information on Once Upon A Smile, please visit www.onceuponasmile.org.uk.

"We have planned an incredible evening which we hope everyone will thoroughly enjoy, whilst helping us raise thousands. The money raised from the Gavin Blyth Memorial Ball will allow us to continue this crucial work and increase the number of families we can support."

The night will begin with a champagne and red carpet reception at the Manchester Deansgate Hilton. Afterwards, guests will move into the ballroom for the evening and will be entertained by performances from cast members and surprise guests.

The target fundraising amount of Â£75,000 would enable Once Upon A Smile to support at least 75 bereaved families in Manchester.

 :Thumbsup:

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## alan45

Emmerdale's departing star Danny Miller: 'Gavin Blyth nurtured me'

Danny Miller has once again emphasised the impact of late producer Gavin Blyth on his success at Emmerdale.

Blyth, who died of cancer in November 2010, turned Aaron Livesy into one of the village soap's central characters.

Recalling the trauma, Miller told The Sun: "Gavin's death hit everyone very hard. It was such a shock. He got cancer then a month and a bit later he just died.



Â© ITV

"He was like a father figure for me. I looked up to him and he helped me play the great storylines. He nurtured me. He was a very talented young man. He was there 24/7 for me.

"He stood by his word and he stood by me and said he'd support me and he did. We all miss him so much."

At last year's British Soap Awards, Miller paid an emotional tribute to Blyth, whose time as boss saw Emmerdale's popularity rocket.

The 21-year-old's final scenes as Aaron air next Thursday (April 5).

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