1979 was Emmerdale's eighth year in production. This year proved to be quite a dramatic year down in the village with rape, barn fire, motorbike crash and shooting. The show was off air after 5th July 1979 and did not come back on air until the following January where Annie Sugden gave a voice over on the events that happened in the 6 months.
- January, Nellie Ratcliffe is told she can stay at her cottage but her rent is put up.
- January, Maurice Westrop is appointed the new NY Estates manager and him and Mr Wilks do not see eye to eye when they first meet.
- January, The Emmerdale Farm residents are not concerned when Westrop announces NY Estates decision to build a piggery at Moor Farm. Although Matt Skilbeck likes pigs to be in fields rather than cooped up.
- March, an old friend of Sam Pearson, Arthur Braithwaite made a few visits to Emmerdale Farm and Sam and Annie visited him at Bull Pot Farm. Arthur was persuaded to sell Bull Pot as it was dilapidated and he was getting too old to carry on farming.
- April, Seth Armstrong became the gamekeeper at Home Farm.
- April, Wendy Hotson of Main Street was raped. Local dimwit Poor Ocker was suspected but when Wendy's father Cully found the real culprit he was ran over when Cully was chasing him.
- April, A barn at NY Estates was torched by Poor Ocker and his friend Smarty.
- April, Joe Sugden accidentally shot Phil Fletcher in the leg after a wrestle with a gun. Joe was later cleared when it was revealed the gun had gone off by itself.
- May, Sam Pearson's old friend Tom Cox, known as Badger turns up in Beckindale and comes to Emmerdale Farm.
- May, Seth Armstrong's son Jimmy and his wife Susan turned up in Beckindale. Jimmy got a job working at Emmerdale Farm. They soon left the village after Susan found she was pregnant.
- July, Annie Sugden proved a shoulder to cry on for Judy Westrop who was tacking depression.
- NOTE: Emmerdale Farm was off air after the episode dated 5th July 1979 and returned on the 8th January 1980. There was a strike at ITV in August 1979 which prevented any autumn 1979 episodes being made.