ITV Emmerdale’s tribute to Philip Wood as soap remembers beloved director

Thursday, July 8, the ITV soap Emmerdale paid tribute to beloved director Phillip Wood at the conclusion of last night’s episode.

In the most recent episode, when the credits rolled and the program came to a close, a title card appeared on the screen with the words, “Dedicated to Philip Wood.”

It happened at the conclusion of a particularly sad episode in which Cain and Chas shared intimate details about their upbringing as they fought to accept their mother’s choice to terminate her cancer treatment.

Phillip directed 66 episodes of the long-running soap from 1999 to 2005 while working behind the scenes, but he wasn’t on Emmerdale when he passed away.

The accomplished director was well known in the business and had during the course of his career directed several Coronation Street episodes.

Phillip directed 22 episodes of the program starting in 2000. He also directed the Channel 4 shows River City, Desperate Scouse Wives, and Brookside.

Although the precise cause of Phillip’s passing is unknown, it is obvious from the outpouring of condolences that followed the incident in April that he was a dearly liked and esteemed team member.

In a heartfelt homage at the moment, Liam O’Brien, who portrayed Ethan Blake in Emmerdale, called his Emmerdale co-star a “great director.”

On Twitter, he wrote: “I was shocked to learn of Philip Wood’s demise. He was a close friend from our time on Emmerdale, and he was a fantastic director.

When I was a teenager, I first collaborated with him on a Brookside workshop in Belfast, and then, over ten years later, he was in charge of the farm. RIP, buddy.”