In the four years leading up to Emmerdale's 40th birthday, 1252 new episodes were aired.
In honour of Emmerdale landmark we present the Top 40 most seen characters of those 4 years.
| Character | Actor | Episodes |
| Chas Spencer | LUCY PARGETER | 769 |
| Diane Sugden | ELIZABETH ESTENSEN | 646 |
| Nicola King | NICOLA WHEELER | 633 |
| Marlon Dingle | MARK CHARNOCK | 602 |
| Carl King | TOM LISTER | 595 |
| Debbie Dingle | CHARLEY WEBB | 581 |
| Laurel Potts | CHARLOTTE BELLAMY | 567 |
| Jimmy King | NICK MILES | 566 |
| Aaron Livesy | DANNY MILLER | 556 |
| Cain Dingle | JEFF HORDLEY | 543 |
| Paddy Kirk | DOMINIC BRUNT | 540 |
| Gennie Walker | SIAN REESE-WILLIAMS | 539 |
| Bob Hope | TONY AUDENSHAW | 538 |
| Lisa Dingle | JANE COX | 532 |
| Val Pollard | CHARLIE HARDWICK | 527 |
| Charity Sharma | EMMA ATKINS | 516 |
| Andy Sugden | KELVIN FLETCHER | 515 |
| Zak Dingle | STEVE HALLIWELL | 510 |
| David Metcalfe | MATTHEW WOLFENDEN | 496 |
| Ashley Thomas | JOHN MIDDLETON | 485 |
| Eric Pollard | CHRISTOPHER CHITTELL | 475 |
| Moira Barton | NATALIE J ROBB | 472 |
| Jai Sharma | CHRISTOPHER BISSON | 467 |
| Katie Macey | SAMMY WINWARD | 460 |
| Nikhil Sharma | RIK MAKAREM | 452 |
| Brenda Walker | LESLEY DUNLOP | 426 |
|
Rodney Blackstock Adam Barton |
PATRICK MOWER ADAM THOMAS |
423 423 |
| Victoria Sugden | ISOBEL HODGINS | 420 |
| Leyla Harding | ROKHSANEH GHAWAM-SHAHIDI | 392 |
| Edna Birch | SHIRLEY STELFOX | 383 |
| Declan Macey | JASON MERRELLS | 371 |
| Sam Dingle | JAMES HOOTON | 367 |
| John Barton | JAMES THORNTON | 339 |
| Holly Barton | SOPHIE POWLES | 331 |
| Maise Wylde | ALICE COULTHARD | 325 |
| Natasha Wylde | AMANDA DONOHOE | 321 |
| Nathan Wylde | LYNDON OGBOURNE | 316 |
| Sandy Thomas | FREDDIE JONES | 298 |
|
Douglas Potts Ryan Lamb |
DUNCAN PRESTON JAMES SUTTON |
294 294 |
Top Writers[]
| SARAH BAGSHAW | 84 |
| PAUL ROUNDELL | 83 |
| BILL TAYLOR | 67 |
| STEPHEN BENNETT | 61 |
| JULIE PARSONS | 60 |
Top Directors[]
| HENRY FOSTER | 92 |
| NEIL ALDERTON | 88 |
| TIM O'MARA | 83 |
| TIM DOWD | 82 |
| ALAN WAREING | 74 |