© Rex Features / ITV
Earlier this week, director Tony Prescott sparked speculation over the rural soap's forthcoming milestone after he apparently hinted at an Emmerdale live broadcast in an interview with The Stage.
According to The Sun today, Prescott has already been chosen to take the helm of the live transmission after he successfully directed Coronation Street live episodes in 2000 and 2010.
Insiders say that a live instalment of Emmerdale would see a number of dramatic plotlines reach a climax on screen.
A source told the newspaper: "No storylines have been decided yet. Bosses want a big surprise and a big disaster. Corrie pushed the limits with their live stunts last year."
The latest rumours remain unconfirmed, but in an interview with Digital Spy earlier this year, Emmerdale's executive producer Steve November said that the soap's team would "absolutely" consider a live episode.
Speaking at the time, he commented: "We've got a particular production difficulty, though, as both Corrie and EastEnders are shot in the same place inside and out, while Emmerdale isn't and we've got eight miles between our village and our studio, which means you can't quickly get from the inside of The Woolpack to the outside.
"So that would create some very interesting logistical problems as we'd have two productions going on eight miles apart, and we'd have to consider where the director would be and where the cast would be. But I think that because we've thought of those problems, you can see that we've considered it and it hasn't been ruled out."
Emmerdale turns 40 on October 16, 2012.
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