Eric Pollard
Encyclopedia
Eric Charles Pollard is a fictional character
from the British
soap opera
Emmerdale
played by Chris Chittell
.
Pollard has appeared on the show since 1986, making him the second longest running current character after Alan Turner
who has appeared since 1982. He has lied to, cheated and swindled nearly all his neighbours — without allowing his actions to ever trouble his conscience. He is the father of an illegitimate son David Metcalfe
.
Eric has been married five times and is known for his deception and bigamy. After a few years in Emmerdale, Eric started to pursue his eventual second wife Elizabeth Feldmann – without bothering to mention he was still married to his first wife Eileen.
Unlike his other wives, Elizabeth didn't leave Eric of her own accord. When the plane crash hit Emmerdale in 1993, she was babysitting – having told Eric that she intended to tell the police that he was responsible for the cheque fraud that he had framed her son, Michael, for. Elizabeth was found dead after the plane crash. There is still speculation about whether Eric murdered her. If he did, he got away with it as her death was officially recorded as a result of the plane crash. Even now it is still unclear how she died and only Eric knows the truth. Undeterred, Eric continued his dodgy business dealings by going into business with Kathy Tate by turning her tea rooms into a wine bar at night.
When he went to the Philippines over Christmas 1996, Eric shocked everyone by returning with a sexy young fiancée in tow. Dee De La Cruz was happy to be Eric's little woman and the pair got married and threw all their energies into their business.
The marriage didn't last. Dee got sick of Eric's business woes and paranoia about her so went home – leaving Eric absolutely suicidal. With the help of Marlon Dingle, Eric did recover from his heartbreak.
In 2000, Eric forgot about being a nasty bit of work in order to save the life of his best friend and colleague – Kathy Glover. Suspecting her boyfriend, Graham Clark, had murdered fiancée, Rachel Hughes
, Eric voiced his worries and had the whole village doubting him. When he rescued Kathy after Graham tried to kill her, he proved to be her hero.
It seemed Eric had finally found his perfect woman when he met villager Gloria Weaver in 2001. Underneath her mild persona, it turned out that Gloria was thirsty for power! Having married Eric in 2002, Gloria pushed him in his quest to become mayor and, on their wedding night, encouraged him to sleep with councillor Glynis to secure her nomination for the post!
When the scandal broke, thanks to Steph Forsyth's interference, Gloria twisted the whole thing so she looked like the wronged wife and took the job herself – and was posted to Westminster. While away, Gloria had an affair with Hilary, her male researcher.
When the fling was exposed, Eric was horrified and chucked her out. In despair, Gloria drove out of the village, drunk, and her car and shoes were found later. Convinced she was dead, Eric grieved for her until a few months later, he received a videotape of Gloria sipping a cocktail in the sun, saying she was glad to be rid of him.
Having had so many disasters marriages and relationships, you would think Eric would be off women forever but got together with troublemaker Val Lambert. The sparky duo set up a business together and let their romance flourish.
But politics came between Eric and love again. When he decided to run for re-election, Eric realized that having a dodgy character like Val as his partner could spoil his chances. They cooked up a story that they had split and promised to reunite after the election, but Eric got carried away in his dismissal of Val and she dumped him.
However, the pair continued to work together at the factory and it was clear they still had feelings for each other. Eric was horrified when he found out that Val was running against him in the local elections and it looked like any attempt at a reconciliation would be in vain. However, when she realized the damage she was doing to his campaign, Val tried sabotaging her own by coming clean about her shady past. Pollard was deeply touched by the gesture, but horrified that she was still doing better than him with the electorate. Things worsened for him when he got tangled up with a local dominatrix and saw his political chances get even worse.
When he went head to head with Val's ex-brother-in-law and lover Rodney Blackstock, Eric played as dirty as he could to win. Now Eric was back in office and taking bribes from Jimmy King.
In 2007, Donna and Marlon Dingle finally had the opportunity to get their dream home. Eric planned to bid in the auction and was about to leave when Eli and Sam tied him up and gagged him. Eric was rescued by his son, David, who found the sight of his father tied up, amusing.
On 17 December 2007, Eric was driving with Val, when he accidentally crashed into the back of another car. The woman driving, Rosalind, instantly fancied him. She revealed she was married and then tried to seduce him. Eric refused and rushed to the Woolpack and proposed to Val and she accepted. Three months later, Eric discovered Rosalind was married to one of his business partners. They went to a hotel together, and when they left (nothing had happened between them) Rosalind passionately kissed Eric, unaware someone was taking photographs of them from behind a bush. The next morning, Rosalind turned up at Val's Interiors and told Eric she'd received a blackmail letter, with photos of them kissing, demanding £5000 for the blackmailer's silence. They were instructed to leave the money in a phone box in Hotten. Eric managed to get the £5000, but was still blackmailed. At one point he suspected his son, David Metcalfe
but then realized his mistake. On 5 May 2008, Eric found out that Rosalind was the blackmailer.
In the episode 'What Price Love?', aired on 3rd June 2008, Eric and Val married in a surprise ceremony coinciding with the final of the Pub of the Year Competition, also coinciding with Emmerdale's 5000th Episode. Eric could not afford the wedding Val wanted so he convinced her family to go along with a surprise wedding which would take place after the Pub of the Year competition; even the tickets to the competition became tickets for the wedding. Val was kidnapped by the Dingles and overheard Eric's true plans. When Eric came to rescue her, they had a furious row and the Dingles dumped them in the village. After some thought, Val went through with her marriage to Eric. After their marriage, they argue frequently but always make up.
Eric was getting deeper and deeper into debt, even getting David to borrow money from Val. When Val finally learnt about his problems, she persuaded the Kings to buy the factory, suggesting they turn it into luxury apartments. Eric let the staff go without telling them of his plans. He told Sam that he wished the factory could go up in smoke and, thinking he was serious, he, Eli and Gennie Walker set the factory on fire. With the help of Val and his workers, Eric moved the factory to the B & B, where he hired some rooms.
Worried about Leyla Harding
's constant requests for overtime, Eric tried convincing David that she was a gold digger. David believed him, and as a result, nearly lost her. David moved out of his father's house and, backed by Edna Birch
and Alan Turner
, decided to run for Eric's council seat. Eric was working with Nathan Wylde
to close a public footpath, and Nathan began applying more and more pressure as the campaign continued, causing Eric to have a heart attack. He kept it from David but when David learned the truth, they bonded again as the election returns came in. To David's shock, he had won. Eric wasn't happy but was, in some ways, relieved to no longer have the pressure. He tried giving David advice, but when Edna, who resented his interference, made him think David only felt pity for him, Eric began coming up with various neighborhood improvement plans to steal David's thunder.
Eric's focus on political and family concerns only exacerbated the damage the recession had done to his business. Orders dropped dramatically until Eric decided to close the factory. He planned to sell the sewing equipment but didn't tell Val. Much to his horror, she and the Dingles stole it and they sold it, using the money as redundancy payments. Eric planned to open a funeral parlour, but various locals protested about the idea and David convinced him it would be too expensive. He then began looking for a job as he needed the money and something to do but didn't have any luck.
Val, however, heard that Louise Appleton had put her share of the B&B on the market. Terry had got a loan to buy her out but gave the cash to his girlfriend, Brenda Walker
, inside to bail her out of her financial difficulties. Terry was not pleased to discover that Val and Eric had bought Louise out, particularly when they left all the work to him. They eventually realised what hard work running a B&B could be and wanting to make their mark on the place, suggested opening a restaurant. Terry agreed cautiously and was also persuaded to hire Sam's "friend", Olena, as a maid - thinking she was Polish and merely wanted money to fund her travels.
In 2010, Eric started receiving letters, messages and cards, claiming to be from his long dead wife Elizabeth Feldmann. Originally suspecting the messages to be sent by Amy Wyatt, it was revealed on 30 December that the messages had instead been sent by Elizabeth's son Michael Feldmann. Michael, who had been spending periods of time in-and-out of jail, confronted Eric at Elizabeth's grave. He later followed Eric back to The Grange, where he confronted him , prompting him to reveal his history to his current wife, Val. Michael then left, however, he later informed Amy that he wanted Eric to pay him a large sum or money, otherwise he would reveal Eric to be a murderer. Eric told Michael to come in his car with him, and he would pay him off. Eric drove Michael to a remote area, however, after an exchange of words, Eric produced a tyre iron, advancing on Michael, who cowered into a corner. The result of the incident was not revealed, however, Eric returned to Emmerdale alone, appearing on edge and nervous. telling Val that he had given Michael a lift to the station.
In fact, he hadn't dropped him off at the station but he wasn't dead either and turned up on 4 January to confront Eric again. Eric said that he couldn't have anymore money and Val told him that he had probably seen the coroner's report that stated his mother was killed by falling debris and that it was time to give up blaming Eric. He agreed and after a calm discussion, Eric persuaded Michael to take the money for looking after himself. Michael then got in a car and drove out of the village into the night.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
played by Chris Chittell
Chris Chittell
Christopher John Chittell is an English actor best known for his role as Eric Pollard in ITV's Emmerdale, a part that he has played since 1986....
.
Pollard has appeared on the show since 1986, making him the second longest running current character after Alan Turner
Alan Turner (Emmerdale)
Alan Jonathan Turner is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Richard Thorp. He first appeared on 18 March 1982, and is the longest running character in the soap. Originally portrayed as an inept, boozing and bullying manager for NY Estates at Home Farm, he has...
who has appeared since 1982. He has lied to, cheated and swindled nearly all his neighbours — without allowing his actions to ever trouble his conscience. He is the father of an illegitimate son David Metcalfe
David Metcalfe
David Eric Metcalfe is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He is played by Matthew Wolfenden. He is the illegitimate son of Eric Pollard-2006–09:...
.
1986–
Eric arrived in Beckindale in September 1986 and immediately found a business enemy in Sandie Merrick, whose mother Pat has died in a car accident just weeks before Eric's arrival. He proved himself to be very unpopular and even threatened Sandie with a poker whilst drunk.Eric has been married five times and is known for his deception and bigamy. After a few years in Emmerdale, Eric started to pursue his eventual second wife Elizabeth Feldmann – without bothering to mention he was still married to his first wife Eileen.
Unlike his other wives, Elizabeth didn't leave Eric of her own accord. When the plane crash hit Emmerdale in 1993, she was babysitting – having told Eric that she intended to tell the police that he was responsible for the cheque fraud that he had framed her son, Michael, for. Elizabeth was found dead after the plane crash. There is still speculation about whether Eric murdered her. If he did, he got away with it as her death was officially recorded as a result of the plane crash. Even now it is still unclear how she died and only Eric knows the truth. Undeterred, Eric continued his dodgy business dealings by going into business with Kathy Tate by turning her tea rooms into a wine bar at night.
When he went to the Philippines over Christmas 1996, Eric shocked everyone by returning with a sexy young fiancée in tow. Dee De La Cruz was happy to be Eric's little woman and the pair got married and threw all their energies into their business.
The marriage didn't last. Dee got sick of Eric's business woes and paranoia about her so went home – leaving Eric absolutely suicidal. With the help of Marlon Dingle, Eric did recover from his heartbreak.
In 2000, Eric forgot about being a nasty bit of work in order to save the life of his best friend and colleague – Kathy Glover. Suspecting her boyfriend, Graham Clark, had murdered fiancée, Rachel Hughes
Rachel Hughes
Rachel Hughes is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She was played by Glenda McKay.-Storylines:...
, Eric voiced his worries and had the whole village doubting him. When he rescued Kathy after Graham tried to kill her, he proved to be her hero.
It seemed Eric had finally found his perfect woman when he met villager Gloria Weaver in 2001. Underneath her mild persona, it turned out that Gloria was thirsty for power! Having married Eric in 2002, Gloria pushed him in his quest to become mayor and, on their wedding night, encouraged him to sleep with councillor Glynis to secure her nomination for the post!
When the scandal broke, thanks to Steph Forsyth's interference, Gloria twisted the whole thing so she looked like the wronged wife and took the job herself – and was posted to Westminster. While away, Gloria had an affair with Hilary, her male researcher.
When the fling was exposed, Eric was horrified and chucked her out. In despair, Gloria drove out of the village, drunk, and her car and shoes were found later. Convinced she was dead, Eric grieved for her until a few months later, he received a videotape of Gloria sipping a cocktail in the sun, saying she was glad to be rid of him.
Having had so many disasters marriages and relationships, you would think Eric would be off women forever but got together with troublemaker Val Lambert. The sparky duo set up a business together and let their romance flourish.
But politics came between Eric and love again. When he decided to run for re-election, Eric realized that having a dodgy character like Val as his partner could spoil his chances. They cooked up a story that they had split and promised to reunite after the election, but Eric got carried away in his dismissal of Val and she dumped him.
However, the pair continued to work together at the factory and it was clear they still had feelings for each other. Eric was horrified when he found out that Val was running against him in the local elections and it looked like any attempt at a reconciliation would be in vain. However, when she realized the damage she was doing to his campaign, Val tried sabotaging her own by coming clean about her shady past. Pollard was deeply touched by the gesture, but horrified that she was still doing better than him with the electorate. Things worsened for him when he got tangled up with a local dominatrix and saw his political chances get even worse.
When he went head to head with Val's ex-brother-in-law and lover Rodney Blackstock, Eric played as dirty as he could to win. Now Eric was back in office and taking bribes from Jimmy King.
In 2007, Donna and Marlon Dingle finally had the opportunity to get their dream home. Eric planned to bid in the auction and was about to leave when Eli and Sam tied him up and gagged him. Eric was rescued by his son, David, who found the sight of his father tied up, amusing.
On 17 December 2007, Eric was driving with Val, when he accidentally crashed into the back of another car. The woman driving, Rosalind, instantly fancied him. She revealed she was married and then tried to seduce him. Eric refused and rushed to the Woolpack and proposed to Val and she accepted. Three months later, Eric discovered Rosalind was married to one of his business partners. They went to a hotel together, and when they left (nothing had happened between them) Rosalind passionately kissed Eric, unaware someone was taking photographs of them from behind a bush. The next morning, Rosalind turned up at Val's Interiors and told Eric she'd received a blackmail letter, with photos of them kissing, demanding £5000 for the blackmailer's silence. They were instructed to leave the money in a phone box in Hotten. Eric managed to get the £5000, but was still blackmailed. At one point he suspected his son, David Metcalfe
David Metcalfe
David Eric Metcalfe is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He is played by Matthew Wolfenden. He is the illegitimate son of Eric Pollard-2006–09:...
but then realized his mistake. On 5 May 2008, Eric found out that Rosalind was the blackmailer.
In the episode 'What Price Love?', aired on 3rd June 2008, Eric and Val married in a surprise ceremony coinciding with the final of the Pub of the Year Competition, also coinciding with Emmerdale's 5000th Episode. Eric could not afford the wedding Val wanted so he convinced her family to go along with a surprise wedding which would take place after the Pub of the Year competition; even the tickets to the competition became tickets for the wedding. Val was kidnapped by the Dingles and overheard Eric's true plans. When Eric came to rescue her, they had a furious row and the Dingles dumped them in the village. After some thought, Val went through with her marriage to Eric. After their marriage, they argue frequently but always make up.
Eric was getting deeper and deeper into debt, even getting David to borrow money from Val. When Val finally learnt about his problems, she persuaded the Kings to buy the factory, suggesting they turn it into luxury apartments. Eric let the staff go without telling them of his plans. He told Sam that he wished the factory could go up in smoke and, thinking he was serious, he, Eli and Gennie Walker set the factory on fire. With the help of Val and his workers, Eric moved the factory to the B & B, where he hired some rooms.
Worried about Leyla Harding
Leyla Harding
Leyla Harding is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Rokhsaneh Ghawam-Shahidi. She made her first on-screen appearance on 11 August 2008 and was introduced by series producer, Anita Turner...
's constant requests for overtime, Eric tried convincing David that she was a gold digger. David believed him, and as a result, nearly lost her. David moved out of his father's house and, backed by Edna Birch
Edna Birch
Edna Birch is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She is played by Shirley Stelfox.In a village marred by affairs, double-crossing and sin, widow Edna is a paragon of virtue. She first appeared on the show in 2000, but had been living in the village for many years...
and Alan Turner
Alan Turner (Emmerdale)
Alan Jonathan Turner is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Richard Thorp. He first appeared on 18 March 1982, and is the longest running character in the soap. Originally portrayed as an inept, boozing and bullying manager for NY Estates at Home Farm, he has...
, decided to run for Eric's council seat. Eric was working with Nathan Wylde
Nathan Wylde
Nathan Wylde is a fictional character from the British ITV1 soap opera Emmerdale, played by Lyndon Ogbourne. He made his first on-screen appearance on 17 February 2009.-Character creation and casting:...
to close a public footpath, and Nathan began applying more and more pressure as the campaign continued, causing Eric to have a heart attack. He kept it from David but when David learned the truth, they bonded again as the election returns came in. To David's shock, he had won. Eric wasn't happy but was, in some ways, relieved to no longer have the pressure. He tried giving David advice, but when Edna, who resented his interference, made him think David only felt pity for him, Eric began coming up with various neighborhood improvement plans to steal David's thunder.
Eric's focus on political and family concerns only exacerbated the damage the recession had done to his business. Orders dropped dramatically until Eric decided to close the factory. He planned to sell the sewing equipment but didn't tell Val. Much to his horror, she and the Dingles stole it and they sold it, using the money as redundancy payments. Eric planned to open a funeral parlour, but various locals protested about the idea and David convinced him it would be too expensive. He then began looking for a job as he needed the money and something to do but didn't have any luck.
Val, however, heard that Louise Appleton had put her share of the B&B on the market. Terry had got a loan to buy her out but gave the cash to his girlfriend, Brenda Walker
Brenda Walker (Emmerdale)
Brenda Walker is a fictional character from the British soap opera, Emmerdale played by Lesley Dunlop. She made her first appearance on 2 April 2008.-Backstory:...
, inside to bail her out of her financial difficulties. Terry was not pleased to discover that Val and Eric had bought Louise out, particularly when they left all the work to him. They eventually realised what hard work running a B&B could be and wanting to make their mark on the place, suggested opening a restaurant. Terry agreed cautiously and was also persuaded to hire Sam's "friend", Olena, as a maid - thinking she was Polish and merely wanted money to fund her travels.
In 2010, Eric started receiving letters, messages and cards, claiming to be from his long dead wife Elizabeth Feldmann. Originally suspecting the messages to be sent by Amy Wyatt, it was revealed on 30 December that the messages had instead been sent by Elizabeth's son Michael Feldmann. Michael, who had been spending periods of time in-and-out of jail, confronted Eric at Elizabeth's grave. He later followed Eric back to The Grange, where he confronted him , prompting him to reveal his history to his current wife, Val. Michael then left, however, he later informed Amy that he wanted Eric to pay him a large sum or money, otherwise he would reveal Eric to be a murderer. Eric told Michael to come in his car with him, and he would pay him off. Eric drove Michael to a remote area, however, after an exchange of words, Eric produced a tyre iron, advancing on Michael, who cowered into a corner. The result of the incident was not revealed, however, Eric returned to Emmerdale alone, appearing on edge and nervous. telling Val that he had given Michael a lift to the station.
In fact, he hadn't dropped him off at the station but he wasn't dead either and turned up on 4 January to confront Eric again. Eric said that he couldn't have anymore money and Val told him that he had probably seen the coroner's report that stated his mother was killed by falling debris and that it was time to give up blaming Eric. He agreed and after a calm discussion, Eric persuaded Michael to take the money for looking after himself. Michael then got in a car and drove out of the village into the night.
External links
- Eric Pollard at itv.comItv.comitv.com is the main website of ITV plc, the UK's largest commercial television broadcaster which operates 11 out of 15 regions on the ITV network under the ITV1 brand. The website offers on-line streaming, ITV archive, news, sport, entertainment, games, soaps, lifestyle, drama and an interactive TV...