Eric Pollard

Infobox Emmerdale character 2


name=Eric Pollard
portrayer=Chris Chittell
years=1986–
born=11 June 1945
death=
occupation=Businessman
home=Farrers Cottage
family=
spouse = Eileen Pollard (1970–1993)
Elizabeth Feldmann (1992–1994)
Dee de la Cruz (1997–2001)
Gloria Weaver (2002–2003)
Val Lambert (2008–)
sons = David Metcalfe
first=30 September 1986
last=

Eric Charles Pollard is a fictional character in 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. He has lied, cheated and swindled nearly all his neighbours – without allowing his actions to ever trouble his conscience.

Relationship with Elizabeth Pollard (Wife Two)

Of course, the women love a bad boy and Eric’s been married an incredible five times. He is also known for his deception and bigamy. After a few years in Emmerdale, Eric started to pursue second wife Elizabeth Pollard – without bothering to mention he was still married to his first wife Eileen Pollard; he even married the poor woman bigamously too.

The Plane Crash

Unlike his three other wives, Elizabeth didn’t leave Eric of her own accord. When the terrible plane crash hit Emmerdale in 1993, she was out babysitting – having told Eric she planned to shop him to the police for cheque fraud. Elizabeth was killed off-screen during the plane crash storyline. There is still speculation on and off-screen that Eric murdered her, but if he did he got away with it since her death was officially recognized as a result of the plane crash. Undeterred, Eric continued to practice his dodgy business dealings throughout Emmerdale – and went into business with Kathy Tate by opening a wine bar in the old village tea rooms.

Relationship with Dee Pollard (Wife Three)

When he went to the Philippines over Christmas 1997, Eric shocked everyone by arriving back with a sexy young fiancée in tow, Dee de la Cruz. Dee 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 left to return home – leaving Eric absolutely suicidal. With the help of Marlon Dingle, Eric did manage to recover from his heartbreak.

Eric's Fears

In 2000, Eric forgot about being a nasty bit of work in order to save the life of one of his best friends – Kathy Brookman . Suspecting her boyfriend Graham Clark of murdering,ex-fiancee Rachel Tate Eric voiced his worries and had the whole village doubting him. But when he eventually rescued Kathy when Graham tried to kill her, he proved to be her hero.

Relationship with Gloria Pollard (Wife Four)

It seemed Eric had finally found his perfect woman when he met new villager Gloria Weaverin 2001. But, despite her mild persona, it turned out that Gloria was thirsty for power! Having married Eric in 2002, Gloria pushes him in his quest to become mayor and, on their wedding night, encourages him to sleep with councilor Glynis to secure her nomination for the post!

When the scandal brakes, thanks to Steph Foursyth’ interference, Gloria spins the whole thing to make her look like the wronged wife and ends up taking the job herself – and being posted to Westminster. While away, Gloria has an affair with Hilary, her male researcher.

Gloria Pollard's Revenge

When the fling is exposed, Eric is horrified and chucks her out. In despair, Gloria drives out of the village drunk and her car and shoes are found later. Convinced she’s dead, Eric is plunged into a deep grief. But, a few months later, he receives a videotape of Gloria sipping a cocktail in the sun saying she’s glad to be rid of him.

Relationship with Val Pollard (Wife Five)

Having had so many disasters, you’d think that Eric would be off women forever. But then he got together with troublemaker Val Lambert. The sparky duo set up a business together and let their romance flourish.

But politics was going to come between Eric and love again. When he decided to run for re-election, Pollard realized that having a dodgy character like Val for a partner could spoil his chances. The duo cooked up a story that they’d split and promised to reunite after the election, but Pollard got carried away in his dismissal of Val and she dumped him.

Reconciling with Val Lambert - Twice!

However, the pair carried on working together at the factory and it was clear there were still strong feelings between them. Pollard was horrified when he found out that Val had decided to run against him in the local elections and it looked like any moves that had been made towards a reconciliation would be in vain.

However, when she realized the damage she was doing to his campaign, Val tried to sabotage 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. And things got even worse when Eric got tangled up with a local dominatrix and saw his political chances got even worse.

But, when he went head to head with Rodney, Pollard played as dirty as he could to win. Now Pollard’s back in office and taking bribes from Jimmy King too.
Kidnap In 2007 Donna and Marlon Dingle finally had the opportunity to get their dream home. Pollard determined to bid was about to leave when Eli and Sam tied him up and gagged him. Pollard gagged and struggling for help was later rescued by his son David who found his tied up father an amusing site.

Blackmail

On 17th December 2007, Eric was driving his car with Val, when he accidentally crashed into the back of another car. The woman driving, Rosalind, instantly fancied him. She revealed to him she was married, and asked him to start an affair with her, and then tried to seduce him. Eric refused, and rushed over to the Woolpack, and asked Val to marry him, to which she accepted. Three months later Eric discovered that Rosalind was in fact the wife of one of his business partners. They went to a hotel together, and when they left (nothing had happened between them) Rosalind passionately kissed Eric, both 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 he was still continuously blackmailed. At one point he suspected his son, David Metcalfe but then realized his mistake. On 5th May 2008, Eric finds out that Rosalind herself is the blackmailer.

The Wedding: What Price Love?

In the episode 'What Price Love?', aired on June 3rd 2008, Eric and Val married in a surprise ceremony coinciding with the Woolpack's entry into a Pub of the Year Competition. This coincided with Emmerdale's 5000th Episode. Eric couldn't afford to pay for the expensive 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 off in the village. After some thought, Val went through with her marriage to Eric. After their marriage they continue to argue frequetly, although they always soon make up.

Business Woes

Eric had been going deeper and deeper into debt, even using David to borrow money from Val. When Val learned the extent of his problems, she convinced the Kings to buy the factory to remake into luxury apartments. Eric let the staff go without telling them of his plans. When he told Sam he wished the factory could go up in smoke, Sam felt sorry for him and with Eli Dingle set the factory on fire. With the help of Val and his workers, Eric sets up the factory at the B & B, where he hires some rooms.

External links

* [http://www.itv.com/page.asp?partid=3700 Eric Pollard] at itv.com