Eric Pollard (also Pollock) is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Chris Chittell. He made his first appearance in the soap on 30 September 1986. Having appeared continuously since, he is currently the longest-serving actor and the longest-serving character in the history of the soap. The character originally served as the show's villain, but this has been noticeably toned down in recent years, particularly since Eric's marriage to Val Lambert (Charlie Hardwick) and the introduction of his long-lost son, David Metcalfe (Matthew Wolfenden). Originally introduced for a 12 episode stint, Eric became a popular character amongst viewers for his villainous ways and mistreatment of others, and was promoted to a regular character. He has been married five times; to Eileen Pollock (Arbel Jones) in 1964, Elizabeth Feldmann (Kate Dove) in 1992, although the marriage was bigamous, Dee de la Cruz (Claudia Malkovich) in 1997, Gloria Weaver (Janice McKenzie) in 2002 and Val in 2008. Storylines Eric arrives in Beckindale (later Emmerdale), and immediately annoys Sandie Merrick (Jane Hutcheson). He makes himself very unpopular, and is involved in a number of illegal schemes, often with his crooked business associate, Charlie Aindow (David Fleeshman). Sandie finds that he is fiddling the accounts at Hotten Market, and he loses his position as manager. He befriends Marian Rosettii (Debbie Blyth) and her husband Paolo (Carl Forgione), and tries to burgle their house, and Paolo chases him. Paolo accidentally shoots himself with a gun, but never discovers it was Eric who was the thief. Once Eric finds out Paolo had been taken to hospital after being shot, he leaves Beckindale for a few months. Upon his return, Eric applies for his old job as an auctioneer but loses out to Sandie, starting another feud. Eric finds romance with Debbie Wilson (Debbie Arnold) and they soon become engaged. However, Debbie leaves with £2,000 and valuable goods that Eric gave to her to start an antiques shop, to which he intended to divert goods from Hotten Market. Following Debbie's departure, he and Elizabeth Feldmann (Kate Dove) started dating. The relationship surprises many in the village, as two years before, Eric bought the Feldmanns' farm at a reduced price. Elizabeth's son, Michael (Matthew Vaughan) is particularly upset, but Elizabeth ignores him and accepts Eric's proposal. However, the marriage soon turns sour, and when Elizabeth discovers Eric has committed cheque fraud and framed Michael