Zak Dingle (Steve Halliwell). Following this, Eric says goodbye to Faith as she leaves the village. He later continues his relationship with Brenda. Eric receives the COVID-19 vaccination. Casting and characterisation After appearing in 12 episodes, Chittell's character was promoted to part of the regular cast. Chittell described Eric as "a bit of a rat", but explained that "he does have a soft underbelly that he shows from time to time". He also explained that he will sometimes watch Emmerdale to see what is being transmitted, and when he watches, Eric "has [him] peeing myself with laughter", adding that he still finds his character "hilarious". He added that he feels "very fondly" to his character, since he is "always up to something". Chittell opined in 2012 that he would hate if the producers "mellowed" Eric or made him "soft", since he always wants his character to have "that edge". He added that "there's life in the old dog yet", and expressed his joy at portraying exciting arcs for Eric. In 2017, Chittell admitted that despite his long-running tenure on the soap, if his storylines were to decrease in quality, he would leave. He explained that he could imagine Eric becoming less used 5–10 years in the future, and that although he would hate leaving, he would "just shake everyone's hand and say thank you very much, as the journey has been wonderful." Chittell stated that Eric is "capable of anything", and that he "could go to desperate lengths to silence" people talking about his secrets. Eric's profile on the ITV website states that Eric garnered a reputation as "the local crook", but noted that his marriage to Val "has seen him mellow". Despite this, it stated that Eric is still "no-one's pushover", and "can still be underhand if the situation demands it". He is described as a "charming, cunning, prudent, funny, fair judgement of character and situations", and it is noted that he enjoys "making money, enjoying the finer things in life and his wife Valerie", and dislikes "being conned". The profile adds that if Eric had one wish, it would be "for Val to be content with their income and position, to retire comfortably and have an easy life". Development Grief After Val dies, Eric takes a while to process her death. He "insists on holing himself up in his house", and when it comes to Christmas, he does