Emmerdale icon Eric Pollard heartbroken after making sad discovery in early ITVX release
Warning: Contains spoilers for Tuesday's episode of Emmerdale, which airs at 8pm on ITV1 or can be streamed now on ITV1.
He's been a resident of Emmerdale village for 40 years, and during that time, Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell) has made some pretty heartless moves.
Always poking himself into other people's business, making ruthless business decisions and getting on the wrong side of his neighbours, Pollard finally revealed his softer side during his marriage to fifth wife Val. The cheeky and colourful Geordie made him more of a family man, and during the years that followed they welcomed a number of troubled youngsters – namely Amy Barton, into their home.
In a shock twist last year, he walked down the aisle for the sixth time, this time tying the knot with the late Amy's mother Kerry Wyatt (Laura Norton).
The marriage was purely one of convenience, with the pair deciding that it would be the best way for Pollard to squirrel money towards grandson Jacob Sugden (Joe Warren-Plant) in the event that his wife Sarah (Katie Hill) suffered an untimely death.
She lives with Fanconi anaemia, which causes bone marrow failure and significantly increases her risk of developing cancer. Sarah recently underwent an hysterectomy after being diagnosed with cervical cancer.
Despite Pollard and Kerry's relationship being purely platonic, they've still maintained the pretence that they're devoted to one another, and have moved into the same home. She, meanwhile, has been secretly hooking up with her boss Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson).
The two have been at it for months, initially calling time on the fling because they were concerned that the other workers at Caleb Miligan's (William Ash) depot would find out.
However, in recently weeks, the spark has been reignited – and they're sneaking off to Pollard's old house to fall into one another's arms.
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Jai's teenage son Archie Breckle (Kai Assi) has seemingly clocked what is happening, and in today's episode, began bickering with Kerry's grandson Kyle Winchester (Huey Quinn). Pollard asked why they were arguing, but got more than he bargained for when the lads provided an explanation.
Pollard was reluctant to believe what he'd heard, but in today's episode, began digging for clues. Kerry told him that she had to work late as a big order had arrived at the depot, and as a result she'd miss dinner.
Jai helped to strengthen the lie, pretending to be cracking down on Kerry and making her work overtime to fulfil the demands of the business.
However, when Pollard paid a visit to the depot that afternoon, they were nowhere to be seen. Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) had heard through the grapevine that they'd had to leave for a health and safety conference in Leeds, which directly contradicted their earlier conversation.
With Archie and Kyle's claims seemingly confirmed, a sad Pollard made his way to the house he once shared with Val. It was clear that he saw something of her in Kerry - and perhaps he loved her more than he thought.
He was shocked to find a bra on the living room floor, before stumbling across a pair of boxer shorts. Upstairs, Kerry and Jai giggled, believing that they'd got away with another afternoon of fun without being discovered.
Will Pollard lay his cards on the table?
Read more:
- 4 Emmerdale spoilers next week: Distraught Cain Dingle makes a move on Charity in two-hander episode
- Emmerdale's Joe Tate left furious by surprising Kim discovery in early ITVX release
- Emmerdale airs Paddy Dingle twist as incriminating new evidence found in early ITVX release
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1. Stream on ITVX.
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Authors
Michael Adams is the Soaps Editor at Radio Times, covering all of the hot gossip and spoilers from Weatherfield to Walford, Emmerdale to Hollyoaks and everywhere in-between. He joined the team from Metro, where he spent two years as a Soaps Reporter and previously worked on the sets of both Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
