Last year, Eric Pollard’s (Chris Chittell) life changed forever in Emmerdale when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
The beloved character has since spent time attempting to get used to his new way of living. As a result of the illness, Eric now lives with symptoms such as tremors, memory issues and balance problems.
In upcoming episodes of the ITV soap, Pollard confronts Caleb Miligan (William Ash), who is busy ferrying products to and from his warehouse via a variety of lorries. The increase in traffic and noise stresses Eric out, so he tries to tell Caleb to sort it.
Unwilling to take him seriously, Caleb bats away his complaints.
Seething at his dismissal, Eric climbs into one of Caleb’s lorries. However, due to not having his meds and being in a state of stress, his hand tremors, which leads him to crashing into some crates.
Later on, Caleb arrives at the shop and warns Pollard against interfering with his business. The man does his best to maintain his dignity in front of Caleb but the next day, he’s embarrassed when Caleb finds him in the village confused and out of sorts.
Aware he’s in need of help, Caleb gives Eric a lift and drops him at Liam Cavanagh’s (Jonny McPherson) house. The bickering aside, Pollard’s emotional as he thanks Caleb.
In the week, Liam tells Eric that his brief paralysis was a symptom of not having access to his usual medication.
Not wanting to cause a worry, he returns to working at the shop, which surprises Caleb when he later pops by.
As they chat, Pollard tells Caleb that he’s not going to give up and eventually, the two men realise an unlikely friendship is beginning to form.
