Emmerdale’s Eric Pollard is a staple on the soap – but fans fear a shock death storyline is on the cards for the long-running character

Emmerdale fans are certain Eric Pollard is about to get killed off – and have ‘worked out’ how.

The TV legend, played by Chris Chittell, has been a part of the soap since 1986 – making him the longest-serving cast member in the soap’s 52-year history.

Over the years, Eric has been involved in a huge number of storylines since appearing in the Dales, including the introduction of his long-lost son David Metcalfe, being one of the show’s original villain and his marriage to Val Pollard (Charlie Hardwick).

Late last year though, the character was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. And over in the soap recently, his health has seemed to have taken a turn for the worse.

Now, following reports that Chris’ wife Lesley Dunlop, who plays his on-screen partner Brenda Walker, has left the soap, fans reckon he will be following suit. But in a devastating twist, viewers reckon Eric will be killed off.

Last week Eric revealed to Brenda that he had been ill recently as the result of new medicine to treat his Parkinson’s Disease. However, he continued to downplay the symptoms and said he just didn’t want to burden people.

Things then took an emotional turn, Eric proposed to Brenda. And this week, the pair started planning their wedding, with Eric telling Brenda that he’d love them to get married at Christmas.

At first, Brenda was shocked by the sudden suggestion, but was delighted when Eric later bought her an engagement ring he claimed to have bought at an auction. But fans are now thinking a wedding death is on the cards for Eric. On X, formerly known as Twitter, fans shared their theory on how he could die. One person said: “Eric asking what could go wrong with a Christmas wedding, this is soapland so death.”

Someone else mused: “Heart attack at the alter.” A third chimed in and wrote: “Looks like there’s a Xmas wedding for Brenda & Eric too. Have a feeling Eric might die then.” Another person added: “Brenda knows Eric must be going soon, she feels he’s just formalising everything for the end.”

Emmerdale airs weeknights on ITV1 and ITVX at 7.30pm