Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell) is in a mega bind having drained Brenda Walker’s (Lesley Dunlop) life savings after frittering them away on a failed crypto venture. He owes her a chunk of change and no quick way of getting it.
Or has he?
He destroyed their relationship with his actions, so he is now conscience bound to repay her every single penny.
Being pretty much penniless himself, the only way to do is to sell the shop. But that’s very much dependent on someone being in the market for a shop at the price he needs to sell for, and it would seem no one is.
He feels like he’s failed Brenda, although Kerry Wyatt (Laura Norton) tries to reassure him that Brenda would rather he wait for the right time than he do something drastic – especially with the stress exacerbating his condition.
But Pollard is a man who listens to no-one, even when his health is concerned. Kerry begs him to slow down, but he’s so caught up in his own thoughts, he just can’t.
Through his foggy brain he hatches a plan, and Kerry is horrified to discover it involves matches and accelerants.
With nowhere to go when Kerry corners him, Eric is forced to explain that he plans to burn down the shop and take the insurance money. He says it’s a victimless crime, but Kerry tries desperately to make him see otherwise.
‘She’s shocked and sad to see that he must be feeling really desperate’, star Laura Norton explained.
She gets very protective because she’s experienced something very similar. A series of bad choices led to an accident that was related to a fire. It’s haunted her ever since and she doesn’t want to find him in the same situation.’
The only way she can get him to see sense is by confessing a major and shocking secret from her past involving a former Emmerdale resident. Will it work, or backfire?
